Nick Tumminello spoke at the NSCA's 2013 Personal Trainer Conference on how to develop a bodyweight training program.

This article in NSCA Coach shares a research-driven framework for dryland training in competitive swimming. Visit us online to learn more on sport performance and exercise science.

The purpose of this article is to address the key elements when designing a training program for firefighters, provide evidence for utilizing circuit training, and suggest recommendations on how to incorporate circuit training into the training program.

This article explains what rotational suspension bodyweight training is and how it is different from traditional suspension bodyweight training.

This article describes an innovative approach that was used to implement a long-term athletic development (LTAD) program in a health club, and includes the steps used for implementation.

Learn about the framework for practical, functional, and sequential skill development for a “best practices” model. This model is designed to develop a movement vocabulary, physical literacy, and movement skills for improved athleticism.

Learn to identify and understand the key factors of movement competency and skill acquisition, and how to develop an effective motor learning process using foundational movement patterns. In this session from the NSCA’s 2016 Personal Trainers Conference, Joe Sansalone explains how improving motor control and foundational movement patterns leads to optimal one-arm push-up skill acquisition.

This article provides the first academic history of the barbell back squat and its evolution from a bodyweight exercise in the 19th century to a loaded exercise used for a variety of purposes in the present age. In doing so, the article highlights three key drivers in the evolution of the back squat—changes in equipment, the diversification of strength sports, and scientific communication concerning the safety and efficacy of the movement. The goal of this article was not to provide a dry and irrelevant history but rather to stress the complexity of the squat’s prominence within fitness programs and the need to hold a nuanced view toward the “optimal” way to approach this movement. It examines how the movement evolved from being primarily done on the tips of one’s toes, to a loaded movement on tippy toes, to a flat-footed movement. By contextualizing the back squat’s history, this article challenges rigid notions of “correct” squatting technique and encourages a more nuanced understanding of exercise selection in strength and conditioning practice. It concludes by highlighting the importance of critically examining the social construction of knowledge in fitness and sport, and the value of historical perspective in informing contemporary training practices

This second article of a two-part series continues the discussion of long-term athletic development (LTAD). This article provides practical application of the LTAD principles by examining two sample programs.

Two factors that determine running speed are stride cadence and stride length. Because athletes propel themselves forward only when their foot is in contact with the ground, the stance phase of the running stride should be the focus of speed enhancement programs.