Take a deep dive into force plate research and trends with “Force Plate Coach”, Dr. John McMahon from the University of Salford in England. In this episode, John discusses his path from Royal Marine Commando into strength and conditioning and biomechanics teaching and research. Listen in as John connects with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, on the past, present, and future of force plates in sport and the ways we can improve our testing and evaluation of athletes. This episode mentions the following paper from NSCA’s Strength and Conditioning Journal: McMahon, JJ, Suchomel, TJ; Lake, JP, and Comfort, P. Understanding the Key Phases of the Countermovement Jump Force-Time Curve, Strength and Conditioning Journal 40(4): 96-106, 2018 Find John on Instagram: @forceplatecoach, on Twitter: @ForcePlateCoach, and on YouTube: @ForcePlateCoach| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

This infographic outlines a three-step process to determine the efficacy of selected jump metrics and the ability to use them in practice.

Researchers and practitioners have highlighted the necessity to monitor jump strategy metrics and the commonly reported outcome measures during the countermovement jump (CMJ) and drop jump (DJ) tests. However, there is a risk of confusion for practitioners, given the vast range of metrics that now seem to be on offer via analysis software when collecting data from force platforms. As such, practitioners may benefit from a framework that can help guide metric selection for commonly used jump tests, which is the primary purpose of this article. To contextualize the proposed framework, we have provided 2 examples for how this could work: one for the CMJ and one for the DJ, noting that these tests are commonly used by practitioners during routine testing across a range of sport performance and clinical settings.

Musculoskeletal injuries are the primary source of disability in the United States military. With the integration of movement screens and the implementation of tactical strength and conditioning facilitators there can be success in reducing the amount of musculoskeletal injuries in the tactical populations.

Dr. Tim Suchomel, Assistant Professor at Carroll University and Wisconsin State Director for the NSCA, talks to the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about the emerging role of sport science in strength and conditioning. Topics under discussion include Suchomel’s growing involvement with the NSCA, as well as weightlifting derivatives and their benefits for more individualized performance adaptations. Find Dr. Suchomel on Twitter: @DrTSuchomel or Instagram: @drtsuchomel or NSCA Sport Science and Performance Technology Special Interest Group | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

Learn about middle school and high school strength and conditioning from 2022 NSCA Coaches Conference presenter Elton Crochran. Coach “Croc” shares his story about transitioning from collegiate strength and conditioning to his work as the Strength and Conditioning Coordinator at Randolph Field School District in San Antonio, TX. Crochran is currently the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Veterans Memorial High School. He talks about his hands-on coaching session from Coaches Conference, as well as developmental milestones across key stages of long-term athlete development. Find “Coach Croc” on Instagram: @ecrock2 or Twitter: @TheCrocShow| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

Matthew Ibrahim, Co-Owner of TD Athletes Edge, talks to the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about using setbacks as a learning opportunity. Topics under discussion include creating a holistic approach to a client’s training by collaborating with other professionals, and the importance of deceleration technique and eccentrics in his programs for skill acquisition. Find Matthew on Instagram: @matthewibrahim_ | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

This course is an introduction to force plates and performance testing. This course covers the basics of setup and calibration of force plates, and then walks through several fundamental performance tests including squat jumps, countermovement jumps, drop jumps and loaded jumps. Two versions of the isometric mid-thigh pull as well as an isometric squat are also covered in the course. Real-time data collection from the software is also shown as the athletes are performing the tests. A module on data analysis rounds out the course, which includes five metrics collected from the force plate, as well as calculations from this data, including relative strength index - modified, and dynamic strength index.

This article provides a review of sessions presented at the 2019 National Basketball Strength and Conditioning Association (NBSCA) Performance Summit including strength and conditioning methods and coaching strategies, in-season strength programming, force plate assessment, injury prevention, and player monitoring.

The goal of this article is to understand contralateral and ipsilateral loading, how to set-up loaded carries, electromyography activity during exercises, and how to apply these exercises into the strength training program.