Passion, while imperative to training, must be paired with energy, enthusiasm, intention, and knowledge to truly make a difference and create your “sonic boom.” Being an effective strength and conditioning coach is a lifestyle, not a job, and with continued passion, you can affect many lives positively.

While a basic fitness assessment will always be a part of a comprehensive client assessment, there is an array of more sophisticated tests and measures that are available to the personal trainer today.

Chris Morris, Director or Performance Science at the University of Kentucky, talks to the NSCA Coaching Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about the importance of capturing athlete readiness through data and technology. Topics under discussion include Dr. Morris’s time as a University of Kentucky football player turned PhD student, how sports science is critical to understanding athlete’s capacities on a much deeper view, and developing interpersonal relationships with athletes to create trust and buy-in. Find Dr. Morris on Twitter: @CMorrisPhD | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

This article will discuss the role of strength training, stretching, and functional mobility exercises in reducing falls in older adults and provide a guide for creating a program.

Assessing clients is a vital component of the personal training experience. This article gives an overview of breathing mechanics and how to apply proper breathing exercises into a client’s assessment and program.

The initial interview is the starting point for the client-trainer relationship and sets the tone for the emotional connection and the development of trust and value for a long-lasting professional relationship.

There is no argument that periodization is successful, and that different models can be applied with success in different fashions. The question of how shift work really affects a periodized program—more specifically firefighter shift work—is less clear.

This article will highlight an intervention involving mental skills training and virtual reality (VR) to address acrophobia with this population.

This article is part of a continuing series of tactical strength and conditioning (TSAC) research reviews. It is designed to bring awareness to new research findings of relevance to tactical strength and conditioning communities.

This article explores the challenges and successes of integrating physical performance experts at the battalion level.