Evidence suggests a positive relationship between physical activity, exercise, and mental health. Exercise as a treatment modality is now being considered alongside psychotherapeutic and pharmacological approaches, and the role of specifically trained exercise specialists and personal trainers is an important component of the multi-disciplinary team.

NSCA Coach 11.4 shares how strength training of the posterior chain in athletes can reduce injury risk and aid rehabilitation. Visit us online to read more about exercise research.

The purpose of this article is to give an overview and theoretical framework on the concept of periodized nutrition—with an emphasis on adequate carbohydrate intake to enhance performance.

Exercise is an underutilized therapy for the treatment of cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and depression. While exercise shows more promise for the prevention, rather than the treatment, of Alzheimer’s disease, exercise therapy compares favorably to the most common treatments of depression (psychotherapy and antidepressants).

With almost one million people in the United States living with multiple sclerosis, this article aims to provide personal trainers with ideas for exercises to meet the needs of these individuals.

This article provides an overview of the scientific evidence comparing specific motor control exercise intervention to using a more general exercise approach, and concludes by discussing the practical implications for strength and conditioning professionals from an exercise programming perspective.

The physiological response to breath holding includes bradycardia and peripheral vasoconstriction, which contrasts with that of exercise which includes tachycardia and peripheral vasodilation. This raises the question as to what the physiological response is to breath holding during exercise. During low-intensity exercise, the breath holding response of bradycardia and peripheral vasoconstriction prevails over the exercise response of tachycardia and peripheral vasodilation, but nevertheless the exercise may be sustained. Due to the lack of availability of extrinsic oxygen (O 2 ) from the atmosphere during breath holding, the energy demands can be met by increased reliance on intrinsic O 2 stores (i.e., O 2 that was in the body before the breath hold) via increased O 2 extraction at the muscle compared with exercise while breathing, or increased contributions from anaerobic energy systems. During high intensity exercise of short duration, the exercise response may prevail over the breath holding response due to the increased parasympathetic withdrawal and sympathetic drive of higher intensity exercise. If breath holding during high-intensity exercise was sustained for long enough, the breath holding response may eventually overcome the exercise response, although this may be difficult due to the inverse relationship between exercise intensity and breath hold duration.

The purpose of this article is to help both personal trainers and clients with seven main concepts within exercise physiology that will improve training effectiveness and assist in explaining the body’s response to exercise.

This article highlights the scientific evidence on exercises like the seated leg extension, leg curl, and adduction machines to highlight their potential benefits on enhanced performance and potentially reducing injury risk.

Knowing the risks of cold weather training is only half the battle. It is important to be familiar with a proper risk management strategy to help guide decision-making that can enhance safety and exercise performance.