Nicole Rodriguez always knew she wanted to pursue strength and conditioning, but the extent of her journey — spanning 44 countries and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games — is nothing short of inspiring. During her time at Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning, Rodriguez recognized the value of experience and environment, later joining the EXOS International Program to coach globally. Eager to test her skills and help standardize coaching education, she sought out developing countries to advance their sport infrastructure. Rodriguez outlines key differences between U.S. and European approaches: while the U.S. excels in strength methodology, Europe enhances sport-specific application through tactical periodization. Additionally, she highlights Europe’s emphasis on rehabilitation and an “inverse relationship” between time in the weight room versus pitch-side with sport coaches. Rodriguez also describes her work with Poland’s Ministry of Sport and Tourism to pursue NSCA Global Chapter status, aligning with her passion for improving strength and conditioning education and implementation worldwide. Connect with Nicole by email: nicole@coachnicolerodriguez.com and online at: coachnicolerodriguez.com | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Learn more about NSCA international programs mentioned in the episode at NSCA.com/Global.

This column will explore specific investigations that evaluate the impact of PA and fitness on mental and physical health outcomes among firefighters and law enforcement officers.

The purpose of this article is to review the physiological determinants of police work, provide the strength and conditioning professional with an overview of comm on constraints associated with training police officers, discuss the role of autoregulated training, and provide programming recommendations for training police officers around their patrol shifts.

This article provides considerations for preparing firefighters for the physical and psychological demands of their job, including pre-operational work specific training during their rest times.

This article compares an equipment-heavy Army Combat Fitness Test to a minimal-equipment training program and test.

The College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year Award is given to an outstanding Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist® (CSCS) to recognize their dedication to improving athletic performance with safe and effective science-based programs.

The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is proud to announce the recipients of the organization’s 2025 Coach of the Year Awards

Since traditional sport-specific training or exercise programs do not create enough stimulus to improve the function of the respiratory muscles, the rationale to introduce respiratory muscle training (RMT) emerged. RMT is associated with improved endurance performance and pulmonary function, and it reduced respiratory fatigue, perceived exertion, or breathlessness. The purpose of this article is to provide coaches with tools to select the appropriate form of RMT in the context of the athletes’ needs, using appropriate methods, techniques, devices, and testing protocols. The video abstract is presented in Supplemental Digital Content as SDC 1