This article looks at the movement patterns of downhill skiing and suggests strength and conditioning exercises for the recreational downhill skier.

Strength and conditioning coaches with knowledge of the exercise principles for youth and the specific demands of basketball can design effective integrative neuromuscular training (INT) programs based on the individual needs of youth athletes.

Ground-based free weight lifts, especially the explosive Olympic-style lifts, are highly recommended for athletic conditioning for the core muscles. They can provide a moderately unstable stimulus to augment activation of the core and limb muscles, while still providing maximal or near maximal strength, velocity, and power output.

Examine different measures of velocity that can be used in resistance training and understand how each measure may be more applicable to either strength or power exercises. In this session from the NSCA’s 2016 National Conference, Daniel Baker, President of the Australia Strength and Conditioning Association, explains how to use velocity data to monitor changes in strength or power, and how to use velocity scores for readiness/performance monitoring.

Strength and conditioning coaches that temper their posterior chain exercises with some threshold training and specific trunk exercises designed to break the extension/compression stabilization strategy (ECSS) to restore proper stabilizing strategies may find their athletes will move better, get injured less, and actually perform better.

This article provides an understanding of the role the core plays during execution of athletic movements, as well as provides evidence-based concepts that help to strengthen the core and maximize movement performance.

Integrating unbalanced load training into a strength or hypertrophy phase, or any workout program, can add a tremendous amount of demand on the lateral aspects of the core to help the athlete develop a strong core. Using unbalanced load training may help produce increases in athleticism, balance, and motor coordination without sacrificing strength or explosiveness.

This NSCA Coach article describes how to manipulate movements, lifts, and rest periods in a way that controls time, space, and flow efficiently to creatively enhance athletic performance.

This excerpt from Developing the Core briefly defines closed- and open-chain exercises and their respective roles in training.

This article seeks to help simplify the exercise selection process by providing clarity on how different exercises can aid in enhancing performance and potentially reduce injury risk.