Acute Effects of Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Resistance and Power Exercises: A Brief Review for Coaches and Practitioners
The purpose of this brief review is to provide information about the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on performance in resistance and power exercises commonly used by the strength and conditioning community. The authors aimed to identify all publications investigating the effects of tDCS on performance with dynamic constant external resistance and power exercises. The performance was analyzed based on the training volume, as the number of repetitions performed in an absolute or relative load (1 RM—%). In addition, the peak power output was also analyzed as a secondary outcome. Based on the eligi...
Source: Strength and Conditioning Journal - October 1, 2022 Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Review Source Type: research

Effect of Repetition Duration—Total and in Different Muscle Actions—On the Development of Strength, Power, and Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review
In conclusion, the prescription of the MAD, total and phase specific, should be planned according to the adaptations desired in untrained and trained individuals. (Source: Strength and Conditioning Journal)
Source: Strength and Conditioning Journal - October 1, 2022 Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Review Source Type: research

Deconstructing Cutting: An Evidence-Based Coaching Framework to Reduce Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Risk
Few evidence-based guides exist to support coaches in delivering technical elements of cutting that may reduce the risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture. In isolation, balance exercises, jump landing, cutting movements, as well as modifying the penultimate step, may alter biomechanics favorably during this maneuver. By breaking this serial skill into its constituent parts, the coach is afforded an opportunity to observe trainable deficits, and allows the player more opportunity for practice. In addition, factors such as specificity to the direction of load during landings, alongside building capacity, and using ...
Source: Strength and Conditioning Journal - October 1, 2022 Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Article Source Type: research

Fitness Testing in Soccer Revisited: Developing a Contemporary Testing Battery
Soccer match play dictates that players possess well-rounded physical capacities. Therefore, player physical development plans must consider developing several fitness components simultaneously. Effective individualization of training is likely facilitated with appropriate player profiling; therefore, developing a time-efficient and informative testing battery is highly relevant for practitioners. Advances in knowledge and technology over the past decade have resulted in refinements of the testing practices used by practitioners working in professional male and female soccer. Consequently, a contemporary approach to test s...
Source: Strength and Conditioning Journal - October 1, 2022 Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Review Source Type: research

11+ Dance: A Neuromuscular Injury Prevention Exercise Program for Dancers
This article describes the development of 11+ Dance, an injury prevention training program designed for dancers, based on current evidence and best practice on injury prevention in sports. It is a 25–30-minute neuromuscular-based training program focused on strength, balance, and jumping/landing technique, with special attention to ankle, knee, and hip alignment. The high prevalence of injuries reported in the different styles of dance suggests that implementation of an injury prevention program is both the plausible and ethical action to take for all levels of performance. (Source: Strength and Conditioning Journal)
Source: Strength and Conditioning Journal - October 1, 2022 Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Article Source Type: research

Choice of Resistance Used in an Exercise: Simple to Complex Interactions
The choice of the resistance used in a workout and its sequence in a training program is a crucial decision for program design. Although the choice in many ways looks simplistic, its interactions with other factors make it a bit more complex when designing a training program. Basic scientific principles help to give context for many aspects of such decisions. Interactions with other acute program variables will also be crucial in how that resistance load in an exercise is manifested in a workout stimulus. Understanding training program sequences using periodization models also affect how one applies the choice of resistanc...
Source: Strength and Conditioning Journal - August 1, 2022 Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Inside the Box Source Type: research

Exercise Technique: Counterbalance Skater Squat
This column provides a detailed description of the correct technique for the counterbalance skater squat. This exercise is a unique variation of the single leg squat: the counterbalance skater squat. The use of this exercise can aid in the development of unilateral strength and hypertrophy benefiting those who are required to sprint and change direction regularly. Additionally, this column outlines set and repetition recommendations and progressions through the lift. (Source: Strength and Conditioning Journal)
Source: Strength and Conditioning Journal - August 1, 2022 Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Exercise Technique Source Type: research

Injury Prevention in Tennis Players, Linking the Kinetic Chain Approach With Myofascial Lines: A Narrative Review With Practical Implications
Myofascial chains refer to the soft tissue elastic connections that envelop the muscles throughout the entire body. Evidence points to the ability of myofascial chains to transfer the force developed in one muscle-tendon-joint unit to other proximal or distal musculotendinous units. Tennis is a sport demanding repetitive high-power unilateral movements, which predisposes the players to various musculoskeletal adaptations that may interrupt their optimal biomechanics and result in possible injuries. Myofascial training addresses the player's biomechanics of movement, muscle coordination, and muscle force production. This na...
Source: Strength and Conditioning Journal - August 1, 2022 Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Review Source Type: research

A Framework to Guide Practitioners for Selecting Metrics During the Countermovement and Drop Jump Tests
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...
Source: Strength and Conditioning Journal - August 1, 2022 Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Review Source Type: research

Reverse Engineering in Strength and Conditioning: Applications to Agility Training
Typically, a coach may follow a process in which they first identify the key performance indicators of their sport, determine the physical attributes that map back to them, and then distribute the development of those capacities over the allocated timeframe. Furthermore, effective training plans are based on a theoretical or biological basis for how we move and adapt to exercise stimuli, coupled with an understanding of how these are best sequenced, such that one stimulus and subsequent adaptation can potentiate the next. Thus, reverse or backward engineering, when appropriately converged with the plans of those devised ar...
Source: Strength and Conditioning Journal - August 1, 2022 Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Review Source Type: research

Effects of Music on Resistance Exercise Performance: A Narrative Review
This review aimed to summarize and critically evaluate the research on the effects of music on resistance exercise performance. Research in the field has consistently demonstrated an ergogenic effect of music on resistance exercise performance. Specifically, studies have reported that listening to music pre-exercise or during exercise may enhance handgrip strength, muscle endurance, velocity, and power. Although a performance-enhancing benefit has been observed in many (but not all studies), several factors such as music tempo, volume, and genre preference may modulate the ergogenic effect of music. An ergogenic effect is ...
Source: Strength and Conditioning Journal - August 1, 2022 Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Review Source Type: research

Load Monitoring With Foucault: Suggestions for the Management of Perceived Exertion in the Elite Sport Context
Athlete subjective reporting monitoring tools, such as session rating of perceived exertion (RPE), are commonly used to measure internal load. RPE is based on calculation of athletes' rating on the Borg category 1–10 scale multiplied by the exercise duration. Coaches can then use this feedback to ascertain whether the athletes’ reported RPE is aligned with their own rating of intended (pre training/competition) or observed exertion (post-training/competition perception of exertion). In this paper, a socio-cultural perspective informed by French philosopher Michel Foucault (14) is used to explore factors that can shape ...
Source: Strength and Conditioning Journal - August 1, 2022 Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Review Source Type: research

Performance Profiling in Strength and Conditioning
This article aims to highlight the potential benefits of performance profiling within the field of strength and conditioning, provides guidelines with completed examples for strength and conditioning practitioners to integrate into their work with clients, and presents a brief overview of the theory underpinning the technique. (Source: Strength and Conditioning Journal)
Source: Strength and Conditioning Journal - August 1, 2022 Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Article Source Type: research

Effects of Strength Training on Blood Pressure and Heart Rate Variability—A Systematic Review
Strength training (ST) has been studied for acute and chronic effects on blood pressure (BP) and heart rate variability (HRV). These effects have never been reviewed collectively concerning the variables that comprise a ST program. Therefore, this review aims to examine the manipulation of ST variables (i.e., load intensity, number of sets and repetitions, exercise order, and rest interval length) on BP and HRV after a session and a long-term program. The BP reduced significantly after an ST session independently of the load intensity, the number of sets and repetitions, the rest interval length, the mode, and the particip...
Source: Strength and Conditioning Journal - August 1, 2022 Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Review Source Type: research

Traditional and Modified 5-0-5 Change of Direction Test: Normative and Reliability Analysis
Change of direction (COD) ability is an important performance factor in many field and court sports. A common COD maneuver is the 180-degree turn, which is commonly assessed through the 5-0-5 COD test. Coaches and practitioners need to assess an athlete's COD performance and have access to normative data for these assessments. This review focuses on the traditional and modified 5-0-5 COD test. The 5-0-5 COD performance results have been gathered across 50 different studies and 11 different sports to create sport, sex, and level specific normative data so performance comparisons can be made, which in turn can drive programm...
Source: Strength and Conditioning Journal - August 1, 2022 Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Review Source Type: research