Strength Coaching In America

Shortlisted for the North American Society for Sports History 2020 Monograph Prize It’s hard to imagine, but as late as the 1950s, athletes could get kicked off a team if they were caught lifting weights. Coaches had long believed that strength training would slow down a player. Muscle was perceived as a bulky burden; training emphasized speed and strategy, not “brute” strength. Fast forward to today: the highest-paid strength and conditioning coaches can now earn $700,000 a year. Strength Coaching in America delivers the fascinating history behind this revolutionary shift. College football represents a key turning point in this story, and the authors provide vivid details of strength training’s impact on the gridiron, most significantly when University of Nebraska football coach Bob Devaney hired Boyd Epley as a strength coach in 1969. National championships for the Huskers soon followed, leading Epley to launch the game-changing National Strength Coaches Association. Dozens of other influences are explored with equal verve, from the iconic Milo Barbell Company to the wildly popular fitness magazines that challenged physicians’ warnings against strenuous exercise. Charting the rise of a new athletic profession, Strength Coaching in America captures an important transformation in the culture of American sport.

It’s hard to imagine, but as late as the 1950s, athletes could get kicked off a team if they were caught lifting weights. Coaches had long believed that strength training would slow down a player. Muscle was perceived as a bulky burden; training emphasized speed and strategy, not “brute” strength. Fast forward to today: the highest-paid strength and conditioning coaches can now earn $700,000 a year. Strength Coaching in America delivers the fascinating history behind this revolutionary shift. College football represents a key turning point in this story, and the authors provide vivid details of strength training’s impact on the gridiron, most significantly when University of Nebraska football coach Bob Devaney hired Boyd Epley as a strength coach in 1969. National championships for the Huskers soon followed, leading Epley to launch the game-changing National Strength Coaches Association. Dozens of other influences are explored with equal verve, from the iconic Milo Barbell Company to the wildly popular fitness magazines that challenged physicians’ warnings against strenuous exercise. Charting the rise of a new athletic profession, Strength Coaching in America captures an important transformation in the culture of American sport.

This book takes a radically different approach to the challenge of coaching in strength and conditioning. In doing so, it addresses many of the paradoxes of strength and conditioning, providing new perspectives that shed light on to the many questions that challenge coaches. Rather than focusing on methods, it delves into the questions of what makes a coach effective. It examines the conditions that are necessary for training applications to become optimal, and the skills necessary to create these conditions. It provides coaches with a flexible pathway towards understanding the challenges of strength and conditioning and by which they can develop the craft of coaching to maximise their effectiveness and potential. The book is essential reading for anyone wishing to pursue a career as a strength and conditioning coach, acting essentially as a prequel to the many scientific and applied texts in the field. It will also appeal to more experienced coaches providing a wider perspective on the challenges they face and providing potential solutions not traditionally considered.

NSCA's Guide to High School Strength and Conditioning equips you to deliver the highest-quality strength and conditioning program in the high school setting--whether you are a strength and conditioning professional, physical education teacher, sport coach, or administrator.

Developed by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and now in its fourth edition, Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning is the essential text for strength and conditioning professionals and students. This comprehensive resource, created by 30 expert contributors in the field, explains the key theories, concepts, and scientific principles of strength training and conditioning as well as their direct application to athletic competition and performance. The scope and content of Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, Fourth Edition With HKPropel Access, have been updated to convey the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of a strength and conditioning professional and to address the latest information found on the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) exam. The evidence-based approach and unbeatable accuracy of the text make it the primary resource to rely on for CSCS exam preparation. The text is organized to lead readers from theory to program design and practical strategies for administration and management of strength and conditioning facilities. The fourth edition contains the most current research and applications and several new features: Online videos featuring 21 resistance training exercises demonstrate proper exercise form for classroom and practical use. Updated research—specifically in the areas of high-intensity interval training, overtraining, agility and change of direction, nutrition for health and performance, and periodization—helps readers better understand these popular trends in the industry. A new chapter with instructions and photos presents techniques for exercises using alternative modes and nontraditional implements. Ten additional tests, including those for maximum strength, power, and aerobic capacity, along with new flexibility exercises, resistance training exercises, plyometric exercises, and speed and agility drills help professionals design programs that reflect current guidelines. Key points, chapter objectives, and learning aids including key terms and self-study questions provide a structure to help students and professionals conceptualize the information and reinforce fundamental facts. Application sidebars provide practical application of scientific concepts that can be used by strength and conditioning specialists in real-world settings, making the information immediately relatable and usable. Online learning tools delivered through HKPropel provide students with 11 downloadable lab activities for practice and retention of information. Further, both students and professionals will benefit from the online videos of 21 foundational exercises that provide visual instruction and reinforce proper technique. Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, Fourth Edition, provides the most comprehensive information on organization and administration of facilities, testing and evaluation, exercise techniques, training adaptations, program design, and structure and function of body systems. Its scope, precision, and dependability make it the essential preparation text for the CSCS exam as well as a definitive reference for strength and conditioning professionals to consult in their everyday practice. Note: A code for accessing HKPropel is not included with this ebook but may be purchased separately.

"As more coaches enter the world of strength and conditioning and face the task of developing programs for young athletes, there is no shortage of training programs to follow. Unfortunately, what is generally lacking in most coaches' repertoires is an inability to implement fundamental principles to build a long-term, sustainable training program. In The System, the authors lay the foundation for a scientifically based, field-tested, and effective system of training. It is a system to reinforce the fundamentals and principles with which strength coaches can design and implement programming that will make their athletes stronger, faster, and more powerful over a sustained period through a competitive season"--

Designed to provide the reader with the necessary tools to build an amazing life. Includes American Challenge: an 8-week step-by-step plan to initiate permanent change in your life.

A guide to an effective interval training program which can be done in a small hotel room or at a large gym.