Strength and Conditioning for Sport

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Prepared by: Aaron Holt, Senior Strength & Conditioning Coach, Australian Institute of Sport
Reviewed by: Australasian Sport Information Network
Last updated: 13 October 2020
Content disclaimer: See Clearinghouse for Sport disclaimer

Strength and conditioning in sport is a deliberate practice focusing on a number of key human performance attributes including, speed, agility, endurance, strength, power, stability and flexibility. The ongoing development of these traits requires comprehensive planning, monitoring, and management in order to achieve improved performance by athletes—ultimately in their major competitions. The ‘planning’, ‘monitoring’ and ‘management’ processes also maintain a strong focus on injury prevention, and post-injury rehabilitation.

A strength and conditioning coach's role is to work in conjunction with the sports coach and athletes to design specific programs that will address the particular needs of an individual athlete, team, or sport. Ideally this practice will also be undertaken in collaboration with other high performance service provider disciplines.

Resources

Groups, societies and professional bodies

Australia

Australian Strength and Conditioning Association. The ASCA is the lead body for strength and conditioning coaches in Australia, representing over 6000 accredited coaches, coaching athletes and teams across all levels of sport.

The aim of the ASCA is to 'bridge the gap between sports science and practical application'. They conduct professional coach education courses (Level 1,2,3) that are recognised through the National Coach Accreditation scheme. The association also publishes the 'Journal of Australian Strength and Conditioning' (JASC), a refereed research publication that covers all aspects of strength and conditioning.

Exercise and Sport Science Australia. ESSA is a professional organisation committed to establishing, promoting and defending the career paths of tertiary trained exercise and sports science practitioners.

International

American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM members range from academics to students and from personal trainers to physicians, their association of sports medicine, exercise science, and health and fitness professionals is dedicated to helping people worldwide live longer, healthier lives.
Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCa). Offers strength & conditioning programs for high school, collegiate, and professional athletic programs across the United States of America (USA).
National Strength and Conditioning Association. The NSCA was founded in 1978 and is the leader for strength and conditioning professionals, who include elite strength coaches, personal trainers and dedicated researchers and educators, in the USA. They have an active voice in the communication of news, evidence-based research and educational material, through generated research and publications and certified courses. Its headquarters—the NSCA Performance Centre, Colorado Springs—serves as a proving ground for the testing an application of scientific principles to optimise sports performance. The Centre boasts contemporary facilities for athletes of all ages and skill levels and is dedicated to the enhancing athletic performance. A function of the Centre is also to educate and train aspiring coaches, further development to qualified candidates, through offering multiple internships and assistantships each year.
The United Kingdom Strength and Conditioning Association. The formation of the UKSCA in 2004 provided a focus for the creative and professional energies of UK Strength and Conditioning practitioners, which in turn has raised professional standards within the industry and provided a clear pathway for aspiring coaches to enter this dynamic field. The UKSCA aims to establish and maintain high professional standards for UK Strength & Conditioning Practitioners, through the promotion and dissemination of good practice, knowledge and relevant research.

Vocational education and training

Strength and Conditioning coaches have worked for many years in sport providing services to athletes to enhance performance and reduce the risk of injury. The ASCA Professional Coach Accreditation Scheme (PCAS) was launched in 2007 to identify individuals who possess the experience to design and implement safe and effective strength and conditioning programs for athletes (individual or team). PCAS Accreditation has become the gold standard for Strength and Conditioning employment in Australia and is now a requirement by the Australian Sports Commission when working with federally funded sports. Additionally, the PCAS is now internationally recognised serving as a template for the organisations in developing their coaching accreditation models and employment standards.

The ASCA offers a range of courses, providing non-accredited introductory level education (Level 0) and professional accreditation (Levels 1-3) for strength and conditioning coaches.

A range of Australian organisations and institutions offer specific strength and conditioning courses, internships, or volunteer coaching opportunities for aspiring professionals. These include:

Australian Strength and Conditioning Association (ASCA), ASCA Courses and Accreditation
Bond University, Exercise and Sport Science
Charles Sturt University, Exercise and Sport Science
Edith Cowan University, Graduate Certificate of Exercise Science (Strength and Conditioning) and Master of Exercise Science (Strength and Conditioning)
Federation University (formally University of Ballarat), Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science
Southern Cross University, Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science, Bachelor of Exercise Science and Psychological Science and Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science, Bachelor of Laws
University of Canberra, Sport and Exercise Science
University of Notre Dame, Health Sciences
University of Queensland, Exercise and Sport Sciences
University of Tasmania, Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science
Victorian Institute of Sport, Trainee Placements
Victoria University, College of Sport & Exercise Science, Institute for Health and Sport

Professional Accreditation

In December 2017 the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) announced the introduction of a national accreditation scheme for sport scientists. The scheme is run in partnership with Exercise & Sports Science Australia (ESSA) and the Australian Strength & Conditioning Association (ASCA).

In August 2020 the AIS released the Sports Science Sports Medicine Practitioner Minimum Standards. These standards represent the mandatory minimum standards for SSSM staff and contractors engaged to deliver services in these disciplines of practice (including strength and conditioning) by National Sporting Organisations (NSOs) that are subject to the AIS SSSM Best Practice Principles via their Sport Investment Agreement. They will also guide the minimum SSSM personnel requirements of the National Institute Network (NIN).

Further resources and reading

Access to resources
Where possible, direct links to full-text and online resources are provided. However, where links are not available, you may be able to access documents directly by searching our licenced full-text databases (note: user access restrictions apply). Alternatively, you can ask your institutional, university, or local library for assistance—or purchase documents directly from the publisher. You may also find the information you’re seeking by searching Google Scholar.

Designing resistance training programs, Fourth Edition, Fleck SJ, Kraemer WJ, Human Kinetics, (2014).
ESSA's student manual for health, exercise & sport assessment, Jeff Coombes, Tina Skinner, NSW Elsevier Australia, (2014). (held by the Clearinghouse for Sport, RC683.5.E94.C66 2014)
Science and Practice of Strength training, Second Edition,Zatsirosky VM, Kraemer WJ, Human Kinetics, (2006). (held by the Clearinghouse for Sport, GV711.5.Z37 and Queensland Academy of Sport, 613.711 ZAT)
The scientific basis of sports training, Antonio Urso, Roberto Calzetti, (2014). (held by the Clearinghouse for Sport, GV711.5.U77)
Strength and Conditioning: Biological Principles and Practical Applications, Marco Cardinale, Robert Newton and Kazunori Nosaka John Wiley & Sons, (2011). (held by the Clearinghouse for Sport, QP321.S88 and Queensland Academy of Sport, 613.711STR)
Strength training for young athletes, Second Edition, Kraemer WJ, Fleck SJ, Human Kinetics, (2005). (held by the Clearinghouse for Sport, GV546.C45.K73 and Queensland Academy of Sport, 613.7043 KRA)
Supertraining, Sixth Edition, Siff MC, Supertraining Institute, (2003). (held by the Clearinghouse for Sport, GV505.S54)

Proceedings of the 2016 International Association of Computer Science in Sport (IACSS) Conference. The International Association of Computer Science in Sport Conference 2016 took place between July 31– August 3, 2016 in Brasilia, Brazil. The aim of the conference was to promote the inter-disciplinary field of sport science and computer science in order to face challenging problems in sports and exercise sciences, supported by formal models, analytical approaches and computational support. (IACSS)

The Role of Kettlebells in Strength & Conditioning, @YLMSportScience, (26 September 2017). Based on Chris Beardsley & Bret Contreras, Strength & Conditioning Journal, (2014).
Variation in training stimuli is vital for increasing maximal strength, @YLMSportScience, (19 June 2017). Based on Williams, T.D., Tolusso, D.V., Fedewa, M.V. et al. Sports Medicine, (2017)
Strength training for middle- and long-distance performance, @YLMSportScience, (17 May 2017). Based on Nicolas Berryman, Inigo Mujika, Denis Arvisais, Marie Roubeix, Carl Binet, and Laurent Bosquet, International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, (2017).
Holistic hamstring health: not just the Nordic hamstring exercise, @YLMSportScience, (17 May 2017). Based on Oakley AJ, Jennings J, Bishop CJ, British Journal of Sports Medicine (2017).
See more at: YLMSportScience.

National Institute Network Research. Recently published sport science/sports medicine research from National Institute Network (NIN) researchers. This list is updated on a monthly basis.

Licencing restrictions apply to some resources listed below.

Public All Clearinghouse members 'Australian' members only
'High Performance' members only Restricted access Various restrictions
Please see Clearinghouse membership categories for further information.

Essential S&C considerations in taper, Julian Jones, Head of Strength and Conditioning, AIS, Swimming Australia Twin Peaks Conference, Canberra, (11 September 2017).
Strength and Conditioning - Theory, Stu Cormack and Ross Smith, AIS Strength and Conditioning, 2020 VISION Combat Coaches Seminar , Canberra, (27 May 2017).
Strength and Conditioning - Practical, Stu Cormack and Ross Smith, AIS Strength and Conditioning, 2020 VISION Combat Coaches Seminar , Canberra, (28 May 2017).
Implementing Strength and Conditioning into Basketball, Jan Legg, Strength and Conditioning Coach, Australian Institute of Sport, Basketball Australia Coaches Conference 2016, Canberra, (4 May 2016).
Athlete Development Program - The establishment of a timetabled S&C program within a school-based Academy, Brent Vallance, Maribyrnong Sports Academy High Performance Manager, Smart Talk Seminar Series, Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra (17 November 2015)
Training for Optimal Power: The Influence of Resistance and Muscle Mechanics on Power Output, Dr Dominic Farris, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, School of Human Movement Studies, The University of Queensland, Smart Talk Seminar Series, Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra (11 June 2014)
High-intensity interval training: Application to high-performance athletes, Dr Martin Gibala, Professor and Chair, Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Smart Talk Seminar Series, Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra (12 December 2013)
Growing muscle and staying injury free, Dr Keith Baar, Head of the Functional Molecular Biology Laboratory (FMBL) in the Division of Molecular Physiology at the University of Dundee, Smart Talk Seminar Series, Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra (10 May 2013)
National Institute Network Strength and Conditioning Tour, Julian Jones and Jan Legg, Smart Talk Seminar Series , Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra, The AIS led a study tour on behalf of NIN focussing on the key area of strength and conditioning. The tour travelled to The Netherlands, Spain, France and the US (13 March 2012)
Exercise Science and Sport in the United States, Dr Mike Stone, Smart Talk Seminar Series, Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra - Dr Stone is a leading researcher in the field of strength and power training (18 November 2011)
Strength and Conditioning at the AIS, Julian Jones, Smart Talk Seminar Series, Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra, (17 November 2011). Julian is the Strength and Conditioning coach for the AIS Women's Water Polo, Sailing and Swimming programs
Methods and Structure of service delivery in Belgium, Sven Marien, Smart Talk Seminar Series, Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra, (15 November 2011). Sven Marien' qualifications include Master Physical Education (Training and Coaching), Trainer A (Alpine skiing) and fitness expert
Strength and Conditioning: The Differences from Australia to France, Tim Rogers, Smart Talk Seminar Series, Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra, (14 November 2011) - Tim has a Masters Degree in Exercise Science from the Australian Catholic University and ~20 years of experience working as a strength and conditioning coach
Strength and Power Research and the German High Performance Sport System, Dietmar Schmidtbleicher, Johhann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Germany, Smart Talk Seminar Series, Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra, (16 March 2011).
Strength and Conditioning - An informal presentation to AIS Physiology Staff—Dietmar Schmidtbleicher, Johhann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt/Main, Germany, Smart Talk Seminar Series, Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra, (11 March 2011)
Maximizing exercise-induced gains in muscle mass: practical lessons in what, how much, and when to eat—Professor Stuart Phillips, Ph.D., FACN, FACSM - Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Canada, Smart Talk Seminar Series, Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra, (7 April 2010)

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