About the NSCA The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is the world's leading organization in the field of sport conditioning. Drawing on the resources and expertise of the most recognized professionals in strength training and conditioning, sport science, performance research, education, and sports medicine, the NSCA is the world's trusted source of knowledge and training guidelines for coaches, athletes, and tactical operators. The NSCA provides the crucial link between the lab and the field. About the Editors Brent A. Alvar, PhD, CSCS,*D, RSCC*D, FNSCA, is a professor of health science at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions. He is a certified strength and conditioning specialist with distinction, registered strength and conditioning coach with distinction, and a fellow of the NSCA. Alvar was named the NSCA's Educator of the Year in 2016 and is a past member of the NSCA Board of Directors. At Rocky Mountain University, Alvar served as the director, the associate dean and vice president of university research, the concentration track director for the doctoral program in Human & Sport Performance, and the codirector of the graduate program in health promotion and wellness. Alvar also served as the sport performance director and faculty member at Chandler Gilbert Community College while simultaneously having an appointment as an assistant research professor in the department of exercise and wellness at Arizona State University, where he earned his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. Alvar's primary research focus is in the area of physical activity related to human performance and occupational preparedness as well as the muscular strength and health-related benefits from resistance training. Katie Sell, PhD, CSCS,*D, TSAC-F, ACSM EP-C, is an associate professor and coordinator of the undergraduate exercise science program in the department of health professions at Hofstra University. Her NSCA certifications include being a certified strength and conditioning specialist with distinction and a tactical strength and conditioning facilitator. She is also an exercise physiologist certified with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Sell has been a volunteer assistant coach for the Hofstra women's tennis program, a member of the NSCA Tactical Strength and Conditioning Special Interest Group Executive Council, and a consultant to FireFit, which is an interagency wildland firefighter fitness task group. She serves as a physical fitness standards and programming consultant with various professional firefighting departments in the Salt Lake City, Utah, region. Sell's primary research interests are in the areas of physical activity promotion among college students and firefighter health, physical fitness, and exercise programming. She received her doctoral degree from the University of Utah, her master's degree from Southern Illinois University, and her bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee at Martin. Patricia A. Deuster, PhD, MPH, CNS, is a professor in the department of military and emergency medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) and director of the Consortium for Health and Military Performance (CHAMP), the Defense Center of Excelleence in the area of human performance optimization. A certified nutrition specialist and fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), Deuster is a coauthor of The Navy SEAL Nutrition Guide and The Special Operations Forces Nutrition Guide and the editor of The Navy SEAL Physical Fitness Guide. Deuster received the Special Operations Medical Researcher Award in 2014 by the Special Operations Medical Association. She is a member of the Order of Military Medical Merit and has served the Department of Defense on its Dietary Supplement Subcommittee, Food and Nutrition Subcommittee, Human Performance Optimization Committee, Population Health Working Group, and Operational Supplement Safety Initiative. Deuster received her bachelor's and master's degrees from the College of William and Mary, her PhD from the University of Maryland, and her MPH from USU. Among her athletic achievements, she has been a tennis professional, nationally ranked marathoner, and qualifier for the first women's marathon Olympic Trials in 1984.
