He earned a PhD in exercise physiology from Ohio State University in 1978. He has headed the physical conditioning program of the U.S. Olympic Committee; served as strength coach for the German Volleyball Association; and coached high school track, basketball, and football. Fleck is a former vice president of basic and applied research and the current president of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). He is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the NSCA. He was honored in 1991 as the NSCA Sport Scientist of the Year and received that organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.