How To Be overprepared for the NASM

[F3D]

I tend to learn well on my own. If you can learn on your own from a textbook, do the self-study.

I don't think there's any need to pay more for the extra material. All you need is the text.

Just took it today and passed. I would have to agree.

I ended up paying for some of the extra material (got a package with eteach) which I ended up basically not even using.

I did use some of the online videos/presentations, however, I feel a good understanding of the textbook is adequate.

[Oatmeal12]

Passed the cert yesterday on a 1 hour of sleep. I actually just stayed up on my phone, then at around 8am crammed till 1pm.

Here's my experience:

I signed up for the eTeach course while it was discounted back in August. (btw, if you are rushing to get your CPT from NASM and take advantage of it's "rare" discounts, save yourself some worry because nasm dishes out like 10 discounts a week)

Finished the 9 week eTeach course while I was a part time college student and part time cook. Totally regret not being to take full advantage of eteach, also I should've never signed up for it cause I'm more of a textbook learner. I didn't study eteach for the latter half of 9 weeks.

College classes ended in December, started cramming and reading chapters a day. Last day to take it before expiring was yesterday, february the 3rd 2016.


Took me about 2 and a half months to finish the book, all I have to say is read the whole book, take notes, and take the practice tests availiable.

My key points were:

Acute variables
How many ounces make a cup and vice versa. I remembered 13 cups of water a day is recommended for a seemingly healthy sedentary individual but it was asked in ounces and I was blind sided lol. Good luck.

[Imtoolovely1]

I passed the exam. It you the book from front to back, take notes and highlights important info, and study the test guide you will pass You just have to study a ton. I studied every day for at least an hour for 2 months before I took it. Good luck everyone!

Hello,
I am interested in taking the NASM and needed to know the name of the Book to prepare for the test, any info and advice will be helpful

[drewkocak]

If you can get your hands on the textbook, that's what I'd study. Just the textbook.

Then go back and make sure you understand these topics:

[megsaunders]

Passed the cert yesterday on a 1 hour of sleep. I actually just stayed up on my phone, then at around 8am crammed till 1pm.

Here's my experience:

I signed up for the eTeach course while it was discounted back in August. (btw, if you are rushing to get your CPT from NASM and take advantage of it's "rare" discounts, save yourself some worry because nasm dishes out like 10 discounts a week)

Finished the 9 week eTeach course while I was a part time college student and part time cook. Totally regret not being to take full advantage of eteach, also I should've never signed up for it cause I'm more of a textbook learner. I didn't study eteach for the latter half of 9 weeks.

College classes ended in December, started cramming and reading chapters a day. Last day to take it before expiring was yesterday, february the 3rd 2016.


Took me about 2 and a half months to finish the book, all I have to say is read the whole book, take notes, and take the practice tests availiable.

My key points were:

Acute variables
How many ounces make a cup and vice versa. I remembered 13 cups of water a day is recommended for a seemingly healthy sedentary individual but it was asked in ounces and I was blind sided lol. Good luck.

I am taking my exam next Wednesday! Were there a bunch of questions from chapters 2-4? I am going crazy trying to remember everything from the nervous system/skeletal system/heart etc...

wondering if I should focus more on big picture.

[drewkocak]

I am taking my exam next Wednesday! Were there a bunch of questions from chapters 2-4? I am going crazy trying to remember everything from the nervous system/skeletal system/heart etc...

wondering if I should focus more on big picture.

If I'm recalling correctly, there was VERY little on those sections. Don't recommend giving those much time.

[megsaunders]

I just took the NASM exam and PASSED, first try.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this forum, it was very helpful. I feel like since it helped me so much, I wanted to write a really helpful review. Feel free to ask me ANY questions. Now… let me ease your mind a little…

After reading all of these reviews, watching YouTube videos on the test, and reading blogs, I had major anxiety for like a solid 2 months before taking the test. Let me tell you something though; people really make a BIG deal about this test (don’t get me wrong, you should take is seriously). I read a blog that said: to pass, you should take a practice test every night for 2 months before the exam, and then 2x/day a month out, and then 3x/day the week before, ON TOP of studying hours among hours throughout the day. This is SO NOT NECESSARY. I also read about tons of people failing, and how the test questions were wordy, confusing, and meant to trick you. I mean, even on the study guide that NASM gives you, it tells you that the questions are confusing and you should read them carefully. I did not find this to be the case ONE.BIT. It really was NOT bad at all, in fact, I thought it was more along the lines of easy.
So FYI – I purchased the e-teach program (includes videos/discussions/help from instructors/weekly quizzes/etc…). When I got the book, I didn’t touch it for the first month. After that, I decided to just read it without trying to remember anything, without highlighting, without notes. Just to get a feel of what was to come. I deff was not too consistent with this. I did end up reading it 1x through tho. Then I started the e-teach course, but did not utilize it 100% (FYI- not worth the money in my opinion). Ended up taking a 3 week break, and by that time it was 2 months before my test. I do have to say, I started really digging into the material for a good hour or two every night at that point(would skip some nights here and there). I would try to make an effort to study for a few hours on Saturdays too.
With that said, here are my study tips for the exam;
- Read the last 5 pages of this thread. Lots of people post questions that they saw on their exam. I made a word document, copied & pasted questions and things people saw on the exam, and made sure I knew the answers to all of them. On the night before the exam, I focused on that. A decent amount of questions actually were on this thread, at least 10-15.
- READ THE BOOK. I read it 1x without taking notes or anything. Then when I started the course, I re-read every chapter & highlighted.
- I made my own notecards for (almost) every chapter – except 16, 19 & 20 (I just took notes in a notebook for these chapters). I didn’t just focus on definitions, I focused on the little detail & understanding as well. Making notecards was like studying to me, I really didn’t actually go through the notecards all that much until like 2 weeks before the exam.
- For the over/under active muscles – I read that understanding them is better than memorizing them. I had no idea what that meant… so I tried to figure it out, and after a few weeks it started to all make sense. Before I decided to use the “understanding” method, I just took one compensation at a time and rewrote them on paper every day. I am going to make a video on the “understanding” method this weekend to help everyone out.
- 6 days prior to the exam I took the first 4 days to review 5 chapters/day. The 2 days before the exam I just went over everything I didn’t know well.
- I downloaded the NASM CPT app. I used it here and there, but I don’t think it really helped me all that much.
- I took the practice exams a few times in the previous weeks before the tests, like 1x per week maybe.

So, looking back, I guess I did study a lot. But I completely over prepared myself for the exam. Better to be over prepared than under prepared, right? The night before the exam, I totally thought I wasn’t prepared. You will feel that way. Don’t worry though. I deff could have gotten away with studying a whole lot less, that’s for sure.
Stay tuned for my next post on what exactly I saw on the exam… as soon as I got home I went through the whole book and circled everything I saw. It will be a good post 

[kaytipieX]

I'm halfway through the Eteach course and extremely overwhelmed. in general i'm more of a learn by doing person which is why i try to bring all of this knowledge to the gym with me and study others as they exercise (sounds creepy i know) I'm having an incredibly hard time understanding, retaining, and comprehending a lot of whats in the text book. Any suggestions for someone like me who isn't much of a "text book learner"

Any suggestions on how to really comprehend and memorize the dreaded page 196; compensations, muscle imbalances, and corrective strategies chart

Does the exam focus heavily on the skeletal system?

[kaytipieX]

I am taking my exam next Wednesday! Were there a bunch of questions from chapters 2-4? I am going crazy trying to remember everything from the nervous system/skeletal system/heart etc...

wondering if I should focus more on big picture.

I'm on the exact same page its taking me forever to get through reading chapter 2 just because i feel like it's a lot to retain and focus on i haven't even gotten to 3 &4 yet ! Should we just focus on the vocabulary?

[drewkocak]

I'm on the exact same page its taking me forever to get through reading chapter 2 just because i feel like it's a lot to retain and focus on i haven't even gotten to 3 &4 yet ! Should we just focus on the vocabulary?

There's very little on those sections. I guess my suggestion would be to know the chambers of the heart, basic skeletal stuff, and maybe get to know the location of all the muscles.

It wasn't very heavy on that stuff. As to your question about pg 196, either learn it really well or memorize it. Either way will help you pass. I memorized the crap out of it. And just by memorizing it, I felt I understood it very well too. Took awhile, but was worth it for passing the exam. So my gameplan for that was just to suck it up and spend a couple hours memorizing it. If you have background knowledge on how most of those muscles work, it should also make sense to you after memorizing.

Kinda sucks to memorize the entire thing, but definitely worth it when it comes to passing.

I took the exam a little while back and a lot of pg 196 actually stuck in my mind.

[megsaunders]

I'm on the exact same page its taking me forever to get through reading chapter 2 just because i feel like it's a lot to retain and focus on i haven't even gotten to 3 &4 yet ! Should we just focus on the vocabulary?

So I just took my exam Wednesday, there was only ONE question on the heart - what do arterioles branch out into? Answer: capillaries.

Otherwise, I did not see one question from 2, 3, 4, or 5.

[megsaunders]

So, here are the topics I saw on my exam. After I passed, I went through the book and circled every topic I saw on the test.

**Remember, not all tests are the same. Just because it was or wasn’t on my exam, doesn’t mean it will be on yours too!

-Golgi tendon organ
-Excitation Contraction Coupling; AChE
-Muscles as movers
-Glucagon
-Cardiac Output/stroke volume
-Capillaries
-Arterioles
-Muscles Inspiration
-Glucose
-EPOC
-Length-tension relationship
-Force couple
-PAR-Q
-Beta-blockers
-Lots of questions about blood pressure**
-Heart rate/pulse
-Circumference measurements
-Distortion patterns (pronation, upper crossed, lower crossed)
-Kinetic chain checkpoints
-Shark skill test
-Bench press assessment
-Altered reciprocal inhibition
-Davies law
-SMR
-Active isolated stretching
-Over active/ under active muscles (table 7.6)
-Cardio cool down phase
-FITTE, READ
-Cardio zones
-Drawing in maneuver
-Proprioceptivey challenging environments (progressions/regressions)
-Goal of plyometric training
-Stride rate/stride length
-General adaption syndrome
-Periodization
-Resistance training systems
-Training frequency
-Acute variable for improving sports performance
-Spotting techniques
-TRX
-Training clients with health conditions – hypertensive, CHD, pregnancy
-RMR, TDEE
-Protein – amino acids/digestion/protein-sparing/negative side effects of high protein/protein intake
-Carb intake/properties of carbs
-Trans-fats
-Daily fat intake/properties of fats
- Water consumption after exercise
-Effects of dehydration
-Vitamins that people are likely to consume in excessive amounts
-Stages of change
- Initial session – 20 seconds to make good impression
-Reflecting
-Instrumental support
-SMART
-Commercial fitness facilities
- 4 P’s of marketing
-Tax records – keep them for 4 years – CODE OF CONDUCT

**Lots of questions on progressions/regressions of exercises – which exercise would be appropriate for “XXX,” and ACUTE VARIABLES. Focus mostly on resistance, but I was asked about plyo too.

[veronicasteele]

how much do you need to focus on special populations for the test? They have a table for each issue explaining many of the acute variables and special considerations...do u need to know the whole chart? Will they have questions about % of heart rate for exercise with an obese person

So far i've gotten the defitions down for each disease but haven't really done too much w/ related acute variables

You should go to StudySoup and use their study guides to help with the test. They have study guides and flashcards that have been made by people who have already taken the test, so it will help a lot by telling you exactly what you need to know.

[lindsaymbfit]

- I downloaded the NASM CPT app. I used it here and there, but I don’t think it really helped me all that much.


Which one specifically? I am showing a few different ones in the app store and don't want to waste my money on ones that aren't valuable! Thanks!

[SkinnyBeast24]

I have about 60 pages of notes in WORD after reading and highlighting every single chapter. Just going to study these 60 pages and I hope that will suffice to pass this test. I've memorized a bunch just from reading and then typing out what I just read on the important stuff but I hope I can see enough questions that will just click right away so I feel that after I go through the test I know I have passed.

Not sure what i'll do if I failed if I spent this much time on the dam book haha. Test is in march!

[drewkocak]

- I downloaded the NASM CPT app. I used it here and there, but I don’t think it really helped me all that much.


Which one specifically? I am showing a few different ones in the app store and don't want to waste my money on ones that aren't valuable! Thanks!

I used the one from Pocket Prep. Helped me out, but other people tend to think it didn't help them? Guess some people learn differently.

[megsaunders]

- I downloaded the NASM CPT app. I used it here and there, but I don’t think it really helped me all that much.


Which one specifically? I am showing a few different ones in the app store and don't want to waste my money on ones that aren't valuable! Thanks!

Its called NASM CPT - the app is blue with a white swirly thing in the middle lol, its the pocketprep one. I only used it a few times. Its good for review but none of the questions on my exam were on that app.

[veronicasteele]

If you're taking this exam again, I would recommend checking out StudySoup. They have notes and study guides that should make this exam a breeze next time. Hope that helps!

took the nasm practice exam for the first time and got a 77.5...i swear a few of those questions seemed like research, they didn't ring a bell at all

[GlassMoon]

Passed two Saturday's ago. Was pretty easy/10

[mazepam383]

Just passed about an hour ago, not that difficult. I studied for maybe 3 weeks. This poll was great in getting me to really understand what was on it. Really go through like the most recent 10 pages or so of this thread, some of the stuff people mentioned was directly on it, and it's stuff that I didn't even bother to study until hours before the exam.

[latverian41]

Overtrained is possible. Over prepared.no such thing

[Gstewart30]

Just started The Nasm eteach course a little worried a lot of information and so far I'm barely passing the quizzes, I had a personal trainer for 3 years and retain majority of the stuff she taught me any suggestions on how I can do better thanks in advance

[drewkocak]

Just started The Nasm eteach course a little worried a lot of information and so far I'm barely passing the quizzes, I had a personal trainer for 3 years and retain majority of the stuff she taught me any suggestions on how I can do better thanks in advance

These are the topics I found to be most thoroughly covered and therefore most important for passing. Also, just read through this thread and you'll find tons of info.

[heavenlyvixen]

Just downloaded Speed Anatomy and Speed Muscle...thanks for the tip

Here we go!


First off the main thing to remember when studying the NASM test is comprehension , not memorization, why MEMORIZE when you can comprehend sometimes faster.

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOU ARE READY?
The best way to know you are fully ready for the NASM exam is this simple test...study for one week , take notes on everything you can, draw diagrams, act out any movement and make mental notes then when you believe you are truly ready have someone quiz you on the questions at the end of every chapter, make sure you get atl east 90% of these correct, then take ONE practice exam and make sure you score at least a 90% on that as well. And if you miss a question , do NOT memorize the question , they will NOT be worded the same. COMPREHEND the material. If I get this question....


On the Pulling assesment what tempo should be used?

-4/2/1
-x/x/x
-2/0/2
/1/1/1

And I GUESS 4/2/1 because that sounds good, im WRONG, why? Because it is 2/02, so then the exam will say no it is 2/02 and you will say COOL ILL MEMORIZE THAT. No... go back and read the assessment section of the book especially involving pushing and pulling assessments , how else will you know you need to also do 20 reps at that 2/0/2 tempo?


It is little things like that , which you just COMPLETELY forget to study , and trust me it happens to all of us , maybe your girlfriend called you or something fell over and you overlooked that assessment. Which reminds me , study in a relaxing environment with very little distractions.


Another way to know you can ensure your ready is read the book again..( skip special populations if you want it only has 2 questions usually ) If you don't totally remember something make a note card of it. I did this and had 30 or so notecards , well that's 30 new things I learnt.

ACUTE VARIABLES
The acute variables is what i consider the hardest part, but at the same time the easiest. Learn the main variables for Stabilization,Strength and Power and you should know enough of this it wont kill you, otherwise your going to have to learn all 5 phase adpations, core training, power training adaptions ect. I learned all of them but all I needed was the core 3 and common sense wuch as this question....

In stage 3 hypertrophy training How many repetitions are performed?

1-5
2-6
8-12
12-16

Well common sense says hypertrophy(phase 3) is part of the strength "block" and from a little weightlifting experience you should remember 8-12




THE DREADED PAGE 169

If you read around 80% of people say MEMORIZE 169, well I say don't. I probably have looked at page 169 less then 10 minutes but can still tell you the entire chart. How? I learned functional anatomy, yes functional anatomy,,pages 68-86 that no one ever reads because its too much information. and I agree it is too much information, becuase it repeats itself over and over and over....This is how I learnt those pages and therefore fully understood overactive and under active muscles with no memorization.

First all you need to know is each muscles isolated function and whats even better is you can GROUP THEM..this basically gets all those pages.Allso remember to walk all these out so it will stick much faster, you can learn them in 2-3 days.

---------------------------------------------------------
Hamstring group -Accelerates knee flexion and hip extension..( Grouped them all together instead of learning every little muscle)


Quadricep Group-Knee Extension and Hip Flexion( grouped them as well)

Gluteus Maximus -hip extension and external rotation

Latissimus Dorsi-Shoulder extension, abduction and internal rotation

Rhomboids-Scapular retraction and downward rotation.

Biceps Brachi-Elbow flexion , shoulder flexion and supination of radioulnar joint

Triceps-Elbow and shoulder extension

Serratus Anterior- Scapular Protraction

Solues and Gastrocnemius-Plantarflexion

Rectus Abdominis- Spinal flexion, lateral flexion and rotation



------------------------------------------------------------

FREE QUESTIONS

These questions are on 70% of tests.


What is the inner most layer of muscle?
ANWSER Endomysium


How much water is recommended per day?
ANWSER :96 ounces, 3 quarts or 8-12 cups.

How many calories are in 1 gram of protein/carbohydrate/fat?
4/4/9

A person who's pants are higher in the back than in the front displays?
Anterior Pellvic tilt

When taking the pulse the diastolic pulse is heard when?
It begins to fade.

Remember people react to you based on 55% physiology , 38% tone of voice and 7% words.



COOL APPLICATIONS FOR YOUR PHONE
-----------------------------------------------
Speed Anatomy- its free and will teach you anatomy very fast since you have fun the whole time.


NASM - its available in the android market and has questions right of the exam. I went overboard with this to where I could take all 400 questions and make a 95%+....dont study it that hard , I dont even recommend taking tests on it use its study mode , it will ask you and then EXPLAIN 400 questions , which is invaluable.

[kaytipieX]

I finished the eteach course and passed the final practice exam with a 91% (now I'm entitled to the eteach guarantee!) but if anyone else took the eteach course you'll notice that there is the practice test which you are required to take as part of your grade with the eteach program then there is another practice exam under the "learning center" that's titles "cpt 3 hour exam prep" the two exams are so entirely different. the cpm 3 hour exam prep is much much harder ! which one is everyone using to study? has anyone who took this exam used the exam prep to study? wee the actual questions similar? Did the real exam have hypothetical problem solving questions like "During a pulling assessment, Seamus was asked to stand with his abdomen drawn inward, feet shoulders-width apart, and toes pointing forward. Each time he pulled, his head would protrude forward to compensate. In this case, which of the following is a probable underactive muscle?"

Thanks for your help!

[kaytipieX]

i just took the exam and failed by ONE POINT!!! i know a lot of you are saying they don't give you a score, just "pass" or "fail" but my paper actually says 69 and it even shows the % correct for each section of the test.


a lot of questions on agonist, antagonist, and synergist muscles force couple relationship muscles, overactive, under active muscle compensations as well as the stretches that go along with them
golgi tendon organ
nutrition / supplements
i remember they asked the statistics of americans with clinical depression (1 in 4??)
a few questions about the heart & lungs
quite a few on non directive and open ended questions
stages of change
SMART goal


I'm retaking it tomorrow morning since its fresh in my head right now! whatever else i remember from the test i'll post tomorrow!
Wish me luck!!

[drewkocak]

which one is everyone using to study?
I used the shorter one, didn't know there was a 3 hour version at all actually.

has anyone who took this exam used the exam prep to study?
not myself

Did the real exam have hypothetical problem solving questions like "During a pulling assessment, Seamus was asked to stand with his abdomen drawn inward, feet shoulders-width apart, and toes pointing forward. Each time he pulled, his head would protrude forward to compensate. In this case, which of the following is a probable underactive muscle?
Yupp, that is exactly like the exam I took. If you memorized 196 like everyone suggests, this would be an easy problem!

i just took the exam and failed by ONE POINT!!! i know a lot of you are saying they don't give you a score, just "pass" or "fail" but my paper actually says 69 and it even shows the % correct for each section of the test.


a lot of questions on agonist, antagonist, and synergist muscles force couple relationship muscles, overactive, under active muscle compensations as well as the stretches that go along with them
golgi tendon organ
nutrition / supplements
i remember they asked the statistics of americans with clinical depression (1 in 4??)
a few questions about the heart & lungs
quite a few on non directive and open ended questions
stages of change
SMART goal


I'm retaking it tomorrow morning since its fresh in my head right now! whatever else i remember from the test i'll post tomorrow!
Wish me luck!!

Sorry nobody responded sooner. Interesting that you got so much feedback on your scoring! I sure didn't. Your first point about overactive and underactive muscles, all that info is pretty much on page 196. MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THAT PAGE FRONT TO BACK. Literally memorize it. SMART goals are definitely on there as well. I wish you luck on your exam, I can't say too much about what else was on there as it's not fresh in my memory. You'd know better. Watch the video I made talking about the most covered topics if you need more on what to focus on. I made that immediately after passing.

Just once more for good measure: MEMORIZE PAGE 196.

[CharlieAmerica]

Passed today because of thread. Thank you.

How I remembered essential amino acids: starts with I, L, M, T, or V, Phenylalanine, and not Tyrosine.(tyrosine=8 letters + 8 EAA=illuminati)

know all the trivial information, UNDERSTAND the exercises, UNDERSTAND PAGE 196, UNDERSTAND everything related to OPT model.

read the posts from drewkocak, mandyhend and the creator of this ALMIGHTY THREAD, bradster.

MEMORIZE, KNOW, UNDERSTAND page 196

good luck

[Kiaroxilante]

Hi,

I've been contemplating studying for the NASM CPT cert and before investing in the course, I've been studying the material beforehand to give myself a leg up and make sure this is something that still interests me (so far it does).

I was looking up the Overhead Squat Solutions table and I found two different versions - one for the CES and another for the CPT/PES. I'm assuming obviously I'd want to study the CPT/PES version, but I'm baffled as to why there are two different versions...what are the differences?

They both appear pretty similar, minus small things. For instance, on the CES - the foot turning out: probable overactive muscles include the soleus, lat. gastrocnemius, bicep femoris and tensor fascia latae. But on the CPT/PES overactive muscles include everything except the tensor fascia latae. Underactive muscles on the CES include med. gastrocnemius, med. hamstring, gluteus medius/maximus, gracilis and popliteus...but on the CPT/PES it includes all of those minus the gluteus medius/maximus and includes the Sartorius while the CES does NOT include the Sartorius.

Can anybody help me understand why they are different? And if I intend on obtaining the CES at some point, should I just study both? Naturally I'd study the CPT/PES first so as not to get the two confused for the test.

Thanks in advance.

[Smarino2592]

How do people spend two months studying and then take the exam? That's impressive. I think I'm bad at retaining info so I took one pass through the book just taking notes, and I'm doing another pass while making my own flash cards and memorizing one muscle from the appendix per day. I'm not even aiming to take the exam for another six months or so. I like to feel very confident with the material.