How To Be overprepared for the NASM

[DubblVision]

Just passed my NASM certification exam this morning! Thank you all for the valuable information within this thread... it was immensely helpful!!

[Ian_Squire]

Just passed the exam a few hours ago. It was actually much easier than I thought and I have no background in exercise science (BA in psychology). I actually found the flashcards on the nasm site to be really helpful. I went through them all and checked that I answered each one incorrectly. Then I copy/pasted all of the missed questions and answers from the left pane into word documents for each section. I also read the book twice. There were really only a couple, IF ANY questions that could be considered trick questions. It was really pretty cut and dry material. I was surprised to see no questions about the chambers of the heart and only a couple dealing with short and lengthened muscles during assessments. I was also surprised to see several questions from the last two chapters dealing with professional development. I did not use the upward mobility app. I attribute my success to just reading the book thoroughly. This thread helped too.

[stevebanzai]

Can someone give me a link or suggestions that better explain overactive/underactive muscles? I understand about 80%, i would like to be 100% confident on them. Also, weak or shortened, any terms the test may use. Thanks.

[stevebanzai]

bump

[DubblVision]

Can someone give me a link or suggestions that better explain overactive/underactive muscles? I understand about 80%, i would like to be 100% confident on them. Also, weak or shortened, any terms the test may use. Thanks.

Honestly, this is the best way to look at it. To understand overactive/underactive muscles and compensations, you need to understand isolated muscle functions. What worked for me was, once I was able to identify each muscle and its function, I would then physically do whatever action the question is asking myself (i.e. turn my feet outward or arch my back) and I could feel which muscles were being overactive (over used, shortened, etc.) and which were underactive. That was the way I gained a basic understanding of the concept. Also, if you look at the list, you will notice that certain muscle will ONLY be underactive (or overactive), like the Latissumus Dorsi. When you do the assessments to yourself and mimic the compensations, you will feel which muscles you have to activate in order to make these compensations. Then, make sure you know what stretches are appropriate for correction.

Hope that helped.

Also, google "NASM overactive underactive muscles" and take a look at the online flash cards and quizzes. Sorry, I can't post any links.

[Bradster101190]

LOL you are right, Bradster - there is ALWAYS more to learn! I am thinking about taking the CES but first I think I want to get a job as a trainer or at least be working at a gym before I take the course. I saw a job in the paper for a physical therapy aid and only requirement was an interest in health and wellness. I can see where the CES would really help me!

Awesome! The CES is definitely useful in physical therapy situations. I know a few friends who own gyms and they went to their local PT offices and explained their CES and now the local PT offices recommend their patients directly to them

Did anyone use the flash cards from the website? If so did they seem to cover things that were relevant to the test or did they seem to only cover a small part of what you needed to know

I think they are very useful( they cover a broad range , but I prefer making my own and the upward mobility app.

Just passed my NASM certification exam this morning! Thank you all for the valuable information within this thread... it was immensely helpful!!

Congratulations !

Just passed the exam a few hours ago. It was actually much easier than I thought and I have no background in exercise science (BA in psychology). I actually found the flashcards on the nasm site to be really helpful. I went through them all and checked that I answered each one incorrectly. Then I copy/pasted all of the missed questions and answers from the left pane into word documents for each section. I also read the book twice. There were really only a couple, IF ANY questions that could be considered trick questions. It was really pretty cut and dry material. I was surprised to see no questions about the chambers of the heart and only a couple dealing with short and lengthened muscles during assessments. I was also surprised to see several questions from the last two chapters dealing with professional development. I did not use the upward mobility app. I attribute my success to just reading the book thoroughly. This thread helped too.

Congratulations!

Honestly, this is the best way to look at it. To understand overactive/underactive muscles and compensations, you need to understand isolated muscle functions. What worked for me was, once I was able to identify each muscle and its function, I would then physically do whatever action the question is asking myself (i.e. turn my feet outward or arch my back) and I could feel which muscles were being overactive (over used, shortened, etc.) and which were underactive. That was the way I gained a basic understanding of the concept. Also, if you look at the list, you will notice that certain muscle will ONLY be underactive (or overactive), like the Latissumus Dorsi. When you do the assessments to yourself and mimic the compensations, you will feel which muscles you have to activate in order to make these compensations. Then, make sure you know what stretches are appropriate for correction.

Hope that helped.

Also, google "NASM overactive underactive muscles" and take a look at the online flash cards and quizzes. Sorry, I can't post any links.

Great answer to his question, thank you!

[California7]

Bradster,

I just joined the site to thank you for this thread. I passed my NASM exam yesterday on my first try, and without this awesome thread I don't know if I would have. I only gave myself 7 weeks to study, and the closer the test got, the more freaked out I got. Your tips about grouping the isolated functions was a huge help, also the tip about the weird wording on the test. I think that NASM is hip to this thread as well, because none of the Free Questions you gave are on the test anymore O,o.

Anyhow, much obliged my friend. You saved my ass~

[jimmyk21]

Are there any guides like this for the CES? Went back a few pages and didn't see anything.

[Bradster101190]

Are there any guides like this for the CES? Went back a few pages and didn't see anything.

Unfortunately not at this time, I will add tips for the PES,CES and FNS when I get time. The general study tips are the same and my biggest tip at the moment for those is the book is available online and that way you can search anything by typing a few words. This makes the open book testing style easier, but be warned they are all about comprehension over raw facts. which is why having a open searchable book is understandable...but it is still 10x easier than using your physical book during the exams.

P.S Each physical book comes with a free digital counterpart.

Bradster,

I just joined the site to thank you for this thread. I passed my NASM exam yesterday on my first try, and without this awesome thread I don't know if I would have. I only gave myself 7 weeks to study, and the closer the test got, the more freaked out I got. Your tips about grouping the isolated functions was a huge help, also the tip about the weird wording on the test. I think that NASM is hip to this thread as well, because none of the Free Questions you gave are on the test anymore O,o.

Anyhow, much obliged my friend. You saved my ass~

Thank you very much for the kind words and congratulations.

[visys]

[QUOTE=Bradster101190;1203363101]Unfortunately not at this time, I will add tips for the PES,CES and FNS when I get time. The general study tips are the same and my biggest tip at the moment for those is the book is available online and that way you can search anything by typing a few words. This makes the open book testing style easier, but be warned they are all about comprehension over raw facts. which is why having a open searchable book is understandable...but it is still 10x easier than using your physical book during the exams.
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Nasm doesn't offer an online book for CES. Only the hard book. Think they knew people were doing the search and find. With CES make sure you know the concentric, eccentric and isometric function of each muscle since 30-40% of the questions are based on muscle functions

[Bradster101190]

[QUOTE=visys;1203683501]

Unfortunately not at this time, I will add tips for the PES,CES and FNS when I get time. The general study tips are the same and my biggest tip at the moment for those is the book is available online and that way you can search anything by typing a few words. This makes the open book testing style easier, but be warned they are all about comprehension over raw facts. which is why having a open searchable book is understandable...but it is still 10x easier than using your physical book during the exams.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Nasm doesn't offer an online book for CES. Only the hard book. Think they knew people were doing the search and find. With CES make sure you know the concentric, eccentric and isometric function of each muscle since 30-40% of the questions are based on muscle functions

Thanks for the update , they definitely changed it around then( and likely the PES.as well). When I got my CES and PES I received a digital copy from the front few pages as a code . Also the questions at that time were mostly comprehensive, the book probably helped me 5 times maximum even being able to search any specific "question". The FNS is online only so I wonder if they are going to update it , I wish I received a hardcover textbook for my shelf.

[bodyforgolf]

just saw this, seems like a good idea to study like. Been trying to improve my studying so I can effectively accomplish this in a good time period. My notes have been getting way too long after the first chapter so trying this now.

[mma_fiend]

Taking my exam on 2/22...this thread has been really helpful!! Will report back after I pass...BOOM!!....Believe it, See it.....ACHIEVE IT.

[Errah]

Anyone use the med preps app? Is the information accurate? I have the upward mobility app already. Also how important are the equations in the cardio sections to memorize?

[Bradster101190]

Anyone use the med preps app? Is the information accurate? I have the upward mobility app already. Also how important are the equations in the cardio sections to memorize?

i never used it, but when you can set upward mobility to 100 random questions and pass you are getting close . v02 max and target heart rate zones is on some versions of the test.

Taking my exam on 2/22...this thread has been really helpful!! Will report back after I pass...BOOM!!....Believe it, See it.....ACHIEVE IT.

Goodluck!

just saw this, seems like a good idea to study like. Been trying to improve my studying so I can effectively accomplish this in a good time period. My notes have been getting way too long after the first chapter so trying this now.

Thanks for sharing.

[mma_fiend]

Taking my exam on 2/22...this thread has been really helpful!! Will report back after I pass...BOOM!!....Believe it, See it.....ACHIEVE IT.

Happy 2 report I passed!! Thanks to all and this thread!! #payitforward

[Joydle]

Good afternoon! I recently started studying for the NASM, and found this thread when looking for study tips. It's all a bit overwhelming at this point, but I've always been great at self-study, so I'm not *too* worried. heh.

My first question is--do I need to memorize any of the statistics from the first chapter regarding the population's obesity, lack of exercise, disease, or anything? The quiz had some very specific questions, so I didn't know if that chapter needs to just be rote memorization.

I'm through chapter 5 so far, and am going back over all of them again to make more concise, organized notes and flashcards before moving into the next section.

[BlackJack619]

I have powerpoints for every chapter if anyone is interested....
I went to NPTI, and received these power points....
I never started a GMAIL share folder before so you may have to send me your email to get access, I have no clue to be honest, but I thought I would share these resources
Just E-mail TrainingDeHart@gmail.com

[flev86]

Signed up for this site to let you guys know I passed the exam yesterday! Still a little in shock. I bought the self-study program in September but with school and all I didn't have time to study and had to wait until winter break which gave me just about 2 months. I realized last Saturday that this was my last week to take the exam and started freaking out because I did not feel like I was as prepared as I would like to be. I discovered this forum on Monday, downloaded the Upward Mobility app (which was amazing) and it all worked out great. Now to go find a job...

[BlackJack619]

I have powerpoints for every chapter if anyone is interested....
I went to NPTI, and received these power points....
I never started a GMAIL share folder before so you may have to send me your email to get access, I have no clue to be honest, but I thought I would share these resources
Just E-mail TrainingDeHart@gmail.com

I am also uploading power points for CES

[Joydle]

I have powerpoints for every chapter if anyone is interested....
I went to NPTI, and received these power points....
I never started a GMAIL share folder before so you may have to send me your email to get access, I have no clue to be honest, but I thought I would share these resources
Just E-mail TrainingDeHart@gmail.com

Are they power points from the 4th edition? I would be interested in seeing them if they are! Thanks!

[BlackJack619]

Are they power points from the 4th edition? I would be interested in seeing them if they are! Thanks!

yeah e-mail me

[rollinsband2002]

scheduled to take the test in a couple of weeks...wondering is the actual exam set up like the online practice test? When you click on the answer does it immediately show whether it was correct (like it does on the practice exam) or do you have to complete the whole test to find out how you did?

[BlackJack619]

JUST PASSED!!!! I am so excited and relieved!!! I did find the test a little challenges, and to be honest when I was finished with the test I was unsure if I passed or not.....

[mike2k14]

I haven't taken my NASM

[yisuk]

Guys i passed the NASM exam took me approximately 2 days of full studying its very easy dont be discouraged.. the 4 things you need is the practice exam 1 exam B,C and the upward mobility app.. honestly you dont need the book because they pull very very identical questions from these 4 things. Um the other thing is on this forum page i went to post like around 2013 till the present day page and wrote down all the questions and answers people got on the exam as well. Believe me those on the exam and boosted my chances of passing. Dont over stress yourself its not that difficult and plus all you need is the cheapest package. Btw didnt bother looking at one single video or rely on flashcards as they are very time consuming

[Errah]

I'm having a really hard time understanding the VO2 reserve method anyone have a good resource or an easy way to understand it for some reason it's not clicking for me. Also my test is dated for the 22nd thanks so much for your all of your help especially you bradster

[MatthewxEric]

Hey guys, I have my test coming up in 2 weeks, and I was wondering if you needed to know the isolated functions of all the muscles in the book, or just the ones that are seen in table 7.6 ( compensations, muscle imbalances, and corrective strategies)? Like did you see any muscle on the test that werent in that table?

[ldimicco]

I have spent the past couple of weeks reading through this thread and want to thank everyone for all of the helpful information and insight. As a mom of 2 young kids, I was worried about the 6 month timeframe, so I bought a 3rd edition online to begin studying. That being said, can this test be passed using the 3rd edition (I know some info is lacking)? Is there someplace I can reference the material that is not included in the old edition? Thanks so much!

[rollinsband2002]

Just passed the test! All the questions were from the book and practice exam. My recommendation is to study the book word for word....There were a lot of "close" answers to choose from and you have to look carefully at the wording. Had a lot of questions from Chapter 6, but they weren't the questions I was expecting. Also a lot of questions on professionalism/ethics and special populations. Only one or two on the skeletal/cardiovascular system. Was disappointed in the test, though...a lot of the items I thought were really important weren't even on it (i.e., cardiorespiratory, etc). IMO the test focused more on what you can remember from the book instead of practical application, which was a disappointment, but this was just one version of the test.