Just passed my NASM CPT exam!

[VenusVegas]

Thank GOD that is over...I was so nervous, but it actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

Feel free to pick my brain while it's still fresh on my brain. (although I have already had a couple of celebratory glasses of wine).

[NYkarate]

Congrats.

[discdoggie]

Thank GOD that is over...I was so nervous, but it actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

Feel free to pick my brain while it's still fresh on my brain. (although I have already had a couple of celebratory glasses of wine).

Congrats.

[Dsharpbb09]

Thank GOD that is over...I was so nervous, but it actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

Feel free to pick my brain while it's still fresh on my brain. (although I have already had a couple of celebratory glasses of wine).

grats, what materials did you use to study?

[VenusVegas]

Thanks everyone! I primarily just used the textbook and the tools on the NASM website. The DVD's seemed to put me to sleep, so I didn't use those much.

[Bradster101190]

Great job!

[jmar4eva]

how much time did you actually spend studying? like months? every night?, its hard to find time to study a lot but i do not want to go into it unprepared, were the exercise questions pretty self explanatory?

[KimberlyLois]

Thank GOD that is over...I was so nervous, but it actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

Feel free to pick my brain while it's still fresh on my brain. (although I have already had a couple of celebratory glasses of wine).

nice job girl! I'm taking mine july 9th. Glad i'm not the only one feeling nervous!

Again, congratulations!

[intrusionzero]

how long did it take you to fully prepare for the exam? How detailed were the questions? What study materials were the most effective and how many times did you read through the book?

[cgcgraded]

Congrats!
I'm planning on purchasing my package today, but I keep putting it off because I'm pretty intimidated lol.

[VenusVegas]

Thanks everyone!

As far as studying goes, I spent a good solid 5 months studying every night for about an hour. I used the text book, my flashcards that I made along the way, and the study tools on the NASM website (i.e. the practice exam, domain specific quiz walk thru's). I was rather intimidated too, because I didn't know what exactly to focus on. I did memorize page 169 and knew it like the back of my hand, and that did help for the exam.

Here's my test experience:

• KNOW YOUR VOCABULARY! Especially from chapter 5 & 6.
• CHAPTER 5 IS VERY IMPORTANT! Lots of questions about the assessments. i.e. Tempo for pulling assessment, how much weight to add after the warm-up on the upper extremity assessment, where are the skin fold caliper measurements taken...
• KNOW THE EXERCISES! I had a lot of questions about the exercises shown in the book. You need to know what kind they are (core, balance, resistance, reactive), what level they are (Stabilization, Strength, etc.) and how to regress and progress them.
• Don't focus too much on Special Populations...I had maybe one question about youth clients, but the answer was obvious.
• The nutrition questions were pretty simple. Know the daily intake requirements for fat, carbs and protein, and how many calories per one gram they each yield. Know about amino acids...
• Know any acronyms: READ, SCAMPI, F.I.T.T.E, SAID Principle...
• Take your time to read the questions on the exam...they can be tricky! For example:

Rather than just asking what foam roll technique you would have someone do for their feet turning out during an overhead squat assessment, they put it more like this:

During an overhead squat assessment, the client shows the compensation of their feet turning out. What would you incorporate into their flexibility routine to correct this problem?

It then gives you various answer choices, which, you will need to know that foam rolling would be the flexibility technique and that you are foam rolling the overactive muscles, therefore; Soleus, Lateral Gastrocnemius & Biceps Femoris. Then, you would choose the answer listing one of those three being foam rolled.

All in all, I didn't kill myself studying...just a little every night, and the test ended up being a lot easier than I thought. If I absolutely did not know the answer on the exam, I tagged it and went to the next one. I checked at the half-way point, and had only tagged about 10, so I felt pretty good at that point. By the end, I had checked about 21, so I was pretty certain that I had passed. There were several questions that used terms that I didn't remember reading in the book, so I feel like those were some of the research questions.

What helped me, was talking about what I was learning during the course of my husband's or my own exercise routines. Getting family and friends to let you practice assessments and incorporate the different levels of the OPT model into their routines was also helpful. I'm a hands on person, so I learn things better if I'm actually DOING it, rather than just reading it.

Good luck to everyone taking the exam!! Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help!

[teamgenetics]

thank you for the read

[jmar4eva]

That is very helpful thankyou!

[Sauce-head]

Thanks everyone!

As far as studying goes, I spent a good solid 5 months studying every night for about an hour. I used the text book, my flashcards that I made along the way, and the study tools on the NASM website (i.e. the practice exam, domain specific quiz walk thru's). I was rather intimidated too, because I didn't know what exactly to focus on. I did memorize page 169 and knew it like the back of my hand, and that did help for the exam.

Here's my test experience:

• KNOW YOUR VOCABULARY! Especially from chapter 5 & 6.
• CHAPTER 5 IS VERY IMPORTANT! Lots of questions about the assessments. i.e. Tempo for pulling assessment, how much weight to add after the warm-up on the upper extremity assessment, where are the skin fold caliper measurements taken...
• KNOW THE EXERCISES! I had a lot of questions about the exercises shown in the book. You need to know what kind they are (core, balance, resistance, reactive), what level they are (Stabilization, Strength, etc.) and how to regress and progress them.
• Don't focus too much on Special Populations...I had maybe one question about youth clients, but the answer was obvious.
• The nutrition questions were pretty simple. Know the daily intake requirements for fat, carbs and protein, and how many calories per one gram they each yield. Know about amino acids...
• Know any acronyms: READ, SCAMPI, F.I.T.T.E, SAID Principle...
• Take your time to read the questions on the exam...they can be tricky! For example:

Rather than just asking what foam roll technique you would have someone do for their feet turning out during an overhead squat assessment, they put it more like this:

During an overhead squat assessment, the client shows the compensation of their feet turning out. What would you incorporate into their flexibility routine to correct this problem?

It then gives you various answer choices, which, you will need to know that foam rolling would be the flexibility technique and that you are foam rolling the overactive muscles, therefore; Soleus, Lateral Gastrocnemius & Biceps Femoris. Then, you would choose the answer listing one of those three being foam rolled.

All in all, I didn't kill myself studying...just a little every night, and the test ended up being a lot easier than I thought. If I absolutely did not know the answer on the exam, I tagged it and went to the next one. I checked at the half-way point, and had only tagged about 10, so I felt pretty good at that point. By the end, I had checked about 21, so I was pretty certain that I had passed. There were several questions that used terms that I didn't remember reading in the book, so I feel like those were some of the research questions.

What helped me, was talking about what I was learning during the course of my husband's or my own exercise routines. Getting family and friends to let you practice assessments and incorporate the different levels of the OPT model into their routines was also helpful. I'm a hands on person, so I learn things better if I'm actually DOING it, rather than just reading it.

Good luck to everyone taking the exam!! Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help!

First off congrats! Its a pretty great feeling eh?

Secondly, this is an excellent post, everything you said is spot on.


Good luck!



SH

[brad2435]

First off congrats! Its a pretty great feeling eh?

Secondly, this is an excellent post, everything you said is spot on.


Good luck!



SH

congrats you guys. Good to see more nasm trainiers out there!! Nothing compares to nasm and the knowlege you get outdoes any other cert out there. One a master nasm trainer you will feel like the smartest guy around haha

[Bradster101190]

Thanks everyone!

As far as studying goes, I spent a good solid 5 months studying every night for about an hour. I used the text book, my flashcards that I made along the way, and the study tools on the NASM website (i.e. the practice exam, domain specific quiz walk thru's). I was rather intimidated too, because I didn't know what exactly to focus on. I did memorize page 169 and knew it like the back of my hand, and that did help for the exam.

Here's my test experience:

• KNOW YOUR VOCABULARY! Especially from chapter 5 & 6.
• CHAPTER 5 IS VERY IMPORTANT! Lots of questions about the assessments. i.e. Tempo for pulling assessment, how much weight to add after the warm-up on the upper extremity assessment, where are the skin fold caliper measurements taken...
• KNOW THE EXERCISES! I had a lot of questions about the exercises shown in the book. You need to know what kind they are (core, balance, resistance, reactive), what level they are (Stabilization, Strength, etc.) and how to regress and progress them.
• Don't focus too much on Special Populations...I had maybe one question about youth clients, but the answer was obvious.
• The nutrition questions were pretty simple. Know the daily intake requirements for fat, carbs and protein, and how many calories per one gram they each yield. Know about amino acids...
• Know any acronyms: READ, SCAMPI, F.I.T.T.E, SAID Principle...
• Take your time to read the questions on the exam...they can be tricky! For example:

Rather than just asking what foam roll technique you would have someone do for their feet turning out during an overhead squat assessment, they put it more like this:

During an overhead squat assessment, the client shows the compensation of their feet turning out. What would you incorporate into their flexibility routine to correct this problem?

It then gives you various answer choices, which, you will need to know that foam rolling would be the flexibility technique and that you are foam rolling the overactive muscles, therefore; Soleus, Lateral Gastrocnemius & Biceps Femoris. Then, you would choose the answer listing one of those three being foam rolled.

All in all, I didn't kill myself studying...just a little every night, and the test ended up being a lot easier than I thought. If I absolutely did not know the answer on the exam, I tagged it and went to the next one. I checked at the half-way point, and had only tagged about 10, so I felt pretty good at that point. By the end, I had checked about 21, so I was pretty certain that I had passed. There were several questions that used terms that I didn't remember reading in the book, so I feel like those were some of the research questions.

What helped me, was talking about what I was learning during the course of my husband's or my own exercise routines. Getting family and friends to let you practice assessments and incorporate the different levels of the OPT model into their routines was also helpful. I'm a hands on person, so I learn things better if I'm actually DOING it, rather than just reading it.

Good luck to everyone taking the exam!! Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help!

Excellent post , I think we should post all our helpful posts in one thread to keep it going and really help people. I have a thread on how to be overprepared for the NASM up now , could you put that post there or I can quote it and put it in the first post and link to your profile .

Thanks,
Brad

[VenusVegas]

First off congrats! Its a pretty great feeling eh?

Secondly, this is an excellent post, everything you said is spot on.


Good luck!



SH

A great feeling indeed! The proctor probably thought I was crazy...I jumped up and down a couple of times, but it was just such a relief!

[VenusVegas]

Excellent post , I think we should post all our helpful posts in one thread to keep it going and really help people. I have a thread on how to be overprepared for the NASM up now , could you put that post there or I can quote it and put it in the first post and link to your profile .

Thanks,
Brad

I'm with you, Brad...the more we can help others out, the better. Feel free to post it wherever you like.

[Bradster101190]

Thank you very much! I'm sure your going to be a great trainer with a attitude like that.

[Sauce-head]

A great feeling indeed! The proctor probably thought I was crazy...I jumped up and down a couple of times, but it was just such a relief!

Must be a girl thing! haha

My test experience was pretty damn similar to yours. I breezed through the test, flagged about 25 questions or so, the majority of which were research questions.

When I came back to them, I realized that I didn't read some of them carefully and then the answer stuck out easily.

So that's def a money tip, read the question carefully and be aware of the way things are worded. I don't want to say they try to trick you, but they are def testing to make sure you understand the material, which is a good thing.

With all that said, big ups to you. Passing the test is a big accomplishment, shows that your serious, dedicated and on your way to good things.





SH

[flyingfury18]

Congratulations! I see your from College Station also, may have to try a session sometime.

[VenusVegas]

Must be a girl thing! haha

My test experience was pretty damn similar to yours. I breezed through the test, flagged about 25 questions or so, the majority of which were research questions.

When I came back to them, I realized that I didn't read some of them carefully and then the answer stuck out easily.

So that's def a money tip, read the question carefully and be aware of the way things are worded. I don't want to say they try to trick you, but they are def testing to make sure you understand the material, which is a good thing.

With all that said, big ups to you. Passing the test is a big accomplishment, shows that your serious, dedicated and on your way to good things.





SH

Haha, you mean you didn't jump up and down and squeal too?!

Thanks for the kind words! I know to some people it's probably not a big deal, but being stuck in a job that I hate, and being out of school for so long, it was more like a personal test of strength for me. Setting my mind to do something, then actually doing it. It gets me one step closer to getting out of the 8-5 grind (and out of the damn office chair) and also proving that I still have some snap, haha!

[VenusVegas]

Congratulations! I see your from College Station also, may have to try a session sometime.

I was beginning to wonder if there was anyone else from College Station on here! Aggie?

[flyingfury18]

Nah. I Just grew up around here. Like the area so decided to stay.

[AceHigh03]

[VenusVegas]

Nah. I Just grew up around here. Like the area so decided to stay.

Whew, ok...thought I was going to have to make some Aggie jokes. I'm not one either!

[flyingfury18]

Lol I was almost one but went to Navy instead. Hope I'm still exempt from the jokes lol. Where are you gonna train at?

[VenusVegas]

Lol I was almost one but went to Navy instead. Hope I'm still exempt from the jokes lol. Where are you gonna train at?

I think Navy was a better choice. That makes you exempt from all Aggie jokes.
I really don't want to train at a gym. I want to focus more on weight loss, and the people that REALLY need to lose weight are typically intimidated of the gym (the people I've had experience with at least). I'm working with a couple of people right now, just showing them what they can do at home and local parks/tracks. I've also got a pretty nice home gym started that I've contemplated using if necessary. If I had to choose one though, I would probably try The Dome. Out of the ones I've worked out at, I liked that one the most.

[AnthonyBishop]

Congrats Venus!

I'm going to be taking the exam in about a month. If you could estimate a % of how many questions contained muscle names what would it be?

Are there certain muscles that you can recall that I should definitely know?

[VenusVegas]

Congrats Venus!

I'm going to be taking the exam in about a month. If you could estimate a % of how many questions contained muscle names what would it be?

Are there certain muscles that you can recall that I should definitely know?

Thank you! Good luck to you on your exam!

I had quite a few questions on muscles...if I had to take a guess, I would say about 25% of it had something to do with them. If I were you, I would know ALL of the overactive/underactive muscles during an overhead squat assessment & push/pull assessments. I think I had one question on "muscles as movers"...what is the agonist during hip extension, which would be gluteus maximus.

I can't stress enough to know chapters 5 & 6. About half or more of my exam had questions from them. Also, if there is a picture of an exercise, know it! Know what it is (core, balance, resistance, etc). Know what level it is (stabilization, strength, power). Know how to regress & progress it. You will see a lot of those kind of questions on there too.

There's a great thread that has been put together by a fellow NASM CPT that has a lot of useful information that you should check out: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=135250931

Again...good luck!