How To Be overprepared for the NASM

[GoodTimes777]

So my exam is coming up soon and I have a few questions. I have the 5th edition of the NASM book, what pages/chapters specifically cover the overactive/underactive muscles? Also what's the best way that you guys think to really learn them?

Also chapter 15 exercises seem like impossible to memorize. Any tips? I noticed a bunch of exercise stuff on the practice exam

[savvyrenee]

I had the same issue! I contacted NASM and they said go by the info in the textbook ("The exam is written by the NCCA or the company that accredits NASM through a rigorous process. The NCCA organization writes the certifying exam directly from the textbook." is what they wrote to me) and that they will correct the answer in the program (which I guess they didn't do). I'm assuming the actual exam isn't through the program and will HOPEFULLY not have stupid mistakes like the online quizzes have. I've found more than one mistake and multiple spelling errors.

That makes sense. Also explains why the exam felt a lot different than the practice exams.

[savvyrenee]

So my exam is coming up soon and I have a few questions. I have the 5th edition of the NASM book, what pages/chapters specifically cover the overactive/underactive muscles? Also what's the best way that you guys think to really learn them?

Also chapter 15 exercises seem like impossible to memorize. Any tips? I noticed a bunch of exercise stuff on the practice exam

I have the 6th edition so I'm not sure if the pages all run the same, but in my book those charts can be found in both the Assessment and Flexibility chapters. I just took my test on Monday and have some notes on this which I will provide below.

I passed my exam on Monday and I have to say, I wasn't sure I would. For a reference point, I have 19 or 20 out of 20 on every chapter quiz, an 86 on the pre study guide exam, and then a 93, 96, and 98 on the practice exams, respectively. Taking the practice exams, I would mark any question I wasn't absolutely positive on to review at the end. By the third practice exam (the night before the actual exam) I was down to a small handful of marked questions. During the actual exam... a quarter of the way through the test I had already marked more than I felt comfortable with. This was probably partially accountable to exam jitters, but I would agree with some of the posts that claim the exam felt very different than the practice exams. Not all the questions, but certainly enough to throw you off a bit. Maybe they were trying to create a proprioceptively enriched testing environment... Bad joke, sorry.

Overall takeaway:

-KNOW the overactive/underactive, shortened/lengthened, postural distortions like your own address and birthday. Not even joking a little bit. It should go without saying that these will be extremely important to know as a trainer anyway, so why not have them down beforehand, but this is absolutely essential for passing the exam. I would go one step further to say not only should you MEMORIZE the chart, but you should understand the concepts behind it thoroughly so that you can apply it to any question/situation involving posture and muscle imbalances on the exam or in real life training. Go here for an amazing study guide that honestly kickstarted my ability to get that chart in my head: Thoroughly Thriving > Tiff's Corner > NASM Study Tools. Use her mnemonic devices or create your own. I created my own. They were incredibly stupid and incredibly helpful. They'll be stuck in my head forever. Copy the chart from memory every other day until it gets straight up boring because you know it so well. Bottom line (and it has been said countless times in this forum so this should not be a surprise to anyone): if you do not know the postural distortions & how to identify/correct them you will not pass the exam.

- GoodTimes777... yes, there are a ton of exercises in the book. Start getting them down sooner rather than later. Don't wait until the night before your exam to review them. Regarding every exercise, you should know: what type of exercise it is (core, balance, etc.), which training phase it belongs in, how to progress/regress (if applicable), the potential cues a trainer would give during the exercise regarding posture etc., and any of the special notes listed with each exercise. I know it seems like a lot of info, and it is, but there is just no way around it. You need to know this stuff. I suggest (as does NASM) practicing each exercise yourself while reviewing the info.

-Acute Variables. Yes, you need to know all of them. A little tip here: the practice exams are extremely heavy on resistance training acute variables for every phase. This may lead you to think you need to know resistance training acute variables for the exam... wrong. You need to know ALL the acute variables for every type of training. The practice exam questions involving acute variables provide a good framework, but you should be able to answer the questions regarding any type of exercise, not just resistance training.

-Leading up to the exam, I spent a lot of time throughout my days identifying the agonist, synergist, stabilizer, and antagonist muscles for movements I made throughout the day. I highly suggest doing this (it is kind of neat to do anyway), and know the Muscles as Movers chart as well as you know the postural distortions.

-By the time you get to the actual business of personal training in the book, you're probably anxious to be done and it seems like no-brainer stuff compared to all the science you just spent countless chapters on. Don't slack on it. I would also recommend re-reading the recertification documents and the code of professional conduct.

Final thoughts... please don't hate me for saying this, but it is all important to some degree. If you want to be a personal trainer, you need to know this stuff regardless, so study like your career depends on it, not just your exam score. Do you need to know how to assign and regress exercises for special populations? For the exam? Maybe. If you come across the situation as a trainer? Definitely.

Read the book. Take notes. Make notecards. Come up with mnemonic devices that you'd be embarrassed to say out loud. Do the practice exams, do the practice exams, do the practice exams (tip: the Domain quizzes in the study guide portion change every time you take them. Keep taking them until you run out of new questions). I found the Pocket Prep app very helpful, I definitely recommend it. I also purchased the anatomy coloring book others have mentioned. Anything that helps you learn is going to be worth it.

[robdiddy]

How long did you have to wait to retake the test and how much time do they give you to restudy the material? Thanks

First fail 30 days but if you buy the retake you have up to 6 months again

[GoodTimes777]

So I just took the test a few hours ago and I passed!

I didn't really learn any of the exercises but I made sure I learned everything else 100%. The way I saw it is most of those exercises are garbage/not optimal and they were incredibly time consuming to learn so I just skipped them (seriously there is a reason no one who makes serious gains does them). Like others have said there is a ton of postural/overhead squat questions so know all those charts by heart. I only got 1-2 questions on the heart. Only 1 question on bones (they are levers). Tons of questions on subjective/objective. Tons of definition questions as well. Tons of questions on chapter 16 on the 5th edition (all the behavioral stuff) Tons of questions on stretching and rep ranges for each level. Didn't get many exercise questions, maybe like 5-10 at most and I made educated guessed on all of them.

Make sure you take BOTH practice exams as many times as it takes to get at least a 93-95+. I got a bunch of questions that were either the same or incredibly similar to those exams. Good luck everyone

Cliffs: if you're like me and want to pass the exam with the least amount of effort pay minimal attention to the first 8 chapters in the book and focus hard on chapters 9-14 and chapter 16 in the 5th edition book.

[robdiddy]

I went for my third attempt, studied hardcore for the last 6 days. I've been taking my ******** prescription cramming as best I could. I felt so stressed out, today I woke up for my test felt out of it. I told myself to push forward and go do it. Even though I just wanted to throw up and go home.

I previously got a 52.. and a 58. I got a 66 today The problem for me is all of my college exercise science classes are ACSM based and the OPT model keeps throwing me. Then there was a question on heart rate max the options were all 208 x 208 x HRR and it threw me off, I know HR as 220 - age like it says in the nasm book and all of ACSM.

I somehow got my highest grade ever in assignment, I focused so hard on lower crossed upper crossed pulling pushing davies test. I think I may just do ACE so I can get a job and come back to NASM.

[emileegrace21]

I took the test last week and passed! The whole exam was extremely varied and much different from the practice tests and quizzes. I did not have a single question on the functions of the muscles and did not have many on the compensations and OH Squat assessment, which I thought there would be a lot of. There was also stuff on the exam that I've never seen before but I assume those were the research questions. There were errors on the exam which was frustrating but I was still able to pass.

My advice is to read the textbook and make sure you look at the tables. Go through the textbook as many times as you can. The test is so different for everyone so you shouldn't just go and memorize all the overactive/underactive muscles and leave it at that. Have a decent understanding of everything. Take the entire six months, study 5 days a week, do whatever you can to get the textbook into your brain.

[Bradster101190]

Hey everyone!

I had to take another small break from the fitness industry due to my chronic disease returning but it means so much to me to see what this thread has blossomed into and how many people ot has helped.

It really has taken a life of its own and its amazing to see, it makes me truly happy to see so many people excited to learn and grow.

I will be working with NASM soon to update some of the references and thank you everyone for making it so great.

[Surfsideaura]

Has anyone found actual practice tests (free or paid) that are similar to the actual exam? I have used the one provided with NASM materials but I am looking for some more. There are many sites offering questions, but many don't sound like actual NASM questions. Thanks in advance!

[richardg6734]

Passed earlier today. I could not believe how many questions I had on client relations. I honestly think it made up more than any other section. I focused mostly on the OPT model and the assessments domain. I was quite taken off-guard.

That and the exercises/cues were big... and I actually thought I may have failed. Go figure, those were the two I probably reviewed the least. I was so hyper-focused on the acute variables, overactive/underactive, postural distortions... etc... I was very relieved when I got the thumbs up afterwards.

[rosalyliana]

My test is in 2 days on Saturday. My anxiety has been real these last 2 months. I've been out of highschool for 10 years & hated school, hated studying & all that. Also never went to college. I've always enjoyed working more than school. So this has been a huge hurdle for me, just with studying alone.

I read through the entire textbook once when I first got it. Made about 400 flashcards, which I used occasionally. Utilized the online stuff a lot, watching the videos, completing the activities & taking the module quizzes. I'm still constantly going through all the online modules as of now to keep everything fresh in my head. I went from getting around a 60% on the first practice exam when I was just starting out, to getting an 81%, then an 87% and lastly a 93%.

I've used the NASM Upward Mobility App as well as the NASM Pocket Prep app, and answer majority of the questions correctly. I seem to have really been able to absorb & comprehend much of the material, which I did not think I was going to be able to do when I was first reading through the textbook.

I commute to work on public transportation, so I also use that time to study with the apps, and printed out study guides & some of the important charts that I would always look over on my train rides.

I've also read through this entire forum, which has helped!!!

My confidence is high some days, but then I hear people talk about it being the hardest test of their lives & how they keep failing, and then I become less confident. Ughhh. Wish me luck & send good vibes my way!!!

[bluebarbell]

Thanks so much for all of this information.

[LisaJoAnn]

Hello! First post on this forum, though not my first visit.

I'm currently studying for the exam, and appreciate all the time and effort into this thread.

I have downloaded many of the apps mentioned through this thread, but was wondering about the muscle anatomy app. I noticed a few posts about several of them, but I can't seem to find the one that "fits." Can someone point me in the right direction?

Thank you!

[suzidal]

Took my test today and passed! What a relief. Thanks for all the great study tips and guidance. I felt well prepared after studying all the recommend areas.

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.

[EveryBodyspt]

definitely get the book and study materials

[CaraG73]

Hey everybody, great reading all of your suggestions and comments throughout this post over my time studying for the NASM personal training test. It has definitely helped me a lot and I have downloaded or tried almost every single suggestion on this list. I just wanted to add one of my own that I just found a couple weeks ago. https://www.ptpioneer.com/study-nasm/. They go over some of the more important concepts for each chapter and have a quiz at the end of each chapter as well to help keep the information fresh. Good luck with all your studying everybody!

[martiandj]

Hello everyone, hope there is still people reading this awesome thread.
Have some questions.. i keep doing 108/120 which is 90% on practice exams given by self study program of NASM CPT. Is that enough to consider my self ready for the exam or no? What kind of cues did you guys use to conclude if you are ready or not?
Also read people mentioning 2 final test exams of the self study but i have only one?!
Been studying for the last 6 months on and off but lets say in average 3h/day although i had like 3 days break here and there.. feel like i am actually in "overprepared" mode right now. Things i am having issues with are: which cardio assessment is the best for what, cognitive-behavior changes,, and honestly stopped even trying to learn all of the acute variables for core balance saq plyo...
Also something i have a hard time with: how to know which exercise is balance power/stabilization, core power/stab..there must be some cues such as ex. anything with medicine ball is power, anything that contains overhead press is most likely total body etc

[TallStrongNerdy]

Awesome post, just started the self-study premium yesterday and taking the test by mid-November so I’ll be reading through for advice. 👍🏻

[CaraG73]

Hey everybody, I recently failed the NASM exam and that is even after going through this entire post multiple times. I think that the textbook is simply overwhelming with information and way too big. Do you guys have any other study materials or study tactics/tips tricks that you guys have for me. What worked the most for you guys? I just ran across a free NASM guide and practice test that I am going to start going through with my study efforts for the second time around. Have you guys tried this? Anyways, I look forward to hearing any suggestions you guess might have.

[xsquid99]

I don't know if this thread is still alive as there hasn't been any post activity for a while, but i just passed the 2021 NASM (v7) exam a couple weeks ago on my first attempt, so I was pretty happy about that. The test was so wide-ranging in the types of questions they asked, but overall I would say if you can get at least an 85% on all the online course chapter tests and the online overall practice exam that you should consider yourself fairly ready for the exam.

My final exam had a ton of questions on the stretches (which ironically was my worst subject because I sort of blew right over that stuff), so I would say to know your stretches. Definitely know the overactive and underactive muscles for all the postural distortions and movement assessment issues. I dowloaded the app called the "Fitness Pocket Prep CPT CSCS" app and went through all 800+ questions the month leading up to the exam, which was a HUGE help to clue me in on my weak areas. The app was a little expensive but I just paid for the 90 days and I think it was worth it. The questions are hard and are somewhat similar to the types of questions you'll see on the NASM exam. Whenever you have free time (break at work, in the bathroom, etc) do a 10 question quiz on the CPT Prep App. I found that just doing 4-5 of those quizzes a day in addition to my regular study time was very beneficial.

There is a YouTube channel called Show Up Fitness and that guy will definitely help point you in the right direction as far as things to know and study, I watched his 45 minute video and made some notes and it was some of the best advice I got on what to prepare for.

On test day I was a little nervous at the start but not too bad once I got into it, but the few questions that really stumped me made me dwell on them a bit and I would tend to lose my concentration. So my advice for test day is to remember that 20 of the questions are "beta questions" that don't count for or against you, and many of the harder questions may in fact be beta questions so if you don't know something don't get too caught up in it or upset about it, just go with your first instinct and move on.

Overall from the day I started my NASM course to the time I passed my exam was exactly 10 weeks (to the day), and that was studying for about 1-1.5 hrs a day, so its definitely doable faster if you have more time to invest in it, but the sheer volume of information makes long study sessions somewhat counter-productive I think. I found it much better to try to keep it to under 90 minutes per day (less is better) and then at the end of each week go back to what you started with that week and do a review.

Best of luck to everyone!

[thegirlscurls]

Hey guys ,after posting these past few weeks in here I constantly get pms regarding taking the NASM but that doesn't bother me at all , I am making this post to help everyone in the future on taking the NASM.

My NASM experience was a very long one, I drove 3 hours to fail it by 1 point! This was the first test I have ever failed in my life and more then anything it made me very angry I could fool myself into thinking I was ready like that.

So I decided at that point I no longer wanted to pass the NASM, I wanted to "teach it" , I didn't want to "pass" it. I wanted to not miss a single question in the whole exam. I began studying the test and would draw graphs on dry erase boards everyday, I made 350 note cards and read every tip I could find, I being a fitness nut and working out 2 hours a day 6 days a week applied NASM in every workout I did and developed a real understanding of the text. I talked to the head NASM instructor multiple times on the phone and probably bugged him to death...

And having the test scheduled the LAST possible day I could I studied like crazy everyday. But then it happened, I could get 100% on the practice exams everytime without memorization and do all my 350 note cards only missing 1 or 2.

So I rescheduled my exam for the next day , and went with my family and friends to take it...

TIP: Make your testing day a fun day , plan a nice dinner afterwards , this way if you fail you still will have a awesome day and wont be discouraged



My family dropped me off and 26 minutes later I called them, I told them I was done and passed it. Now NASM CANNOT give exact numbers on your score but secretly they do keep track of %s to determine if the test is too easy or too hard and what questions people are missing the most. After talking to a few Representatives one finally told me I scored within the top 7% of exam takers recorded and could not believe my time and said that was unheard of....

So I truly was "over-prepared" , but do i regret it? No... think of it this way , once you take the test its OVER , your a NASM trainer for life and never have to be retested on the whole book again. So study as hard and as long as you can until you pass it.


P.S this is a work in progress and after starting it tonight I am very tired considering it is 3 AM, So I will finish it over the next few days. I will add a complete list of what I studied the hardest , and what I read right before the exam as instructed by the head NASM instructor. BUT I WILL NOT tell you a cheap way to pass or give you a COMPLETE guide. I am not here to make you pass without YOU putting in the time , but I guarantee if you follow this and do appropriate studying you to will be "Over-Prepared"

Thank you for sharing your experience with the NASM exam and for the helpful tips. It's great to hear that you were determined to not only pass the exam, but also to truly understand the material and be able to apply it in your workouts and as a trainer. Your hard work and dedication paid off, and it's fantastic that you scored within the top 7% of exam takers.

I'm glad to hear that you plan to share more details about your study strategies and the resources that were most helpful for you. These can be very valuable for others who are preparing to take the NASM exam. It's also good to remember that while it's important to study and be well-prepared, it's also important to take care of yourself and make the testing day a positive experience, even if things don't go as planned.

I hope your experience and advice will be helpful to others who are preparing for the NASM exam. Good luck to all those who are studying for the exam!

[FrancisSoyer]

They were so poor and being that he was such a good artist.
He would paint the stamps on his envelopes. JJ Walker aka Kid DynOmite.

[WadeDoesntBurn]

dsfgg