After writing my CSCS exam I would like to share a few tips to those thinking of taking the exam.
The exam is broken down into two sections, a scientific foundations section and a practical and applied.
The first section, scientific foundations is broken into two parts, nutrition and exercise science. My degree is not in exercise science so I studied lots using their suggested text, NSCA's Essentials of Strength and Conditioning. I found the book covered the material in great detail and think if you have a good understanding of the book this section should not be a problem. The test did not go into the detail I thought it would but they did ask some difficult questions. One suggestion I have for this section is to review your information on VO2 max. For my test I found that every aspect of VO2 max on the exam.
The practical and applied portion of the exam was much more difficult. I think one reason it was so much harder was the fact that the book and the symposium study book and cd's did not cover all the material. I would say that it did provide 75 - 80% of the information needed but when you need a 70% grade to pass that does not leave much room for error. I do not believe that an investment in the symposium study book and cd's is worth the money. If it is something you would like to buy just let me know and I will sell you mine. All material is in excellent shape and some is brand new.
For the second section of the CSCS exam I would recommend you know all that you can about plyometrics, along with weight and cardio exercises, which are poorly covered in the book. It is also important to know norms for sports, positions, and sex, for example...
what would a NCAA male QB run a 40 in, bench, squat, and his vertical.
Here is a link to a few homemade flash cards to help study.
CSCS Exam Flash Cards
or you can go with the
CSCS flash card study system
Here is a CSCS pretest intended to help make a decision about which materials to focus on. The exam is not setup in this manner, the test is just a learning tool. It should give you an idea of where you need to devote more effort.
Online CSCS pre-exam test
Hope this helps.
Good luck with your CSCS exam.
12 comments:
best of luck, sounds like you know what you're talking about so you should be fine!
Thanks Steph
Hi Jason,
hope you went well with the exam. I have a question for you. I am taking the exam in Australia and would like to know which sports the questions on your exam related to. Were they predominantly U.S. sports such as NFL / MLB / NBA or did it include sports such as Soccer and Rugby ?
Many thanks,
Jonathan
Hello Jonathan;
I did well on the exam thanks.
With my exam I did not have any baseball questions. I know that they do change the test around so it is hard to say.
They may ask a question like, a center fielder has a arm flextion to extension ratio of 6:1, what is the best exercise choice for him? As you can see it has little to do with baseball.
I would know the norms for both males and females for both basketball and football, like vert, squat, bench,40, etc...
Other sports were mentioned but like the baseball example it does not matter the sport you just have to know the data.
Example: A female soccer player is 21 she can run the 1.5 mile test under 10:00 what does she have for a VO2 max?
You should know about other sports because they may ask you: what sport would the athlete benefit most with this exercise? They may show a picture of an athlete doing bounds and you will be able to chose from a list of sports.
Hope that helps a little. Feel fee to ask if you have anymore questions.
What I did find I had trouble with was exercise technique of ALL carido equipment. It was not in the book and I have not done a personal training exam so some of the fine details were tough.
Example:
How do you set the seat of an exercise bike for the proper height?
Good Luck
Hi Jason
i am hoping to sit the CSCS in a month. I have ordered the textbook. Do you think that is enough or do you think I should purchase all the extra materials? I have a degree in Exercise Science, but am lacking the personal training fine details. Just wondering your thoughts. Congrats on doing your exam!
Avril
Thanks Avril;
With an Exercise Science degree and the NSCA book you should be OK.
The one thing I would do is buy the set of 3 online exams they offer. For me the average score of the 3 tests were close to my CSCS exam scores. I say get all 3 because it gives you more practice and I found that with the 3 tests I was able to get a better feel for the range of questions and a more accurate exam score.
If you do not have any personal training experience it may be worth your while to look over one of the CPT study books. If you ace the material in the CSCS text you can get but without the personal trainer information but that does not leave you much room for error. They will ask questions like how to determine the height of an exercise bike, or what is the proper technique to use rowing machine. None of that information is in the CSCS exam text book.
I hope this helps you, feel free to drop me a line if you have anymore questions.
Jason
Thanks Jason, that is so helpful!
Hey Jason
Thanks for all the info,
I passed my cscs today!
thanks for the flashcards!
Avril
Congratulations Avril;
I am glad to hear things went well and that I was able to provide you with some helpful information.
What are your plans now that you are a CSCS? Do you work with athletes?
Congratulations!
Currently in JFK moving back home to Ireland. I start physiotherapy school on October 1st, so hope to work with high school athletes part time in the upcoming months!! Exciting and scary all at the same time!
Thanks again!
Hey Jason,
Great website! If I may ask your opinion - I am close to finishing my MA in Sports Management, (new career field move), and wanted to have a certification of some type upon completing my MA.
Most to the clubs in my area want the "ACE" cert - but I observed that none of them have anything related to the CSCS type program.
So .. between getting the CPT or the CSCS I was leaning towards the CSCS.
What do you think??
Thanks bro ..
Ray
Ray;
Thanks for the positive feedback, and congratulations on your soon to be degree.
I think you are on track with the CSCS exam. I do not think you can go wrong with this certification. It does tend to deal more with training athletes but you can apply that knowledge to personal training clients too. If it is not something that many in your area have this may be a plus too as it will set you apart.
A CSCS certification is more advanced than CPT so you will have what is needed to work in a local gym.
Best of luck
Jason
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