The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) has a solid reputation
in the fitness industry. When a new personal trainer at the beginning of his or
her career is conducting research and trying to figure out which is the best
and well-known CPT program to enroll in, you will find that NASM’s CPT program
will appear a lot. You will either hear or see it a lot from fellow CPTs that have
or are looking to get it or from fitness employers requiring the cert towards
either employment or to move up to the next level in job status. This means
that it is well worth the time to research and potentially place near the top 5
of your consideration. If you review their website, you’ll easily find
information about all of the programs that they have to offer, the pricing,
topics and concepts covered, etc. But the one thing that I can provide to you
that you won’t gain from the website particularly a person with no previous
educational knowledge or skills in the field is:
What was it like?
What did I learn?
How long did it take me?
How did I prepare?
How did I study?
What was the practice and proctored exam like?
Aftermath, what am I doing now?
What was it like?
Such a little question with a big answer. A little bit about
me: I struggled with my weight since childhood and followed trendy diet regimes
until my late 30’s. It wasn’t until the last few years that I embraced the
science true facts around weight loss and proper nutrition that I was able to
lose over 60lbs and keep it off of my frame. And this occurred a few years
after motherhood started where I had gained the most weight. Just a few months
before the pandemic hit was when I began the true process of the research to
losing the weight. The weight loss happened during the beginning and middle of
the pandemic. I knew how to lose weight but not all of the science behind why
it worked. In the middle of the pandemic, at the end of 2020, I began studying
for my ISSA certificate and completed the CPT program in 202. Although I had
other course work to complete with ISSA, I chose to study for NASM’s CPT
program because I still didn’t feel confident about my knowledge and if I
really could analyze and assess, device a fitness program plan and motivate and
coach a client to success. When I enrolled in the program and began studying
for the proctored exam, it was overwhelming and felt daunting. The set up
consisted of the material and videos that were online, and their textbook
mailed to my house to utilize. That was about it. The reading material online
was exactly the same as the textbook. It adds to the convenience of being able to
study anywhere without lugging a huge textbook around with you. In order to
take the proctored final exam and move on inside the portal to access the
domain exams, mid term practice exam, etc. You have to pass with at least 70%
or more. If you keep up with the reading on a weekly basis and studied as how
they suggested, you could theoretically pass the exam in as little as 4 to 10
weeks. I have indeed heard of people actually passing in as little as four
weeks. I don’t know how they did it because even with the benefit of passing
ISSA’s CPT cert program, it definitely took me longer. For me, I started around
late March/early April 2021 and once I was organized and settled with my
studying, it took me a full six months!
I was about days away from having to find a way to ask for an extension
if I didn’t pass in Mid-September 2021! During the duration of the six months I
studied, memorized, and did my best to increase my understanding and
comprehension level of the important key concepts so I could be well prepared. When I had to take it, I still didn’t feel
ready to take it, but I had no choice and had to take it at least once. When I
took it and passed, it was a huge relief because it required a lot of focus and
was very intense. I was putting time and effort in every day for hours. Unlike
ISSA, there is no workbook to help you apply the knowledge for a deeper level
of understanding. It is on you to come up with finding ways to apply it if you
need that level of involvement to understand and remember it in order to pass
the exam. The one thing about this program is they are giving you all the
material you need but your work independently to teach yourself the material.
You are tested on your level of mastery that you reach with this material. If
you master the concepts at a high level, then there is a great chance that you
will succeed. Towards the end of the program, I was researching, reaching out,
and communicating with others and viewing a lot of material online outside of
the program so that I could build up that level of mastery to pass this tough
exam.
What Did I Learn?
As the weeks quickly turned into months and my life felt
like it was consumed by studying, the concepts started to make sense more and
more. When you are challenged to study not only to understand the material but
to also be able to apply that knowledge at an intermediary level, your
comprehension level begins to jump up every week. My knowledge regarding macronutrition
increased greatly particularly regarding carbohydrates and the role they play
in health and nutrition. The metabolic pathways was a new topic for me and took
a while to get but once I did, it made sense and helped to understand how our
bodies utilizes macronutrients to burn fat during various levels of exercise.
Other topics that were introduced to me for the first time included but are not
limited to: Human Anatomy (body and function), human movement system, the
psychology around human behavior that leads us towards good habits and the
different levels and of the OPT model devised by NASM. I would say that I
learned close to 80% of the material so I could successfully pass the final
exam the first time.
How Long Did it Take me?
I must have extended the date at least 3 times before I went
ahead to actually take the exam. With that said, I spent the full 6 months
studying for this exam. When I took the exam, I still did not feel ready and
would extend it again had it not been for the time limit I was facing.
How Did I Prepare?
At first, I started with a notebook and the resources
provided to me by NASM which is their online portal, textbook, and official
study guide. As the weeks began to turn
into months and I began to research more and more about the exam, I began to
realize that I needed additional material and support if I was going to pass
the exam.
How Did I Study?
I devoted at least 2 hours a day of reading the book, taking
notes, and then watching YouTube videos to help study for the exam. I also read
online blogs as well regarding topics that I was having problems remembering
and/or understanding. Towards the end, as much as I didn’t want to, I began
creating flashcards to help remember the vast amount of information needed to
pass the exam. I originally fought against it because it took a lot of time
away from studying itself but in the end, I felt it was worth doing. I also
spent time researching and devising mnemonics to further help with remembering
information regarding the assessments and OPT model.
What was the practice exam and final exam like?
There are quiz questions at the end of each chapter, quiz
questions for the chapters group together within their respective domains, midterm
practice exam questions at the midway point and at the end of the textbook,
practice exam questions. You needed at least 80% or more to pass the practice
quizzes and exams in order to unlock the final exam. All practice questions
come from a database of randomly generated questions wherein you can take them
multiple times and figure out what you need to focus on studying more. The
final exam, although we can’t specifically say what questions are on the exam,
I will say and stress that not only do you need to understand the concepts,
remember definitions and facts, etc. you are also tested on how well you are
able to apply this newly learnt knowledge. You can’t lean upon them to teach
you this, you must take it upon yourself to figure this out to be fully
prepared for the exam.
Aftermath: What am I doing now?
After taking the exam, which was proctored online at home, I
am proud to say that I passed it. The exam took me about 2 hours to take and by
then end of it, once I answered the final question, I didn’t know if I did pass
it or not. It wasn’t until I submitted it and got the results back immediately
that I realized I had passed the exam. I was in shock! It was so difficult that
I didn’t realize that I passed it. That was mid-September 2021. A month later,
I have attended Optima NASM’s virtual conference for CEUs. And now, at the
beginning of January 2022, I will be starting the 8-week Gymternship program.
As I continue my journey as a professional CPT, I will
document as much as I can and pass it along in an effort to help others
interested in pursuing this profession no matter at what age or experience
level. If you have a passion for fitness and helping others, I believe everyone
deserves a fair chance and the opportunities and resources to become a
successful CPT.
I do have an awesome study
guide outline for NASM’s Exam. It is a basic outline of the six domains,
topics and subtopics that correlates with each. For the future I plan on
expanding this outline
with more details to help CPT candidates as they study for this exam. You can
find it here.
***
FYI, the tutoring services that I provide are to help those
to learn not only how to pass a certified personal trainer (CPT) exam but to
also learn the fundamentals of being a knowledgeable, educated, and confident
CPT. I offer informative blog postings and videos on relevant subject matter
and topics, study guides and advice for free. For more hands on and one on one
tutoring services, please contact
me.
In the meantime, please feel free to check out my website
and other blogs articles. Don’t be afraid to reach out to me and let me know
what you think! I’m always here for you when you need me
to be!
Until next time… Keep Inspired &
Ignite the Spark Firestar!™
Nadia
Matheson
Catalystt Tutoring™
Each one, teach one!
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