I’m in it
Is over.
I just found out a little while ago that I passed the NSCA CSCS exam!
Whew. That’s good to know.
So here’s what I can say about my prep for the exam as a person without a prior exercise science background:
I purchased:
- The NSCA’s Essentials of Strength and Conditioning text
- The multimedia symposium CD’s
- Three Practice tests (one paper, two online)
- Exercise Technique DVD
I studied:
- 2-3hrs a day on average over three months using the NSCA materials mentioned above.
- I watched the CD’s many times
- I read the”Essentials” text 3 times
- I created outlines for the material / chapters that gave me a hard time on the first practice exam
I also started reading the NSCA’s Journal of Strength and Conditioning (exercise science – peer evaluated research based) & the Strength and Conditioning Journal (practical / application based). Great names for those though, eh? The funny thing about reading those journals was running across articles and papers with findings that ran contrary to content in the “Essentials” text and then having to remember that for testing purposes, whatever is in that text is the “right” answer. The same goes for the CrossFit Journal content.
Looking back, I probably overkilled it from a passing the test point of view — but I really wanted to understand the material, especially from a practical standpoint. It only makes sense to be as knowledgeable as you can be in your chosen field. My clients will benefit, and so will I.
