[quote]2d2f wrote:
Hi John,
Thanks for the suggestions, I am thinking about sitting CSCS exam.
Would you mind having a Skype chat? I wanted to send you PM, but I don’t have permission.
[/quote]
2d2f,
I’d be happy to help in some manner. Unfortunately I sent you a PM the mods said that they are currently sorting out some issue.
So until that gets sorted out, you can ask me anything you’d like here.
I took the CSCS this past summer but I ran short by 7 points in the science part and by 3 points in the practical part. Not going to lie, when I saw those scores I was devastated. I got so mad that I did touch nor look that book in months. It took me a while to settle down and absorb it.
I've never been the best test taker but man I really put lots of hours of study. I guess I did it the wrong way?! IDK. I bought the practice exams, read the book, tried to apply the concepts, you name it. However, I think what killed me the most was the anxiety while taking the exam. It came a point during the exam that didn't want to be sitting there no more, I was so anxious I was even shaking.
But anyways, I am planing in getting ready to take it again. This is something in my life that I need to accomplish!
I’m just here to try and get some study tips, ideas and more motivation.
Hey Kotero,
sorry to hear about the result of your first sit but glad to hear you’re determined to take it again.
It sounds like you just choked a little. Everything about your prep sounds solid to me. I also had that overwhelmed experience during the test and had to mindfully calm myself down. I think part of it was just the stress that all the studying had placed on me. I really think taking the day before the the test off from studying is probably a wiser choice. Just chill out and relax. You’re probably not going to figure it out by then.
I also think you bring up a good point that I’ve mentioned but that should be a addressed again which is: Take each question one at a time. Don’t get angry if there are 2-3 questions in row that you’re not entirely sure of. I found that once I settled down and let go of the results a bit I was able to utilize my strategy for each question. If you’re worried about the whole test or even the whole section you’re going to start rushing and panicking and lose it.
I would use this template:
*many questions that initially looked daunting became easy once I applied this method.
*If you really don’t know at all, then let it go and move on. You’re bound to get some wrong.
*many questions will obvious immediately and you won’t need to employ this method but for the normal question there is usually one or two that are obvious.
Good luck buddy. Let me know if I can help in any other way and if not come back and tell us your experience with the re-take.
Thanks for the advice man. I'm planing on taking the exam around April or May of next year. I just need to plan my trip well since I'm from PR.
I will def use your approach for my re-take. I just started studying again, I’m planing on doing summaries of each chapter since I feel that reading and re-writing things down helps me understand the concepts a bit better.
Anyways, as I mentioned thanks for your word of advice. Lets keep in contact to see If you could keep giving more tips and motivation!
JohnShade,
How is everything going with you career/business?
[quote]tork94 wrote:
JohnShade,
How is everything going with you career/business?[/quote]
Hey Tork,
Funny, I was just about to write an update.
Two months ago I got a salaried position as General Manager of a private S&C facility/start up focused primarily on general population. I’m learning the ropes of how to start and operate a gym and I’m getting a decent salary to do it. The gym will be opening soon, so right now its been a lesson in working with architects, web designers,ordering equipment, working with vendors, hiring staff, getting clients and generally putting systems in place.
I’m ready to devote at a least a minimum of a year to this project. What I learned at my internship has translated well to this job and given me a lot more confidence working with any and all populations. This job is my chance to learn the operations side. Not my passion but nonetheless a step in the right direction. Given that I got my CSCS a year and half ago, I’d say this a pretty solid step up.
To stay on topic. Having the CSCS at this level…where I’m dealing with owners money and other trainers etc is definitely a plus. Just the reputation of it sort of helped to get me a seat at the table and ultimately I don’t think I would have gotten this job without it.
[quote]JohnShade wrote:
2d2f,
I’d be happy to help in some manner. Unfortunately I sent you a PM the mods said that they are currently sorting out some issue.
So until that gets sorted out, you can ask me anything you’d like here.
[/quote]
I appreciate it.
I wanted to know if there were exactly the same questions at the exam, as the ones at the end of each chapter?
I have a degree in the field. I am Physical Education Teacher, and I took a PT certification recently. There aren’t NSCA test centers in my country, and it will be necessary to travel in order to take the exam, so I can’t afford failing it. 
[quote]kotero1989 wrote:
I will def use your approach for my re-take. I just started studying again, I’m planing on doing summaries of each chapter since I feel that reading and re-writing things down helps me understand the concepts a bit better.
Anyways, as I mentioned thanks for your word of advice. Lets keep in contact to see If you could keep giving more tips and motivation! [/quote]
Would you mind having a studying partner?
I’m planning to take the exam in 1-3 months.
Really great thread. I have the NSCA CPT and would eventually like the CSCS. I have no formal education in the field but I have a Bachelor’s in something unrelated. The CPT test was very similar to what you said about the CSCS. They word the question and answers in a way that makes it more difficult. I felt like I needed a masters in English sometimes to understand them.
Most of the questions had multiple right answers and the only way to get the correct answer is to remember the ‘most right’ answer given in the book. I even took the time to write comments about many of the questions noting that there were too many right answers or the question depended on too many variables that were not given. Too many impractical questions for my tastes. Just had to grin and bear it and give them what they want.
And yes I remember a question about how high the mirrors needed to be…
T-Nation, with all its great knowledge, helped a lot and I think it will help again when I go for the CSCS.
[quote]LarryH wrote:
Really great thread. I have the NSCA CPT and would eventually like the CSCS. I have no formal education in the field but I have a Bachelor’s in something unrelated. The CPT test was very similar to what you said about the CSCS. They word the question and answers in a way that makes it more difficult. I felt like I needed a masters in English sometimes to understand them.
Most of the questions had multiple right answers and the only way to get the correct answer is to remember the ‘most right’ answer given in the book. I even took the time to write comments about many of the questions noting that there were too many right answers or the question depended on too many variables that were not given. Too many impractical questions for my tastes. Just had to grin and bear it and give them what they want.
And yes I remember a question about how high the mirrors needed to be…
T-Nation, with all its great knowledge, helped a lot and I think it will help again when I go for the CSCS. [/quote]
Everyone I know who has gotten the NSCA CPT first has said the CSCS was pretty easy. You should be fine Larry. And please drop in here and share your experiences/thoughts on the prep/exam when that time comes.
I think your insights into the “most right” answer is a good one and thats why I think going into the test knowing the “question style” of the NSCA is a such a huge advantage. To that end, if I hadn’t take all the practice exams and the chapters questions, I probably wouldn’t have passed even with the book on lock. Once I figured out how to game the questions I felt much more confident when I was presented with a particular question in which a few answers could conceivably be right.
very cool, I have noticed that A LOT of the higher positions in the industry (ie higher then contract personal trainer) pretty much need a CSCS.
I have my Kines degree and decided to do the 3 practice exams before opening the book at all and passed 2 of the 3 with the 3rd failing by 2 questions.
So I will plan on studying the book for a month or 2 and then re-taking the practice exams and then writing it.
I just finished taking the CSCS Practice Exam 1. I did a pretty solid job and passed but still I want to feel flawless.
Here are my scores:
SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION
-Exercise Science 16/20
-Nutrition 5/7
Total for section I 21/27 = 77% Pass
PRACTICAL/APPLIED
-ExerciseTechnique 10/13
-Program Design 10/13
-Organization/Admin 4/4
-Testing/Evaluation 6/7
Total for section II 30/37 = 81% Pass
This is my first time looking at this exam after taking my CSCS and failing it. I guess I am grasping the material more and more. I`ve been reading the book more but focusing in understanding the concepts. Also I used the method “JohnShade” suggest me to use when i was not that sure about an answer and It work great. After this I will be going over to the questions I got wrong and try to understand why i got them wrong.
This page is motivating me more and more to pass this exam.
If you guys have any more suggestions or ideas in how to attack this exam please let me know.
Thanks and hope you’ll having a great holiday!
I read about 80% of the materials, but there were some questions that bothered me, because I knew the answer but could not recognize it.
For example:
Which of the following is most likely to occur during muscular fatigue?
I motor unit recruitment increases
II rate coding increases
III muscle ph decreases
IV ATP stores increase
A I and II only
B II and IV only
C I and IV only
D II and III only
A - I knew it is the way muscle does the gradation of the force, but never looked at it in the terms of the fatigue.
And so on…
[quote]2d2f wrote:
I read about 80% of the materials, but there were some questions that bothered me, because I knew the answer but could not recognize it.
For example:
Which of the following is most likely to occur during muscular fatigue?
I motor unit recruitment increases
II rate coding increases
III muscle ph decreases
IV ATP stores increase
A I and II only
B II and IV only
C I and IV only
D II and III only
A - I knew it is the way muscle does the gradation of the force, but never looked at it in the terms of the fatigue.
[/quote]
So this is a great example of how to approach these questions. The first thing I’d do is decide which of those first roman numerals is absolutely WRONG. In this case, IV(increased ATP) is the most obviously wrong. So you can immediately scratch B and C and now you’re down to a 50/50 chance.
Next look at the Numeral you know for certain is Correct. For me thats I(motor unit recruitment) and since that’s not even an option in answer D…I know by deduction that its got to be A.
You just need to relax and not worry as much about the content. If you’ve read the book, then the fact that you know 60% of the information is enough to get you a correct answer on this one. I honestly don’t even have to remember what rate coding actually is and I could still figure this out.
Great example
is there a list of coaches who are CSCS certified?
How would an employer or athlete know that a coach is certified and not just lying??
If i go to there website it only shows CSCS certified coaches who are also members, but has no list for coaches who are not members.
Seems strange
[quote]tork94 wrote:
is there a list of coaches who are CSCS certified?
How would an employer or athlete know that a coach is certified and not just lying??
If i go to there website it only shows CSCS certified coaches who are also members, but has no list for coaches who are not members.
Seems strange [/quote]
Each CSCS gets a card and a cert number. During the interview process the GM will usually just ask the trainer to provide proof rather than digging around. I asked the first GM that hired me and he said that he checked it out on the NSCA site when he went over my references. Many will check for insurance reasons but realistically, I’d imagine you “could” get away with lying about this. I know one trainer who has a lapsed CSCS and he still puts the letters next to his name.
It kind of gets back to the original point of the value of the CSCS in general. Its not going to guarantee you a job, but it will help to secure one more than any other basic cert that is available.
Thanks for this thread, it’s been a good read.
JohnShade,
Thank you for this awesome thread. Getting the CSCS for a chance at an S&C internship in MA brought me here, and your posts have been very informative and motivational. Glad to hear that Cressey Performance was as great of an experience as it seems; that would be my dream place to work. Do you have any recommendations for being a strong candidate for such an internship? What do you think it was about you that made you stand above the rest?
Thanks again for all the help
Driving out to Great Falls Montana tomorrow (6 hours away) to write my CSCS exam on Monday morning.
Wish me luck.
[quote]tork94 wrote:
Driving out to Great Falls Montana tomorrow (6 hours away) to write my CSCS exam on Monday morning.
Wish me luck.[/quote]
Good Luck Tork! If you can, try to come back immediately and write down your thoughts…even if you don’t have the results back yet. It will help future test takers.
[quote]JPacker555 wrote:
JohnShade,
Thank you for this awesome thread. Getting the CSCS for a chance at an S&C internship in MA brought me here, and your posts have been very informative and motivational. Glad to hear that Cressey Performance was as great of an experience as it seems; that would be my dream place to work. Do you have any recommendations for being a strong candidate for such an internship? What do you think it was about you that made you stand above the rest?
Thanks again for all the help[/quote]
I don’t know all the details of their selection process. In general, they hate arrogant people. Be humble. Be EXTREMELY passionate about S&C. This is not an internship where you’re trying to figure out if this field is for you. It’s for people who want to be coaches. Period. It helps to know specifically what area you want to work in. Doesn’t have to be baseball by any means. Write a standout essay. Don’t be pushy. Have your CSCS. It’s not required but it will help. Just FYI, the summer session is the hardest to get into b/c most of the applicants are grad students in the field. The easiest and the longest is the spring.
This may help as well
*NOTE: This thread is about the CSCS Exam. While I don’t mind talking about the specific aspects of my Career, I don’t want this to turn into a thread about CP and how to get an internship there. There are plenty of resources online about that internship and ton’s of content available from EC himself.