NASM Exam was way too easy... very disappointed

by Ryan Welch
(Gainesville, Florida)

I read horror stories on this site about how hard the test was so i studied REALLY hard for a month and finally took the test. When i got to the testing center i was very nervous until i saw the first few questions. I was like "Are you serious? This is pathetic". It was.

If someone fails this exam the first time maybe you should consider a different profession (sorry if that sounds mean) because the questions were extremely easy and just like the practice test, only worded much differently. You just have to use your critical thinking skills a little bit.

I finished the test of 120 questions in only 35 mins and even the lady who administered the test was suprised. Its no big deal and its taken on a computer. Just focus ALOT on Acute Variables and exercises for the OPT model and also Under/Overactive muscles and you will do fine.

Hope this helps

Ryan

P.S. NASM really needs to make their exams harder, i was hoping for a challenge when i got to the testing center.

Overstudied for NASM exam

by Ed
(Seattle, Washington)

I just took the NASM exam about 30 minutes ago and it was not hard at all. I had no experience with training before taking the exam and I'd be surprised if I missed more than 10 (research questions included). I studied for about 2 months off and on and had a little cram session a few hours prior and that's all it took.

They asked only a couple real science questions concerning the heart and a few questions on special populations but otherwise, it's all about program design, pro/regressions, exercise selection, etc.

Hope this helps!

NASM exam was easier than I thought.

by Nate
(Omaha)

I took the NASM exam 2 days ago and honestly didn't think it was that bad. The earlier posts were very helpful in regards to the types of questions the exam asks. If you have a background in exercise science then you probably won’t have any trouble passing.

I have been certified through the NSCA for about a year now, but my current employer required that everyone must have at least one certification through NASM so I had to take the exam.

I had months to study and take the exam but I procrastinated and waited until the day before my scheduled time to actually look over the material (dumb idea). My original plans were to skim each chapter and fill out the study guide. After talking to others who took the exam, I was directed another way. They told me since I had such little time to just watch the DVDs and follow along with the study guide. This advice proved VERY USEFUL.

I watched all the DVDs and took notes on the important topics. After I watched every chapter, I filled out the related study guide questions. Honestly, this is all you need to do in order to pass the exam. Important topics to remember are:

1. Know the postural assessments and the over/underactive muscles.
2. The exam had the most questions pertaining to the fitness assessment and program design chapters.
3. Know the Acute variable of training (reps, sets, intercity, tempo)
4. Anterior/Posterior pelvic tilt.
5. Know the lumbo pelvic hip complex.
****Basically, just look at the previous posts to get a good idea of the questions.

My advice would be to not read the book, just watch the DVDs. The DVDs highlight the important information that you need to know from the book. I'd say from all the 120 questions on the exam, the DVDs covered 110 of them. Good Luck!!

NASM exam is not that hard

by Sam
(Fairfax, virginia)

First off, don't worry...the exam is not all that hard. I had never worked in a gym before and studied 4 months for the test, but was a full time student and had a part time job. So i probably spent 2-3 hours a week studying.

The test is a little harder than the practice exam, but not all that much harder. Make sure you know the the OPT model and the assessment chapter. There wasn't that much on functional anatomy.

All these horror stories you will read are from hot shots who think that they can skim the book and pass the test...not gonna happen

STEP ONE: read chapter one, and than do the study guide section that corresponds to chapter one...after that, watch the dvd segment for chapter one. Repeat this process for EVERY chapter.

STEP TWO: Skim over each chapter in the book.

STEP THREE: Go over the study guide sections for each chapter again.

Take the test...and ACE IT!

NASM exam not that hard

by Dorothy
(Northern California)

I'm surprised at the general review for this exam. I found it rather perfunctory and not that in depth or hard. The study materials are pretty straight forward.

I'm currently studying for an ACE certification and find it much harder -- the materials are not organized in a structured format which takes you through the study in prep for your exam. I feel like I'm 'on my own' with ACE.

Whereas, with NASM, I felt like they 'held my hand' in many ways.

My two cents.

Not as hard as I'd assumed it would be

by Nichole
(Austin, Texas, US)

Hi All! I was scared to death when I went to take the NASM test this morning. First of all I have had four months to study. The most I was able to accomplish was taking the practice tests a couple of times and halfway going through some of the lessons on my IPOD during work.

Fast forwarding- I studied for the test intently for the last three days. I overstudied actually. I don't have a background in Kinesiology and I haven't worked in a gym previously. I know what I know from working on my own body and personal research.

I went into the testing center this morning and realized that the test was not that hard. You need to understand the OPT model as all doors lead to the knowledge of this concept. Acute variables and definitions are important. I don't remember seeing any questions regarding body position, I saw some regarding muscles but they weren't specific- instead questions were centered around what muscles are agonists, overactive, underactive etc. Client questions (but not as specific as I'd assumed).

Know how many calories the macro nutrients yield and basics on blood pressure, specific populations, etc. But overall not too many were asked. IT was a good variety but mostly common sense. Know percentages in relation to tempos, sets, reps etc. It was not that bad at all! I left feeling confident prior to receiving my score.

Good luck!
nichole in texas

Passed 1st try. It is not that hard if you have studied!

by Jane
(Napa, California)

I just took the NASM and passed it on my first attempt. YEAH!!! I have no background in exercise science, and I am a 49-year-old mom of two young girls. I am also a horse/rider trainer, so studying body movement is not foreign to me. However, this exam is not doable unless you study. This website was so incredibly helpful, I wanted to put in my two cents too in case it will help anyone.

1. Don't read the negative comments-- they will just make you nervous. The exam is not complicated or tricky, it is straightforward if you know your material.

2. The practice exam DOES help a lot. The format is the same and there are several question on the test either from the practice tests, or similar in content.

3. Make yourself a study strategy. What worked for me is I would take the practice exam and write down questions I either missed or guessed on. I would look them up, and add the question to my own practice test. I also went to the study guide section by section and if there was something I was unsure about, that went into my "exam" as well. By the time I was done, I had a 247 question practice exam that I had created. Just the process of creating my own test helped me to learn the material.

4. As it says in other blogs here, memorize the chart on page 169. I, too, took my scratch paper and wrote it down as soon as I sat down to take the test. You can do that before you start so it takes no time away from your test time. It helped a lot.

5. Do learn the acute variables for all 5 stages of RESISTANCE training, for core, balance, reactive the parameters are more general and split into the 3 levels.

The only questions that confused me were questions that asked if an exercise was, for instance, a balance or a stabilization exercise, and then the choices given seemed like hybrids rather than exercises I had studied and practiced. I just gave the best possible answer.

Lastly, I went to the workshop two weeks ago. I really think the hands-on experience made a difference.

Cheers and good luck to everyone!