NSCA CSCS Study Guide
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- CSCS Study Guide Home
- CSCS Chapter 1
- CSCS Chapter 2
- CSCS Chapter 3
- CSCS Chapter 4
- CSCS Chapter 5
- CSCS Chapter 6
- CSCS Chapter 7
- CSCS Chapter 8
- CSCS Chapter 9
- CSCS Chapter 10
- CSCS Chapter 11
- CSCS Chapter 12
- CSCS Chapter 13
- CSCS Chapter 14
- CSCS Chapter 15
- CSCS Chapter 16
- CSCS Chapter 17
- CSCS Chapter 18
- CSCS Chapter 19
- CSCS Chapter 20
- CSCS Chapter 21
- CSCS Chapter 22
- CSCS Chapter 23
- CSCS Chapter 24
Hey ladies and gentlemen and welcome to my free CSCS study hub for the NSCA CSCS test. On this page, you will find a free CSCS practice exam (and answer key), A full CSCS study guide and a helpful CSCS flashcard bundle to assist you with your studying. Make sure to bookmark/star this page for future reference.
I also highly suggest checking out Trainer Academy for excellent study materials. The team over there has a great study bundle for the CSCS exam. Overall they will help reduce your study time I have and even offer an exam pass guarantee. I even have a special limited-time discount for my readers on their website. If you want to know more about them, check out my detailed review on Trainer Academy here.
Get the CSCS exam cheat sheet for free here. Courtesy of Trainer Academy.
The menu at the top of this page will answer any question related to personal training that you have. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave me a comment here (I’ll respond within 24 hours). Also, visit the home page for the most recent and popular articles.
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My Bitmoji counterpart will be walking you through the CSCS study guide to make sure that you are on track for passing the CSCS exam. Say hello to Tyler-Moji.
If you are still unsure about which strength and conditioning certification to choose, I highly recommend that you Take the quiz to get an estimate on which strength and conditioning certification is the best fit for you overall.
This CSCS Study guide covers all 24 chapters of the essentials of strength training and conditioning fourth edition by Gregory Haff and Travis Triplett. In my CSCS study guide below, you will find 24 separate links that will take you to each individual chapters study guide.
Top 10 Tips To Pass The CSCS Exam (Video)
Top 10 Tips To Pass The CSCS Exam (Podcast)
FREE CSCS Study guide: 4th edition 2021
- Chapter 1: Structure and Function of Body Systems
- Chapter 2: Biomechanics of Resistance Exercise
- Chapter 3: Bioenergetics of Exercise and Training
- Chapter 4: Endocrine Responses to Resistance
- Chapter 5: Adaptations to Anaerobic Training Programs
- Chapter 6: Adaptations to Aerobic Endurance Training Programs
- Chapter 7: Age and Sex-Related Differences and their Implications for Resistance Exercise
- Chapter 8: Psychology of Athletic Preparation and Performance
- Chapter 9: Basic Nutrition Factors in Health
- Chapter 10: Nutrition Strategies for Maximizing Performance
- Chapter 11: Performance-Enhancing Substances and Methods
- Chapter 12: Principles of Test Selection and Administration
- Chapter 13: Administration, Scoring, and Interpretation of Selected Tests
- Chapter 14: Warm-Up and Flexibility Training
- Chapter 15: Exercise Technique for Free Weight and Machine Training
- Chapter 16: Exercise Technique for Alternative Modes and Nontraditional Implement Training
- Chapter 17: Program Design for Resistance Training
- Chapter 18: Program Design and Technique for Plyometric Training
- Chapter 19: Program Design and Technique for Speed and Agility Training
- Chapter 20: Program Design and Technique for Aerobic Endurance Training
- Chapter 21: Periodization
- Chapter 22: Rehabilitation and Reconditioning
- Chapter 23: Facility Design, Layout, and Organization
- Chapter 24: Facility Policies, Procedures, and Legal Issues
FREE CSCS Practice exam for 2021
The CSCS practice test is really broken up into two separate practice tests.
The first CSCS practice test is the Scientific foundations Exam. The scientific foundations exam Consists of questions from the first two domains (out of six total) from the CSCS textbook.
- Domain 1: exercise science (74% of the questions)
- Domain 2: nutrition (26% of the questions)
The second CSCS Practice test is the practical/applied exam. The practical and applied test consists of questions from the four remaining domains of study.
- Domain 3: Exercise technique (35% of the questions)
- Domain 4: Program design (35% of the questions)
- Domain 5: Organization and administration (12% of the questions)
- Domain 6: Testing and evaluation (18% of the questions)
Practice test answer keys below ⬇️ (Don’t Peek Until After!) 🙄
CSCS Flashcards for 2021
CSCS Study tips
The CSCS study guide located on this page is meant to supplement the full 4th edition Of the essentials of strength and conditioning. This is the primary textbook for the CSCS test. S go over some additional study tips and techniques I have for you guys so that you guys can ACE the CSCS exam without any difficulty.
Here are some excellent CSCS study materials/study techniques that I like to use with my students.
CSCS Practice Tests:
In addition to the CSCS practice exams that I have on this page, I also suggest picking up additional practice tests and practice quizzes for each of the individual domains of study in the CSCS (there are four domains). My practice test only has 70 questions in total and I recommend practicing with at least 10 times this amount in order to get fully accustomed to how the CSCS will word their questions .
Practice exams are extremely important because they let you know if you are 100% ready to take the real exam. I have had hundreds of students come to me asking me why they failed the CSCS exam. It turns out that most of them never took one full practice exam. How can you know if you are ready if you have never gotten back from a practice exam? Personally, I recommend checking out the practice exams over at Trainer Academy. Check out my review on Trainer Academy right here.
CSCS Study guide:
Although this study guide here is a great place to start, it really goes over a lot of content and is not organized in the best way possible. This might seem counterintuitive, but the best study guides or the shortest study guides. What I mean is that the best study guides will point out exactly what you need to study in order to pass the exam. My study guide on the other hand, basically goes over everything but does not pinpoint the most important parts to study. I suggest picking up the Trainer Academy CSCS study guide if you want to save the most time while studying for the CSCS.
Spaced repetition flashcards:
The old school way of using flashcards is done. Physically writing down the information on hundreds of flashcards is tedious and time wasting. In addition to this, the flashcards you study after you create them are not Nearly as effective as they could be.
What you need to use is spaced repetition flashcards. This is the flashcards system I have used to learn Spanish as well as study for all of my personal training certifications. It has really worked fantastic for me as well as for all of my students that have tried it.
Spaced repetition flashcards uses an algorithm to learn which flashcards you already know, and which flashcards you have trouble with. The program will continuously show you your difficult cards until you know them well. The cards you already know well will show infrequently. This saves you a ton of time and really drills the difficult concepts until you have mastered them.
CSCS Mnemonics:
The last study tip I have for you for the CSCS exam is to use memorization mnemonics. Using these can really work wonders for difficult to remember topics from the textbook. The key to these is to make an incredibly weird and memorable mnemonic story in your head. Honestly the weirder the story is, the most memorable it will be.
Well, that’s it ladies and gentlemen for all of my CSCS study tips. If you utilize all of these tips that I have given you, I am sure you will have no problem passing the CSCS test. Good luck and get to studying!
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can international applicants be offered a job as a CSCS coach in the US?
Hey Richard, This is a very good question, I will look into it and get back to you on that.
How we have to study for exam .language of book is very tough .
Can you please tell me that which part of book comes under the exam.(1) scientific foundation
And which chapter comes under the (2 )practical applied exam
Hey Karan,
Thanks for reaching out to me. You can see a full breakdown of the certified strength and conditioning specialist exam here on my website https://www.ptpioneer.com/cscs-exam-info/ I hope this helps you out!
How do I know Trainer Academy is legit?
Hey Lais,
I have been working with trainer Academy for about a little over a year now. They have great study materials and all of my students that I send their way always have good feedback from the experience with them. Hope this helps
I think it’s looking so hard but genuinely i interested and I don’t have much money so please tell me easy way to complete this please
The certified strength and conditioning specialist certification is definitely one of the hardest personal training certifications out there. I would definitely start here with the free study guide in practice test but if you want a full suite of study materials and a much better chance of passing the exam I suggest checking out the trainer Academy study materials. Here is a link. https://traineracademy.org/nsca-cscs/
Is CSCS the best option for someone looking to become a strength and conditioning coach? I would be working in a smaller privately owned gym and with athletes in specific. I’m prepared to study as long as I need but am stuck on which certification would be best as I did not major in a related field.
Hey Tori,
The certified strength and conditioning specialist certification is definitely seen as the gold standard in terms of strength and conditioning or working with athletes. This is definitely what I would go for but the only thing is that they do require a four-year college degree before you can even sign up to take the exam. It does not have to be a degree in a health-related field, just a four-year degree in any subject will do.
Hey Tyler. I do hold a Bachelors in Business Administration from DeVry University ( Private Accelerated University) . I looked within the NSCA handbook for 2019 and DeVry University does not fall under the accreditation for the CSCS prerequisite qualification being that it is accredited through the Higher Learning Comission. What should I do? I would really like to pursue a career in strength and conditioning for baseball players and mma fighters/boxers .
A four-year bachelors degree should be all that you need in order to be eligible to take the certified strength and conditioning specialist certification. I suggest that you petition it or even called them up to see if there’s anything that you can do with your degree in order to take the exam. That is pretty cool that you are wanting to train mixed martial artist fighters! That is a super dynamic sport that would be fun to train somebody in.
HI THERE
PLEASE CAN YOU ADVISE DO YOU DO THE CSCS TEST IN SPANISH AND ALSO DO YOU HAVE STUDY MATERIAL IN SPANISH
satwinda@gmail.com
Hello, I do believe that the certified strength and conditioning specialist certification can be done in Spanish. You will definitely need to double check with the NSCA on this. In terms of having study materials for it on my website in Spanish, I only have study materials in English but that would be a cool option to be able to have both. Thanks a lot for the suggestion!
Thanks for your help man
No worries. Thanks for stopping by and leaving some kind words. Good luck studying for the NSCA CSCS exam.
Hey Tyler,
I recently took the cscs exam but failed because of the nutrition section e.g calculate how much protein calories does X athlete has in this diet chart.
I also came short because of volume load questions too.
Basically my maths was not good.
i look forward to your reply. thank you.
Hey Varun sorry to hear that you failed. It is a difficult exam to pass. I highly suggest some higher and study materials such as those from Trainer Academy in order for you to make sure that you pass the CSCS exam on the second try. Check them out here: https://traineracademy.org/nsca-cscs/
Hi Tyler,
Thank you for very helpful information. Now I’m living in Vietnam, I wonder that if I take CSCS course, can I take the exam and that exam is online test or something else Tyler?
Furthermore, I have read on NCSA website and it say that I need to take the test at Pearson VUE testing centers worldwide, but I can find any center working in Vietnam. Can you give me some information about the Exam Registration and Scheduling Tyler?
Thank you so much Tyler
This is true, you will need to find a testing center near you. I’m not sure if they have any testing centers in Vietnam or where the nearest one is. You will have to check their website for this information. You cannot take the final exam online, you will need to go into a testing facility. Good luck with your personal training career and I’m sure you will figure out the right solution.
Tyler, I recently took and passed my CSCS exam. I wanted to thank you for this overview of the chapters which helped me to study along with the textbook.
I’m so glad that you passed your CSCS exam! That is a fantastic step towards becoming an awesome strength and conditioning coach. Good luck with your career.
please I think about if I gat a certificate cscs what wright certified level 3 certifications
Good luck with your CSCS exam!
Hi Tyler-
Would you say that the practice questions included above are pretty much what the questions on the actual CSCS are going to be like? I am finding that most of the practice questions online are of similar difficulty and easier to dissect, but the practice questions that I purchased directly through the CSCS website are waaayyyy harder. Any insight would be helpful. Thank you!
Hey there, it’s hard to tell which questions are going to show up on the exam as they change them frequently. Also, my sample practice test does not cover nearly as many total questions that you will see on the final CSCS exam. That being said, I would definitely suggest heading over to trainer Academy as they have three full practice exams.
Hey Tyler,
I am very much interested in this fitness training domain. Currently do not have any certification, in a rush to get one certification and get a job + start of as an online training personal coach. I’m confused with which certification is the best ACE or CSCS? I do have a 4 year bachelor’s degree in engineering.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
If you have a four-year bachelor’s, I definitely recommend the certified strength and conditioning specialist as it is the highest regarded personal training certification.
hi i hold 3 year bachelor degree in computer application and currently doing 2 year master in exercise physiology ….2021 i will complete my master…… did i am eligible for cscs exam ?
That’s a very specific question I definitely recommend asking this to the nsca.
Hey man, I actually wanted to ask you if you could make the guide into a pdf so that it would be easy for us to access it offline and even print it.
and btw do you have the CSCS ebook?
Hey there, unfortunately I have not created a pdf version of my study guides. But that is a good idea. Good luck with your personal training Career.
Hello, your ‘answers’ to the Practice tests do not seem to be working? I cannot seem to expand the answer key and view it??
Hey there, that’s weird. I’ll look into it but they are working for me on my end. Maybe try a different browser or a different device.