Hello!
Welcome to the PTPioneer ISSA study plan page designed to help all ISSA students decide on a proper plan and time frame for your studies in the International Sports Sciences Association CPT final exam.
The PTPioneer ISSA Study Plan, as the screenshot below shows, will cover 4 of the most common timeframes and allow you to organize your studying efforts successfully.
Get your copy of the ISSA CPT study plan, and I will also include a Cheat Sheet for the ISSA materials for free in the same email. These help immensely in boosting you ability to study for the exam.
Within this article, I highlight the following:
- ISSA study materials and their average time to master
- Downloadable PDFs for visual help with planning your ISSA study calendar
- The next steps for studying for the ISSA-certified personal trainer program exam
How long does it take to study for the ISSA exam?
ISSA prep time is entirely up to you, but thanks to Trainer Academy and their premium ISSA CPT study materials, your certification exam prep could be dramatically shortened. Even if you plan to study from the ISSA book, the Trainer Academy study material option is a powerhouse method to get through the ISSA more rapidly.
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Try it out for free here to see if it’s right for you, or read my detailed review for further insights.
Now let’s dive in and look at this ISSA exam schedule I created and suggest using to get the materials down pat!
ISSA CPT Study Series
- ISSA Exam Prep Home Page
- ISSA Study Plan
- ISSA Study Guide
- ISSA Practice Exams
- ISSA Flashcards
- ISSA Cheat Sheet
- ISSA Exam FAQ
How Long Does it Take to Study for the ISSA Exam?
The ISSA certification for personal training is a jam-packed program full of all the main facets of exercise science.
Many people may wonder exactly how long it takes to learn all of the required materials within the ISSA CPT certification. The truth is that it will depend on your knowledge level going in.
Like many other learners, suppose you have zero exercise science experience when starting the ISSA CPT study material. In that case, you should expect to study for 5 – 6 months for the ISSA CPT to ensure you adequately learn all the important personal training topics. This is especially true if your only study resource is using the ISSA textbook.
On the flip side, if you are already certified in personal training, have another specialist certification with a different organization or took college courses in health and fitness, then you should expect to have the ability to study about half the amount of time as those without experience.
Given these two different time frames for study for two different types of people, you should be able to ace the exam in no time by studying your ISSA materials and using this free PTPioneer study series. For others, it can be beneficial also to seek out paid premium materials like those offered by Trainer Academy.
Next, look at the Study Plan in this ISSA CPT study series.
Downloadable Study Plan
The picture at the top of the page exemplifies what is offered with the PTPioneer Study Plan for the ISSA certification course.
Like what you see?
Just click the button to receive an email of the ISSA Study Plan for free.
And in addition to PTPioneer’s high-quality downloadable PDF Study Plan for the ISSA CPT, you will also receive the amazing ISSA Cheat Sheet to help with your studies.
The PTPioneer ISSA CPT Study Plan is helpful for organizational purposes, and you may need this extra visualization tool to complement the other course materials.
So how long are the ISSA studies scheduled?
And, how long to study for the ISSA exam be sufficient to master the material?
Here are the four plans that, in my perspective, are the most common:
- 4 – Week
- 3 – Month
- 6 – Month
- 1 – Year
These timeframes provide the easiest way to visualize the studying choices and organize the materials to fit your schedule best.
Most people start a plan that aligns with when they plan on taking the ISSA-certified personal trainer exam.
And you can search for ISSA test dates and schedule ISSA exam dates that work best for you.
The ISSA fitness trainer exam is accredited by the NCCPT and NCCA, which are highly reputable certifying agencies in the fitness industry and highlights your personal training career.
Whereas other certifications, such as NASM, ACSM, and NSCA, have had NCCA accreditation for a while, the ISSA exam has only had this NCCA accreditation recently.
Using the ISSA study guide here, the practice test, cheat sheet, and flashcards will all come together to create an excellent exam prep resource but sometimes requires some help organizing.
The first and one of the more popular plans is a 4-week or one-month study plan.
This is ideal for those with a fitness certification or other major personal training certification who need to see how this differs and quickly catch the highlights.
The 4-week plan also benefits those skilled at cramming for the training course exam, but this is not as common.
Next, the 3-month plan is the most popular training program study plan because it offers a good amount of time to learn the material well and study most days of the week.
The 6-month plan is as popular and commonly used as the 4-week plan, but for those who learn at a good pace but have zero experience with the concepts covered in the ISSA study program.
Concepts include program design, kinesiology, cardiorespiratory and resistance exercise technique, general fitness training, training instruction, applied sciences, bioenergetics, human movement sciences, client relations and behavioral coaching, and professional development and responsibility.
And finally, there’s the 1-year or 12-month plan, which is the least common but most useful for those with the busiest schedules.
1-year is a long time, but it works for those who have a busy schedule and need more time to learn the ins and outs of the program or need to obtain continuing education units (CEUs) for recertification or specialization purposes.
Regardless of the plan chosen, sticking to studying is the main concern. Hopefully, these study plans in the downloadable PDF will help create good study habits that benefit your future learning.
Furthermore, the Trainer Academy cheat sheet does this even better with a thoroughly detailed study blueprint to organize their premium study content.
They offer premium materials for all major CPT certification programs and many exercise science, elite trainer, master trainer, group exercise, powerlifting, and nutritionist certifications.
Study Tips to Maximize Efficiency
The most important study tip you can take away from the ISSA study plan and this page is that consistency and habitual efforts will work best in the long run.
Study habits are rare and take time to form and appropriately utilize in your life.
When it comes to learning something for long-term benefits, it is important that you study as much as you can and as often as you can.
3- 5 days a week should be expected for most learners, and 3 is more of a minimum.
Studying can be done in short bursts, and most of the exercise and sports medicine information spread throughout the textbook and workbook will be optimal for this type of studying.
Flashcards and practice exams within the ISSA CPT Exam Prep Hub here on PTPioneer must be seen and recognized frequently to aid with memorizing materials.
Multiple-choice questions and quizzes are great tools for mastering the real thing.
Similar to the ISSA Fast Track program, which offers study guides, access to the ISSA fitness community, and even CPR/AED certification, the PTPioneer study plan and timeframes focus on the idea of frequent and short study sessions most fitness professionals desire.
Fitting a Study Plan to Your Schedule
So how long does it take for the ISSA study plan to work?
As you likely have seen in the free PDF download within this page, varied hours are recommended per week, different schedules, and study goals to master everything in each section and topic.
You must choose one that fits your timeframe best, and if none are perfect, feel free to start one and shift to another more appropriate study plan.
And while the free study guide and materials offered here on PTPioneer are great, studying content from the internet is not always the best quality.
This holds, especially when compared to paid study systems like Trainer Academy.
There’s no question that PTPioneer offers good quality practice exams and practice questions to ensure you achieve a passing score. Most paid study organizations will offer a pass guarantee or your money back.
News flash, Trainer Academy does exactly this!
This is ideal, especially if you are fresh out of high school or have little experience as a personal trainer or fitness instructor.
But what’s next?
Once you have finished with this study plan page, I recommend moving on to the study guide page, which is more of the meat of the materials since it summarizes the essential information from the text.
The study guide page that follows this study plan is one of four main study materials offered on the site, so you are officially starting to study once you enter that page. With this series, you have the flexibility to use the study package at your own pace and also begin studying prior to your purchase of premium study packages.
If possible, keep that PDF study plan handy by downloading and printing it. Before you know if, you’ll be well on your way to crushing the ISSA certification program and ready to start determining your specializations and reaching out to potential employers, clients, or athletes to kickoff your fitness coaching business.
See you in my next article!
Tyler Read
PTPioneer Editorial Integrity
All content published on PTPioneer is checked and reviewed extensively by our staff of experienced personal trainers, nutrition coaches, and other Fitness Experts. This is to make sure that the content you are reading is fact-checked for accuracy, contains up-to-date information, and is relevant. We only add trustworthy citations that you can find at the bottom of each article. You can read more about our editorial integrity here.