Where I Started
When I first received my Certified Personal Trainer textbook, I was so excited and got started immediately. But as I began to flip through my textbook, I saw words I’d never heard before, and concepts that seemed too difficult to understand. I felt crushed. How was I going to learn all this?
If this sounds familiar, don’t worry. I was genuinely unsure if I would ever be able to pass this exam, but after a year of putting it off, repurchasing a new program with better study tools, and finding Pocket Prep, I went into my exam with more confidence than I ever expected.
Plan Ahead
The first thing I did was to buy a planner and create a weekly study schedule. Not every week was the same; some weeks I got in three chapters, others just one, but I consistently studied every week. I went through each chapter, took detailed notes (especially on difficult concepts), completed any activities or quizzes in the chapter, and finally wrote down the most important concepts in my planner, which I take everywhere.
The key concepts for the NASM CPT exam concerned training phase details, which came in charts, and postural distortions, which I studied by pointing out the different muscles on my own body and naming which were shortened and which were lengthened.
Being active in your studying, like physically pointing out the muscles, is great because it helps you relate to and retain the information better.
Making Sure You Have the Right Tools
I highly recommend downloading Pocket Prep. This app made the biggest difference in understanding concepts for the exam. The Pocket Prep Fitness Prep app has exam prep for 13 certifications, including NASM-CPT, ACSM-CPT, NSCA-CPT, NSCA-CSCS, and more! Once you choose your exam, you have the option of a free or paid membership.
I chose the paid option because it gave me more questions and customizable quiz options (my favorites were the “missed questions” and “weakest subject” quizzes). It also provides explanations when you get a question wrong, which helped me learn topics even if I missed it the first time.
The questions are further broken down into the exam’s major subjects, which is helpful because the app tracks which section you need the most help with.
Study Every Day
Pocket Prep comes with a Question of the Day feature that tracks your progress on a calendar, helping you see how you’re doing. I had the notification set to remind me every morning so I could start my day off with a question.
There’s also the option to do a Quick 10 Quiz, Timed Quiz, or Build Your Own Quiz. I used the Quick 10 often because it was easy to get in during a commercial or lunch break at work without all my materials. The most important thing to do when it comes to quizzes is to continue taking them until you have correctly answered every question (there’s an area on the home page that will show you how many questions you’ve answered in total).
The questions provided by Pocket Prep are extremely similar to those on the CPT exam, so getting them correct will let you know if you have a good understanding of the concepts.
When is the Best Time to Use Pocket Prep?
Pocket Prep worked best for me once I was finished taking notes on every chapter of my textbook. At that point, I recommend taking quizzes for each chapter until you consistently score 100%.
I found it helpful to take at least one quiz daily, whether through the online portal or the app. One day off can lead to multiple days off, and while I am an advocate for rest, it is important to keep going with your exam preparation, especially since the quizzes only take 5 minutes.
4 Key Tips for Passing the NASM-CPT Exam
- Make a weekly study schedule in a planner or calendar. Take your planner with you everywhere so you can study those concepts in small pockets of time without having all your materials. Download the NASM-CPT™ Exam Blueprint (effective February 10, 2021).
- Get through the entire textbook and keep track of which concepts are most difficult for you.
- Download the Fitness Pocket Prep app and take daily quizzes. Taking quizzes until you are consistently getting 100% is key to understanding the concepts. Continue to study key areas such as training-phase details and postural distortions.
- Don’t quit! Push through the difficult days when you can’t seem to get anything correct and study small pieces every day. It will make a difference.
Pocket Prep’s NASM-CPT exam prep offers 1,000 practice questions and three full-length mock exams to gauge your exam-day readiness.
