16 hours to my NASM Exam = FREAK OUT...think positive!

by Shawn
(Chicago, IL, USA)

WHOA WAKE-UP CALL!!! NASM test questions are nothing like the study materials!

Alright, so I'll admit it...much to my dismay I flew through the NASM materials in less than 2 weeks which was made possible by being 'under-employed'. I kept wondering what I was missing because while the materials were much more in-depth than I originally expected, it didn't seem all that difficult.

That said, I felt somewhat confident because I knew I had plenty of time to let the information simmer, however, after chatting with a guy in my CPR/AED certification class I began to get butterflies. He ranted for what seemed like forever about how difficult the test is 'supposed to be' which prompted me to blast through all the materials one last time.

My focus over the past 2 days has been to answer (without reviewing the text) all chapter review and exercise questions. On a whim, I decided to take the practice exam this afternoon instead of tomorrow morning as I had planned. After 10 questions, I was furious because of my short sighted confidence and lack of foresight in expecting that the NASM exam questions would be worded differently than the study materials.

Fortunately, I have a few hours to try and adjust my thought process and strategize before tackling what was supposed to be an easy exam.

Top 3 NASM Study Tips

1. READ all the materials (especially the tables) at least twice before taking the practice exam

2. WATCH all the boring DVD's as 'review sessions'

3. MEMORIZE the vocab call-outs and 'in-text italics' using flash cards and be able to regurgitate them in everyday language

4. OWN the material by building training programs for anyone and everyone...even if you have to create imaginary people, conditions and scenarios

5. THINK like a NASM CPT...not a student

And with that I bid you goodnight because I have a test to pass!!!