Help... i'm so swamped

AndyCollins · Joined: 28 Dec 2007 Posts: 5

Hi,
I've recently decided to try and get my certification for the NSCA CPT and purchased their text book.
So after a month of trying to study the book from start to finish i'm ready to pull my hair out. I'm so completely swamped.
Is there any way to skim chapters?
I've seen the exam content format, should i be spend my time on these few chapters???
I'm starting to think i've bite off more than i can chew!
Help!!!!

Christina · Joined: 14 Apr 2006 Posts: 851

Hi Andy and welcome. Is this your first certification? Do you need to take the exam by a certain date? Are you already a trainer? Give us the low down. We all understand how daunting it can be to study an entire textbook.

Christina

AndyCollins · Joined: 28 Dec 2007 Posts: 5

Sorry Christina i should have explained myself a bit more!!
I have a sports mgmt degree and although i have trained sports teams in the past few years i am not a qualified personal trainer and have no other formal training certs .
The NSCA was suggested to me by a friend but i just want to pull my hair out!!!
I've no time frame, only to pass the first time round. I'm sure this all sounds childish but i'm really going crazy!!!!

Christina · Joined: 14 Apr 2006 Posts: 851

Okay Andy, first of all you have to take a deep breath. Trust me, when that textbook showed up in the mail I was absolutely overwhelmed. You just have to break it down into sections and study it in pieces. You are not on a time schedule so allow yourself 3 months to study and just tackle a little bit every day. There are tons of outside resources you can turn to if you don't understand the way something is presented in the text. Once you have studied the book I highly recommend you purchase the practice exam because it will help you discover your weak areas.

Create note cards, write notes in the margins, highlight keywords, and take the quizzes at the end of each chapter. If you do not understand something post it in the forum and someone will explain it to you.

You will do fine. Feeling overwhelmed is something that nearly everyone experiences. As you begin to study that feeling will go away.

If you have any more questions just ask.

Christina

AndyCollins · Joined: 28 Dec 2007 Posts: 5

Thanks for your help, I'll just take it one step at a time!!!!
A few Study guide wouldn't go a miss i think!!

megfit · Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 1:20 pm Post subject:

Hi Andy,

For every major exam I have had to take (including the NSCA exam and the exam for my RD credential), I have done exactly as you have. Sat back and felt the waves of overwhelm.

Then you organize. With your degree in sports management, I have no DOUBT you can organize! You're just at that overwhelm stage, which is perfectly normal and healthy.

Make a realistic decision on when you would like to register for the exam, and make that your goal date to complete your study. That gives you a bit of a 'fudge factor', where, if you still aren't ready, you can move it further out. Then all you'll have to do is review on a regular basis until your exam date. However, I really can't see that you'll have as much a problem as you are perceiving right now. As Christina said, take a big breath. This is an exciting time for you! You are challenging yourself with something new!

The next step is, as Christina said, get some study guides. NSCA has several, plus the live events that help you prepare.

Then, once you have a time frame in mind, look at the entire amount of material to cover (the book) and break it down by pages to study/day or week. For instance, looking at MY NSCA PT book (which, by the way, when *I* took it, all we had was the CSCS book to study), there are 653 pages to the glossary (you decide how many pages you want to qualify). If you were to choose to give yourself 3 months, that would be a total of ~90 days. If you do the math, that means you have to study 7 pages/day.

This is how I planned out my study for the two exams I mentioned. I've done that for others, too, and it has helped me organize my time and study very effectively.

With your education and experience, Andy, I'm sure you'll do fine!

Margie

AndyCollins · Joined: 28 Dec 2007 Posts: 5

Thanks guys, maybe i'm just panicing!!! Any suggestions on what study aids i should try and purchase?

megfit · Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 2:00 pm Post subject:

Andy,

I don't know what's out there these days, but whatever NSCA has should work. Do NOT discount the questions at the back of each chapter, either! See what they have online, and ask around on the NSCA BB, too. You may be able to find something someone else has that they no longer need and can send you.

Pace yourself; panic is a state of mind that we put ourselves into. Consider at least three other perspectives you could view this from to help you put it all INTO perspective.

Margie

AndyCollins · Joined: 28 Dec 2007 Posts: 5

Thanks for the encouragement, sorry i've been slow to reply, a flu seems to have caught up with me!