Welcome to CSCSquestions.com! These CSCS practice exam questions were created to help users study for the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist certification exam from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

Using CSCS exam practice questions is an efficient way to study the most relevant material for the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist exam. CSCS exam practice questions can help you to remember important concepts and test your knowledge of the material in a no-pressure environment.

The Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist designates that a fitness professional has the scientific and practical knowledge necessary to assist athletes to improve their physical performance. This website focuses primarily on the scientific knowledge portion of the exam.

strength conditioning coach

Why study with practice questions?

If you’re like most strength and conditioning specialists, chances are that you like sports and you have a competitive mindset. If you are competitive, doing practice questions is awesome because:

  1. You like to win, and
  2. Getting a question wrong burns the correct answer into the mind of a competitive person unlike any other learning method.

Strength Conditioning Coach Exam

What is the CSCS Exam?

The Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) exam by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is a four-hour-long, pencil and paper or computer-based examination. The Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist exam has two sections: “Scientific Foundations” and “Practical / Applied.” Each of these sections consist of questions that the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) feels are relevant to test the knowledge and experience of a candidate for the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) professional credential. Certified strength conditioning specialist comprehensive questions from the Scientific Foundations section include anatomy, exercise physiology, biomechanics, and nutrition. certified strength conditioning specialist comprehensive questions from the Practical / Applied section include program design, exercise techniques, testing and evaluation, and organization / administration (NSCA, 2015).


CSCS Practice Exam Comprehensive Questions:

CSCS exam practice questions of the comprehensive-type are designed to help you see the connections between all of the textbook material (exercise physiology, human anatomy, nutrition, administration, etc.) and how that information exists in real life. Rather than just memorizing tons of facts and figures, comprehensive CSCS exam practice questions help you to see concepts and patterns so you can reason your way through the actual CSCS exam, even if you can’t remember a specific detail. In general, these comprehensive questions will assume that you’re a NSCA-certified strength coach working with a variety of athletes. Give it a try!

 

strength coach NSCA CSCS study questions

Comprehensive Question Set #1
Jane is an 18-year-old female, collegiate swimmer who has been resistance training for the past five years. She weighs 120 pounds, is 64 inches tall, and her current resistance training goal is muscle hypertrophy. Today is the first day of a new 12-week resistance training regimen. Over the course of this program, Jane hopes to gain several pounds of lean muscle mass. Jane’s first resistance training exercise for the day is the flat barbell bench press. Jane’s 1RM on the flat barbell bench press is 110 pounds. All questions on this comprehensive quiz are in reference to this question stem.

 

strength coach NSCA CSCS study questions

Comprehensive Question Set #2
Sam is a 17-year-old, male football linebacker. He is 6’ tall and weighs 190 pounds. Today is the first day of preseason conditioning so he will be performing a battery of tests to determine a baseline of his athletic ability. Today’s tests include the T-test, pro agility test, and hexagon test. All questions on this comprehensive quiz are in reference to this question stem.

 

strength coach NSCA CSCS study questions

Comprehensive Question Set #3
One of your football players, Tyrell, is performing the flat bench press. Tyrell is a 16 year old male, weighing 180 pounds at 70 inches tall. Tyrell says that his goal during the off-season is to increase his muscular power. Tyrell lowers the bar to his chest in a slow, controlled fashion and then lifts the bar to full extension as quickly as possible. His lifting cadence is approximately three seconds during the eccentric phase and about one second during the concentric phase. He pauses briefly at the end of the concentric phase of the lift, but there is no pause during the transition between the eccentric and concentric phases. All questions on this comprehensive quiz are in reference to this question stem.

 

football classroom

Comprehensive Question Set #4
Coach Kazlauskas, the head football coach of your college’s football team, comes into your office and says that his team is not eating well and he thinks it’s hindering their performance. The players are all on a school meal plan so they eat three meals a day in the school’s all-you-can-eat cafeteria. The problem is that they’re just choosing the foods that they like and not making good nutritional choices. Some guys are eating entire meals of fried chicken and other players are loading up on ice cream. Since the school has no budget for a sport nutritionist, he wants you to talk to his players about proper nutrition and to give the players and coaches a few answers to their various food and nutrition questions. Coach Kazlauskashas gathered the entire team in a classroom near your office where they’ll be asking you questions about nutrition. All questions on this comprehensive quiz are in reference to this question stem.

 

college volleyball girl

Comprehensive Question Set #5
Seraphim is an 18-year-old, female athlete that will be starting in your college’s volleyball program this coming fall. From May through August, she will be staying on campus to participate in your strength and conditioning program. Although she was a great player in high school, Seraphim didn’t spend too much time on strength and conditioning and she focused most of her attention on perfecting her volleyball form. Because of this lack of strength and conditioning experience, you suspect that she needs to improve her strength, muscular endurance, and aerobic endurance. Seraphim is 5’10 and weighs 145 pounds. All questions on this comprehensive quiz are in reference to this question stem.

 

Comprehensive Question Set #6
You are the head strength and conditioning coach of a large, Division I athletic program. It’s the middle of summer, but the football staff is hard at work, preparing for the upcoming season. You’re in the Athletic Director’s office, talking with him and the head football coach when you all stop to look at the television monitor in the AD’s office…


 

CSCS Practice Exam Questions by Essentials of Strength Training & Conditioning (4th edition) Chapter:

Chapter 1 Questions: Structure & Function of the Muscular, Neuromuscular, Cardiovascular, and Respiratory Systems
Chapter 1 Vocabulary Questions
Chapter 2 Questions: Bioenergetics of Exercise and Training
Chapter 3 Questions: Endocrine Responses to Resistance Training
Chapter 4 Questions: Biomechanics of Resistance Exercise
Chapter 5 Questions: Adaptations to Anaerobic Training Programs

Chapter 6 Questions: Adaptations to Aerobic Endurance Training Programs
Chapter 7 Questions: Age- and Sex-Related Differences & Their Implications for Resistance Exercise
Chapter 8 Questions: Psychology of Athletic Preparation and Performance
Chapter 9 Questions: Performance-Enhancing Substances
Chapter 10 Questions: Nutritional Factors in Health and Performance
Chapter 11 & 12 Questions: Athletic Testing
Chapter 13 Questions: Warm-Up and Stretching
Chapter 14 Questions: Resistance Training & Spotting Techniques
Chapter 15 Questions: Resistance Training
Chapter 16 Questions: Plyometric Training
Chapter 17 Questions: Speed, Agility and Speed-Endurance Development
Chapter 19 Questions: Periodization
Chapter 20 Questions: Rehabilitation & Reconditioning
Chapter 21 Questions: Facility Organization & Risk Management


 

CSCS Practice Exam Questions by Topic:

Glycolysis Questions
Pro Agility Test Questions
Hexagon Agility Test Questions
Metabolic Demands of Various Sport
Muscle Fiber Types
Muscle Fiber Involvement by Sport
Muscle Macrostructure & Microstructure

Physiological Adaptations to Resistance Training
Phosphagen System Questions
Temperature Limits for Exercise


 

CSCS Exam Topics Overviews:

Glycolysis Overview
Pro Agility Test Overview
Hexagon Agility Test Overview


References:

National Strength and Conditioning Association. (2015, June 1). NSCA Certification Handbook. Retrieved from National Strength and Conditioning Association Website: http://www.nsca.com/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=36507225490

National Strength and Conditioning Association. (2015). CSCS Certification. Retrieved from National Strength and Conditioning Association: http://www.nsca.com/CSCS_Certification_2/

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