Here is a quick review of my experience taking the NASM CPT exam.

Why?

I am just a regular dude who likes going to the gym. At the beginning of the year, my gym progress had been stalled for about six months, and I wanted some motivation.

My school provides a package of an 8-week practical personal trainer in-person training course plus the CPT exam for $500, which is substantially cheaper than purchasing the exam directly through NASM. It was a good enough deal to convince me, especially since I was in that January, New Year’s, “I will do so many things this year” phase.

Besides, being a certified personal trainer helps you win arguments even when you are wrong.

How did you study for the exam?

While the in-person training from Corec was incredibly helpful, it had little to do with the exam itself. I initially scheduled the exam in May, soon after the course (and spring semester) ended, but life happened, and I delayed it to July. I was lazy and barely studied during that time.

Fortunately, and I’m saying this without trying to sound like a douche, the exam was pretty easy, and I was able to pass it with two weeks of studying. Here are all the things I did for the exam:

• I started reading and taking some notes on the online textbook with the help of an LLM.
• The weekend before the exam, I watched the videos by Sorta Healthy Trainer Education three times. I can’t emphasize how good those videos are, I can’t recommend them enough. Thank you Jeff.
  • Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3eIBYsGWlg&t=3432s
  • Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4NUR2FxKhw
  • I took brief notes on my laptop twice as I watched the videos.
• I took the non-proctored exam without using the book. It doesn’t give you a score, but there were about 18-20 questions that I wasn’t sure of. I passed on the first try.
• I took the practice exam and got an 84.
• I took the test in person today (Tuesday), and I passed it.

‘Definitely focus on the OPT model (tempo, reps and sets, rest time, etc.), static and movement assessments (remember: glutes are almost always underactive, and hip flexors are almost always overactive), and nutrition basics. Other concepts are either pure memorization or common sense.

How was the exam?

I took the in-person exam at Ivy Tech Community College. They used this software called “PSI,” which is very ancient software. I made the minor mistake of trusting its “bookmark” function and later realized that there is no way to sort only the bookmarked questions. It would be an issue if you are short on time, but I had over an hour left when I finished answering all the questions, so I just went through all 120 questions and double-checked my answers.

What are you going to do with it?

Uh, nothing. As I said, it was largely for the self-satisfaction of a regular gym-goer with a mid physique whose progress had largely stagnated after five years of lifting. I thought about interviewing for the school gym over the summer, but I got an internship, so…

Final Thoughts

Yep, my overall experience was underwhelming. Having previous lifting knowledge (general names of muscles, the difference between each movement, etc.) helped, but one can certainly binge-watch one of those crash course videos and be able to pass the exam within a month’s time. I also don’t think it helps an average lifter, or even a personal trainer, be better at their job; experience and up-to-date scientific knowledge are far more important (NASM should be ashamed for recommending static stretching for every situation).

I am proud of myself for doing it, but I wouldn’t recommend spending money on the certificate unless you are interested in becoming a personal trainer.

One good thing was that because my motivation to spend too much time at the gym and procrastinate was stronger than my motivation to consistently study for the exam, I actually started making progress again.