How the CSCS Exam Works | What is on the NSCA CSCS Exam?

Edited by: Danielle Abel

If you're thinking about taking the CSCS, you might be wondering how the exam works or what is on the exam, if so, we have you covered. 

The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) is the gold standard in strength and conditioning; whether you're a personal trainer, a sports physical therapist, or a rehab professional, passing this exam shows you have a high level of knowledge in the field. 

The exam is really challenging, so you want to be able to study efficiently. 

The Exam is 2 Sections

• Scientific Foundations
• Practical Applied 

Depending on your background, one section may be more challenging for you than the other. If you have been training in person with clients for a couple of years, the practical applied section might be easier for you. Whereas students like exercise science majors sometimes do well with the exercise science portion & struggle with this section because they have less real-life, hands-on experience. 

The Exam is Multiple Choice & Not Available Virtually

You won't see written exam questions on the CSCS. Each question will present you with 3 possible correct answers, which you need to select the best answer. All 3 answers are usually really good potential answers, so it makes it hard to decide which one is the correct answer. 

You will need to take the exam at a testing center; they do not offer the option to take the exam virtually or remotely. Once you register & pay to take the exam, you will receive an email with your authorization to test along with a link to schedule the location, day, and time of your exam. You can reschedule the exam for a different location, day, and time as well if you need to. 

In-person testing with a proctor maintains the integrity of the exam and of the certification. 

Section 1: Scientific Foundations Portion

You might be wondering what exactly is on the scientific foundations portion of the exam. This section of the exam will test your knowledge of

• exercise science
• sports psychology
• nutrition

This section consists of 95 questions, but 15 of them are not scored. Keep in mind; you won't know what questions are scored and what questions are not scored. You need a 70% pass rate on this section of the exam, which is 70% of the scored questions. 

You get 1.5 hours for this part of the exam, and then you're given a short break before you start the practical applied portion. 

Section 2: Practical Applied Portion

The second part of the exam is much longer than the first. Because of this, we highly recommend taking the break you're given between part 1 and part 2. Section 2 is designed to test your knowledge of 

• exercise technique
• program design
• organization & administration
• testing & evaluation 

You can expect part 2 to take about 2.5 hours, consisting of 125 questions, with 15 questions that are also not scored like the first part of the exam. 

The one thing you might find different about the second part is the questions may include videos or images for you to analyze and answer a question on. There are actually about 30-40 video or image questions that might ask about exercise technique or cueing that you might provide to an athlete.

These videos or images may also be about how to properly spot different movements as well as questions about facility design and layout. 

Much of the technique & cueing can be found in the Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning textbook (click here if you need a link). 

The exam is also on current research, which can make it a bit confusing. You can do very well by just studying the book, but if you can keep up with current research and incorporate into your knowledge, that would make your chances of passing, even better. We also highlight current research in our CSCS Study Prep Course, which might also interest you (click here for more info). 

Most Questions Are Not Memorization 

You might be surprised to learn that most of the questions are not based on memory and instead are based on the application of multiple pieces of information. Specifically, the questions are based on:

• recall
• application
• analysis 

So if you try to use flash cards or something similar to this, you may not be successful. We've found that some of the best studying involves reading the material, taking an exam prep course, and then doing practice questions to help you learn the areas you're not as proficient in. Practice questions can help you apply what you've learned and make sure you know how the information applies in real life scenarios with athletes. 

Exam Day

You might be wondering what happens on exam day if you pass or fail one or both parts of the exam. Well, if you pass the exam, you'll be good to go. You'll just need to submit proof of your valid CPR certification to receive your ID number & official certification. 

However, if you fail one or both sections of the exam, you can retake it, you'll just have to pass it within 1 year of passing the other portion. 

Continuing Education Units (CEUs) Requirements for the CSCS 

For every year that you're certified, you need at least 20 hours of continuing education units (CEUs). This could come from taking courses that are approved by the NSCA, that advance your knowledge of strength and conditioning. For example, we have a Program Design 101 course which includes 8 hours of continuing ed, that helps strength coaches become Program Design Specialists (you can check it out here). 

After you get certified, you'll be able to login to your account and look at how many hours you need to renew your certification, based on when you got your certification.