Yesterday, I took the exam and passed the Practical Section with 98/110. However, I failed the Science Section by 1 point. 🙄 For me, I thought the Practical side of things would be the hardest section, but turns out not. So I want to list out a reflection on the exam and what to do differently for the Science section. For the Practical —> What Went Well • For several days, I had reviewed all of the agility tests in the CSCS book + I watched videos on them. I am really glad I did because there were a lot of questions on them in the exam (which I was surprised about). • Fortunately through my own coaching experience, I understood the faults to look for in the major lifts, like Back Squat, Front Squat, Bench, Clean and so on. I also knew the progressions for each, specifically the power clean and clean. I think if you don’t know what to look for, and how to progress these, you absolutely should as there are several questions / videos / photos on this. • I understood what the exercise order should be for testing day and training day. • I had a good understanding of what counts as power development, strength development, hypertrophy, and muscular endurance. And I’ve written programs on these already. There were questions like: “ Sally has the below characteristics: Height: 5’6 Weight: 124lbs Vertical jump: 15” 1RM Back Squat: 145lb What should Sally work on in her programming?” • There were a few questions on nutrition I felt good with. Such as, referral to an RD, understanding how much protein a person needs, carb loading strategies, and issues to look for such as bulimia, anorexia, and binge eating (and which sport has the most at risk for these disorders). What did not go as well: • Facility rules. I’m a little disappointed in this one as I feel like I should know, but spacing between racks, policies and procedures in the S&C gym, who a club team should ask to use the S&C gym, role of an assistant S&C coach…😅 • I forgot some calculations for some of the nutrition questions. Specifically calculating caloric needs using body weight only (“Bill is a college athlete weighing 100kg. What should his daily caloric intake be?”)

A strength coach programs the following in-season superset for collegiate soccer athletes: - A1: Back squat — 4 × 4 @ 87.5% 1RM - A2: 30-m sprints — 1 rep max effort (timed) - Rest: 2–3 minutes between paired sets After several weeks, sprint times progressively worsen across the session, while squat performance remains stable. The coach wants to maintain maximal strength adaptations without sacrificing sprint quality. Which adjustment is MOST appropriate? Answer in the poll, then explain your rationale below. I’ll follow up with my breakdown after enough people have responded. From Chapters 17 and 19

Definition: Mechanical advantage describes how effectively a muscle or external load can produce torque around a joint, based largely on moment arm length. In resistance training: - When a muscle’s internal moment arm is large relative to the external moment arm, the muscle has a mechanical advantage and can produce force more efficiently. - When the external moment arm is large, the muscle is at a mechanical disadvantage and must produce more force to move the load. Example: At the bottom of a squat, changes in hip and knee moment arms can shift mechanical advantage between the glutes, quadriceps, and spinal extensors, influencing which muscles are stressed most. Why This Matters for Coaches - Explains why exercises feel harder at certain joint angles - Guides exercise selection and modification - Helps manage joint stress and tissue loading - Clarifies how changes in stance, grip, or range of motion alter difficulty without changing load So when you change body position or setup, you’re changing mechanical advantage and how much force the muscle must generate. This—along with individual anthropometric variation—is one reason why certain variations of a lift are harder or easier for various athletes. Question: What are some exercise variations or setups you use to alter mechanical advantage for yourself or your athletes?

A strength coach notices that an athlete performs well in training but consistently underperforms during competition. The athlete reports feeling overly tense and “thinking too much” during events. Which strategy would be MOST appropriate to improve performance in competition? Answer in the poll, then explain your rationale below. I’ll follow up with my breakdown after enough people have responded. From Chapters 8: Psychology of Athletic Preparation and Performance

Back in the summer of 2025, the CSCS exam got a major update. This may be old news to some of you but I thought I'd share it because it isn’t just a minor tweak. It’s a shift in what the NSCA believes entry-level competence actually looks like. The exam is now less about memorization and more about application.Fewer trivia questions. More “what would you do with this athlete, in this context?” This is GREAT for coaches with an exercise science background and plenty of in the trenches experience. It's difficult for the textbook jockeys who want the letters without the sweat, or the coaches without a formal exercise science background. Some big themes I’m seeing in the new DCO: - Nutrition questions dropped, but the remaining ones are more applied and performance-focused - Exercise technique matters, but program design and decision-making matter more - Coaches are expected to explain why they do things, not just spot bad lifts - Research literacy is now a real requirement - Mental health and athlete well-being are being addressed - Data collection is secondary to data implementation The bottom line is that the exam is moving away from “can you recall this?” and toward “can you actually coach?” Curious how others see it—does this better reflect the real job of a strength coach, or does it raise the bar too high for entry-level candidates? Here is a link to the CSCS handbook in case you want to read the DCO for yourself.