Personal Trainer Exam Review Course

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Personal TrainerExam Review Course
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American Council on Exercise

• Introduction

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About ACE

• 1) ACE is dedicated to promoting physical
  activity and protecting consumers against unsafe
  and ineffective fitness products and instruction
• 2) ACE sponsors university-based exercise
  science research that targets fitness products
  and trends
• 3) One of three certifying organizations to be
  accredited by the National Organization of
  Certifying Agencies (NOCA)

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What makes ACE different?

• 1) ACE exams are legally defensible
• 2) ACE develops the study materials without
  using the actual exam
• 3) Rather than teaching answers to the exam, ACE
  prepares you to be a safe and effective personal
  trainer

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About the ACE Exam

• 1) Written simulation portion
• a. Designed to simulate situations that a
  personal trainer might encounter in actual
  practice
• b. 1 hour to complete
• 2) Multiple-choice portion
• a. 150 questions
• b. 3 hours to complete
• c. 72 seconds per question

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About the ACE exam (cont.)

• 3) Number of correctly-answered questions to
  pass exam
• a. The number will vary because each exam
  version has a different level of difficulty
• b. For example A candidate may have to answer
  60 of the questions correctly on one exam
  version and 70 on another

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About the ACE exam (cont.)

• 4) How is the exam developed?
• a. Questions are written using the Personal
  Trainer Exam Content Outline
• b. Exam content
• 1. Client assessment (20)
• 2. Program design (21)
• 3. Program implementation and adjustment (29)
• 4. Applied sciences (15)
• 5. Professional role (15)

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About the ACE exam (cont.)

• 5) Who administers the exam?
• a. CASTLE Worldwide, Inc., an independent,
  professional testing company
• b. Ensures exam security and integrity, and
  eliminates bias
• 6) Eligibility requirements for exam
• a. 18 years of age
• b. Current CPR
• c. 100 hours of designing and implementing
  exercise programs is strongly recommended

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ACE Personal Trainer Manual

• Chapter 6
• Testing Evaluation

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Purpose of measurements

• 1) Establishes a baseline
• 2) Helps to monitor progress
• 3) Increases your level of professionalism

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Disadvantages of measurements

• 1) Can be intimidating
• 2) Can be discouraging
• 3) Not always accurate

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Maximal oxygen uptake

• 1) Also known as maximal oxygen consumption,
  VO2max, and aerobic capacity
• 2) The maximum amount of oxygen a person can
  consume during exercise
• 3) Expressed in liters or milliliters

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Absolute vs. relative VO2max

• 1) Absolute
• a. O2 uptake determined without body weight as
  a factor
• b. Usually used for non-weightbearing exercise
  tests such as cycling
• c. Expressed in L/min

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Absolute vs. relative VO2max (cont.)

• 2) Relative
• a. Absolute O2 uptake divided by body weight
• b. Used for weightbearing exercise tests such
  as walking, jogging and stepping
• c. Expressed in mL/kg/min
• d. This method allows for comparison to others
  of different body weights

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Absolute vs. relative VO2max (cont.)

• 2) Relative (cont.)
• e. A heavy person may have a high VO2max
  (L/min) when compared to a lighter person, but
  when expressed in relative terms (mL/kg/min),
  the lighter person may show a higher level of
  cardiorespiratory fitness
• Formula
• Relative O2 uptake O2 uptake (L/min) x 1,000
• BW (kg)

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Percentage of maximal heart rate (MHR)

• 1) Method of monitoring exercise intensity
• 2) Can be determined by a maximal functional
  capacity test or by the age-predicted maximal
  heart rate formula (220 age)
• Formula
• Target heart rate (THR) 220 age x desired
  intensity

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Heart-rate Reserve (HRR)

• 1) The result of subtracting resting heart rate
  (RHR) from maximal heart rate (MHR)
• 2) Represents the working range between resting
  and maximal heart rate within which all activity
  occurs
• Formula HRR (220 age) RHR

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Karvonen formula

• 1) The mathematical formula that uses HRR to
  determine target heart rate (THR)
• 2) A common mistake is forgetting to add back in
  the RHR
• Formula HRR x desired intensity RHR

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Metabolic equivalent (MET)

• 1) A simplified system for classifying physical
  activities where 1 MET resting O2 consumption
• 2) Resting O2 consumption equals approximately
  3.5 mL/kg/min
• Formula 1 MET 3.5 mL/kg/min

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Rating of perceived exertion (RPE)

• 1) Developed by Gunnar Borg, this scale provides
  a standard means for subjective self-evaluation
  of exercise intensity level
• Original scale 620
• 3) Revised (modified) scale 010

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Submaximal aerobic exercise test

• 1) A cardiorespiratory fitness test designed so
  that the intensity does not exceed 85 HRR
• 2) Provides an estimation of the VO2max without
  the risks associated with maximal exercise
  testing
• 3) Examples
• a. YMCA Submaximal Step Test
• b. McArdle Step Test
• c. Rockport Fitness Walking Test (1-mile walk)
• d. BYU Jog Test

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Graded exercise test (GXT)

• 1) A treadmill or cycle-ergometer test that
  measures (clinical setting) or estimates (field
  setting) maximum aerobic capacity by gradually
  increasing the intensity until a person has
  reached a maximal level or voluntary exhaustion
• 2) Examples
• a. YMCA Submaximal Bicycle Test
• b. Ross Submaximal Treadmill Protocol

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Body Mass Index (BMI)

• 1) A relative measure of body height to body
  weight for determining degree of obesity
• 2) Should not be used solely in determining body
  composition for the athletic client, because BMI
  does not distinguish between fat mass and
  fat-free mass
• Formula Weight (kg)
• Height2 (m)

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Skinfold measurements

• 1) Used to determine the ratio of fat mass to
  fat-free mass in the body
• 2) Fat mass adipose tissue
• 3) Fat-free mass bone, muscle, and organs
• 4) Measurements are performed with a skinfold
  caliper

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Skin-fold measurements (cont.)

• 5) The Jackson and Pollock (1985) three-site
  method has a relatively small margin of error
  for the general population
• a. Sites for men chest, abdomen, and thigh
• b. Sites for women triceps, suprailium, and
  thigh
• 6) Should be repeated by the same technician
  during reassessment to decrease error
• 7) Should be performed prior to physical
  activity because fluid transfer to the skin
  could result in overestimations

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Bioelectrical impedance analysis

• 1) Involves passing a small current through the
  body and measuring the opposition to the
  currents flow
• a. Fat-free tissue is a good conductor of
  electricity
• b. Fat tissue is a poor conductor of
  electricity

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Bioelectrical impedance analysis (cont.)

• 2) Estimations can have the same margin of error
  as skinfold measurements as long as the client
  follows the correct pre-test protocol
• a. Abstain from eating or drinking within 4
  hours of the assessment
• b. Avoid moderate or vigorous physical activity
  within 12 hours of the assessment
• c. Void completely before the assessment
• d. Abstain from alcohol consumption for 48
  hours before the assessment
• e. Avoid diuretic agents, including caffeine,
  prior to the assessment unless prescribed by a
  physician

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Circumference (girth) measurements

• 1) Can be used to assess body composition as
  well as body-fat distribution
• 2) Measurements are taken with a cloth measuring
  tape and must be taken at specific anatomical
  sites for accuracy
• 3) More practical for obese clients

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Calculating desired body weight

• 1) Once body composition is known, the personal
  trainer can assist the client in goal-setting
  using the desired body-weight equation
• 2) This equation assumes there is no loss in
  lean BW
• Formula
• Desired body weight lean body weight
• 1 desired body fat

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Common flexibility tests

• Measures range of motion (ROM) at specific
  joints
• 1) Trunk flexion (sit-and-reach)
• 2) Trunk extension
• 3) Hip flexion
• 4) Shoulder flexibility
• As with any test or exercise, the clients
  health and injury history should be considered

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Muscular strength assessments

• Muscular strength assessments measure the
  greatest amount of force that muscles can produce
  in a single maximal effort
• 1) Common muscular strength tests
• a. 1 repetition maximum (1 RM) bench press
• b. 1 RM leg press
• 2) 1 RM strength testing is not commonplace
  among personal trainers as the risks typically
  outweigh the benefits

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Muscular endurance assessments

• Muscular endurance assessments measure a
  muscles ability to exert a submaximal force
  either repeatedly or statically over time
• 1) Common muscular endurance tests
• a. Push-up test
• b. Half sit-up test
• As with any test or exercise, the clients
  health and injury history should be considered

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Test termination criteria

• 1) Onset of angina or angina-like symptoms
• 2) Significant drop (20 mmHg) in systolic blood
  pressure or failure of systolic blood pressure
  to rise with an increase in exercise intensity
• 3) Excessive rise in blood pressure systolic
  pressure gt260 mmHg or diastolic pressure gt115
  mmHg
• 4) Signs of poor perfusion lightheadedness,
  confusion, ataxia (uncoordinated movement),
  pallor (pale skin), cyanosis (bluish coloration,
  especially around mouth), nausea, or cold and
  clammy skin

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Test termination criteria (cont.)

• 5) Failure of heart rate to increase with
  increased exercise intensity
• 6) Noticeable change in heart rhythm
• 7) Subject requests to stop
• 8) Physical or verbal manifestations of severe
  fatigue
• 9) Failure of testing equipment

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Reassessment

• 1) Measurable changes usually take about 46
  weeks
• 2) The first follow-up assessments should be
  administered 412 weeks after the onset of
  training
• 3) The information gained during the follow-up
  assessment can be useful in client motivation as
  well as in future exercise programming