My Account
Certification
Educational Content
Publications
NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer (NSCA-CPT) Program
Tactical Strength and Conditioning (TSAC) Program
Career Development
Membership and Insurance
Products
Certification
NSCA is moving to all computer-based delivery of its certification exams. NSCA recently announced a partnership with Pearson VUE to provide exclusive administration of English-language exams in its thousands of worldwide test centers beginning April 1, 2015.
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This change will provide all certification candidates with the best standardized testing experience, and expand convenient accessibility of exams. Pearson VUE is the largest global testing administrator, and is committed to providing candidates with an excellent, reliable, and secure testing experience. You can learn more about Pearson VUE at www.pearsonvue.com, and see a demo of the exam delivery software at www.pearsonvue.com/demo.
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NSCA certification exams are available in both Pearson VUE owned and operated test centers (Pearson Professional Centers) and third-party approved test centers (Pearson VUE Test Centers and military test centers). If you are interested in becoming an approved test center, please review the benefits and requirements.
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The NSCA awards CEUs for other organizations’ certifications, if they are accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). If the certification is accredited by the NCCA then you can record the certification under Category D (Earned NCCA Certification) and it would be worth 1.0 CEU.
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There are 3 ways to access purchased quizzes, if they have not already been taken. 1. Use the link in the confirmation that was emailed after purchase of quiz. 2. Click on My Courses & Quizzes under My Account section of the website. 3. Open the quiz directly from the main CEU Quiz page.
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Quizzes are only able to be submitted one time per purchase. If you completed a quiz and did not pass, you must pay to retake the quiz.
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Anyone can purchase and submit these quizzes, however you must have access to the corresponding article. Professional and student members have access to all NSCA online publications. A membership can be purchased by visiting the Membership page.
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If you are certified on or before December 31, 2016, you will need to earn CEUs from at least two different categories. To see how category maximums apply, visit the Recertification page.
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Recertification packets will begin shipping in late December 2017.
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At this time you do not need to send in any supporting documentation. If you are audited at the end of the reporting period we will provide instructions on how to submit supporting documentation.
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Recertification should be completed on the NSCA website by entering your continuing education activities and paying the corresponding recertification fee. Please visit the Recertification page for step-by-step instructions.
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Recertification fees are per credential and depend on your certification date and membership status. Please refer to the following table.
| Certification Date |
NSCA Member |
Non-Member |
| Before 2015 |
$50 |
$75 |
| During 2015 |
$40 |
$65 |
| During 2016 |
$30 |
$55 |
January 1, 2017
- June 30, 2017 |
$20 |
$45 |
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If you hold more than one NSCA certification, you do not need to earn separate CEUs each certification. However, the CEU activities reported must be completed after your certification date for each credential.
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Recertification with Distinction recognizes certified professionals who have gone above and beyond the regular CEU requirements with their involvement in the NSCA. To qualify for Recertified with Distinction, a certified professional must: 1. Meet the minimum recertification requirements established by the NSCA for the current recertification period. 2. Acquire a total of 10 CEUs in NSCA activities (the requirements are not prorated for those certified after January 2015 and CEU category maximum rules do not apply). The requirement increases to a total of 12 CEUs for professionals who have 2 credentials and 14 CEUs for those with 3 or more certifications and wish to receive the Recertified with Distinction status for all.
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There is no grace period or late fee option. If you fail to complete the recertification process, your certification expires and you are no longer certified by the NSCA.
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There are three options depending on your situation:
1. If you completed all required CEUs prior to the recertification deadline, you may be able to reinstate your certification.
2. If a significant hardship (e.g. documented disability, military deployment) prevented you from completing the recertification process on time, you may appeal directly to the Certification Committee. Keep in mind that the recertification period is three years long, and that hardship does not make up for procrastination.
3. If neither of the previous options applies to your situation, you must retake and pass the appropriate certification exams.
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A two- to three-year recertification period is common practice among certification organizations in the fitness industry. A three-year recertification period was chosen by the NSCA Certification Committee to ensure that certificants keep their knowledge of industry trends, technology, and laws/regulations up-to-date.
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No, you will have access to the logo if you are currently certified.
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Log in to NSCA.com. Click on myAccount or your name and then the cog wheel. Files will be located under Digital Content Access > Download Zip File.
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My documents or downloads is a common location..
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If the logo color matches the background, you will not be able to see it. .
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No, there is a license agreement attached which states business cards, website, email signature, brochures, etc.
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Educational Content
You can find new videos on our Videos Page, and you can find new articles on our Articles Page.
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Fresh, new educational content is added to NSCA.com nearly every day. Follow us on Twitter to learn about new content as soon as it is published.
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Online quizzes on Hot Topics, Journals, Webinars, Programs, and more are located on our CEU Quizzes page.
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Publications
If you are a current Professional Member of the NSCA, follow the steps below for full online access to the professional publications:
1. Sign into NSCA.com with your NSCA username and password.
2. Once signed in, click on the “Publications” pull-down menu across the top of the webpage.
3. From the main publications page, click on the cover of the journal you wish to access.
4. From the journal page, click the cover image to be taken to the publisher’s website with full access to view the current issue and all archived issues.
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You can find information on abstract submissions as well as abstract archives online at http://www.nsca.com/abstracts/.
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NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer (NSCA-CPT) Program
Check out our Membership Page to learn about the numerous benefits of NSCA membership and compare membership options.
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All of the information you will need on preparing for and passing the exam can be found on the NSCA-CPT Certification page.
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The NSCA offers several options for preparing for the NSCA-CPT exam. Check out our study materials in the NSCA shop and look for an Exam Preparation Live Clinic in your area.
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The NSCA offers conferences, clinics, and state and regional events throughout the year. Check out our Events page to see all of our upcoming events and details on attending.
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The NSCA offers the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (JSCR) and Strength and Conditioning Journal (SCJ), and several quarterly, peer-reviewed publications, including the Personal Training Quarterly (PTQ). We also suggest you check out our articles and videos.
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Check out our Job Board for the latest job postings from around the country.
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Tactical Strength and Conditioning (TSAC) Program
The program is geared towards those who are actively administrating exercise programming to those in military, law enforcement, fire and rescue, protective services, first responders, and other emergency personnel. The TSAC Program conducts education and certification activities in all countries except those listed on the U.S. Department of State's trade embargo list. A current list of these countries can be found here.
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The TSAC program currently offers the Tactical Strength and Conditioning Facilitator (TSAC-F) certification, exam prep materials including TSAC-F Exam Prep Online, the peer-reviewed publication the TSAC Report, and a national Job Board. Keep a look out for the new TSAC Practitioner’s Course launching in 2016!
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Access to our Job Board can be found on the Career Services page or a link can be found on our home page.
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To receive the TSAC Report, you must be at least a member with the NSCA. The TSAC Report is available to all members of the NSCA and can be found on the NSCA website here.
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To submit an article to the TSAC Report, please refer to TSAC Report Author's Guidelines or email the NSCA Publications Department at publications@nsca.com.
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The TSAC Practitioner’s Course is designed to introduce the tactical practitioner to the basics of strength and conditioning through hands-on repetitions and scientific principles of strength and conditioning to help decrease injuries and workman compensation claims and increase performance, readiness, and longevity of the tactical operator’s career. The practitioner will spend time in lecture settings learning about strength and conditioning concepts before receiving hands on training in execution and correction of movement and exercise. More information can be found here.
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The course will be hosted at regional facilities across the U.S. More information can be found here.
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The TSAC Annual Training is intended to present new research and training concepts to those in the tactical field (both facilitators and operators), whereas the TSAC Practitioners Course is designed to educate an individual on the basics of tactical strength and conditioning in a "train the trainer" format.
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Yes. You will receive 2.0 CEUs for attending the TSAC Annual Training or 2.0 CEUs for attending the TSAC Practitioners Course. This is consistent with the current NSCA CEU structure of 0.1 CEU per hour of attendance, or 1.0 CEU per presentation hour if you are a presenter who holds an NSCA certification. Additionally in the registration for the Practitioners Course you will receive TSAC-F Online Exam Prep worth 1.5 CEUs and you will have your TSAC-F Certification registration fee taken care of, if you pass the TSAC-F Certification test you will receive 3 CEUs.
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Yes. The CEUs can be used towards NATA/BOC. You will need to request a certificate of attendance through the Conference Department to use to petition the CEUs towards anything else other than that.
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Yes, we will supply a certificate of completion for the TSAC Practitioners Course.
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Yes, we have a page dedicated to providing support for military and dependents and it can be found here.
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My Account
NSCA.com delivers content that is tailored to your interests based on your preferences. Update your preferences to ensure that the content that you receive matches your interests.
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To update your account preferences, sign into NSCA.com and visit your Account Preferences page. From this page, you can also access all of the other items that can be updated for your account and view your membership status. Also, these items can be accessed from the drop down window on any primary navigation link on the site.
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Sign into NSCA.com and your password can be updated here.
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From the login page, click on the "I forgot my password" link at the bottom of the page. Enter your email address into the field provided and click, "Send reset password." Instructions to reset password will be sent to the email provided.
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Sign into NSCA.com and your billing and shipping address can be updated here. Other contact information, such as email and phone, can be updated here
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You can change your communication preferences with NSCA by signing into your NSCA.com account and visiting the Contact Preferences page.
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Sign into your NSCA.com account and visit the My Orders page to view your past and open orders.
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If you membership is up for renewal, and you are signed into your NSCA.com account, you will see the “Renew Membership” link on your personal home page. This link will take you to the Renew My Membership page. This page can also be accessed through your "My Account" page.
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You can find your shopping cart in the NSCA.com store, or by clicking here.
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Career Development
Find jobs on the enhanced NSCA job board. Sign into your account and visit our Job Board to see what’s available in your field.
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NSCA’s Career Series are a collection of video talks that offer career and business development advice presented by the experts in the fields of strength and conditioning, personal training, and business operations. They can be found in the Membership section of the website here.
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Membership and Insurance
You can sign up for our Certified Professional with Liability Insurance membership by contacting the membership department at 800-815-6826 ext 202, or email insurance@nsca.com. Online sign-up for CPI will be available soon. Look for updates and details here.
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To qualify for liability insurance you must have and maintain a current CSCS, CSPS, TSAC-F and/or NSCA-CPT certification.
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The insurance has $1,000,000 of primary coverage and $4,000,000 of excess coverage for a total of $5,000,000 total limits.
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Information is available online here: www.nsca.com/Membership/Member-Tools/Insurance/
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The policy runs from February 1st through January 31st. Once payment is taken out of your account, the policy takes effect and coverage begins.
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Your certificate of Certified Professional with Insurance is for your purposes only and is issued by the NSCA. A replacement can be issued at any time. Certificates for Additional Insured’s will be issued and emailed by K & K Insurance. Replacements can be issued at any time by contacting the membership department at 800-815-6826 ext 202, or email insurance@nsca.com.
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The cost of the insurance is included with the Certified Professional with Liability Insurance membership. The fee is $352 w/printed publication (additional postage fees may apply) or $337 for go-green. The policy period runs from February 1 through January 31. The cost is pro-rated according to when you sign up and when your current membership expires.
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An Additional Insured, such as a gym, school or other facility, provides insurance coverage for that gym, school or other facility for your activities as an NSCA-certified professional. If the gym, school or other facility is named as a defendant in an action involving your training activities, the insurance will provide defense and/or indemnification.
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Yes. You must have a current CPI membership or be signing up for a CPI membership.
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No, coverage is not extended to employees. Coverage only applies to the your activities. Employees need to carry their own general liability insurance.
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No, coverage is for you as an individual only.
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If you require insurance coverage for your personally owned studio please contact Integro Entertainment & Sports Insurance directly: (678) 324-3325 or go to: sport.integrogroup.com/nsca for more information.
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If at any time your NSCA certification lapses, your liability insurance is null and void.
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NSCA certification is required to be insured through the NSCA. You may contact the Certification Department for further details at 800-815-6826.
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NSCA members (Student, Professional, Certified Professional with Insurance) get access to pro deals at exclusive adventure brands through ProMotive. Just click here, sign in with your NSCA credentials, and start saving.
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We currently do not grant permission nor grant access to NSCA members for the purposes of conducting research or participating in surveys.
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Products
Please allow up to 24 hours to receive member pricing. If your order is urgent, please call 800-815-6826 and select Option 3 to speak to a Customer Service Representative.
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You must have an active certification number on file that corresponds with the certified purchase you are requesting. If you are CSCS certified, you may purchase CSCS merchandise, but not NSCA-CPT and vice versa. This restriction does not apply to study materials.
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Since candidates with diverse backgrounds take the exams, it is difficult to recommend a single approach when preparing to take the exam. An academic background in an exercise science/physiology, strength training and conditioning, physical therapy or athletic training related curriculum provides the ideal foundation from which a candidate may begin to prepare for the exam. However, there are candidates without an exercise science-related degree, but with a significant amount of professional experience who want to take the exam. Therefore, candidates should follow the portion of this document that best reflects their academic background.
For candidates with an academic background, we suggest the Essential package. For those without an academic background, the Essential Plus package. They should not be considered as the only method to prepare for the exam. Ultimately, it will be each candidate’s academic, experiential and test-taking abilities that dictate how effective the preparation materials are. Also, while understanding the information presented in the preparation materials should certainly increase the likelihood of passing the exam, it does not guarantee a successful performance.
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Allow 7-10 days for processing member-only products. Membership certificates and window decals process from a different warehouse so they ship out separately.
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We accept purchase orders on a case-by-case basis. The customer(s) (purchaser and/or recipient if different) must be registered on our website and purchase orders are submitted directly to accounting for approval.
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As a membership-based organization, we only offer discounts based on your membership status.
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Contact the NSCA for preauthorization at 800-815-6826 or 719-632-6722 ext 149, or send an email to products@nsca.com. You may also review the return policy on the store home page or on the reverse side of your packing slip.
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Exchanges are processed as a return and new purchase. Call us at 800-815-6826 or 719-632-6722, ext. 149 to submit your new order and obtain return authorization. We will waive the shipping on the new order and match any special pricing that you received on the initial purchase.
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Please contact us immediately at 800-815-6826 or 719-632-6722 ext 149, or send an email to products@nsca.com.
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Essentials of Personal Training, Essentials of Strength Training, and Exercise Technique Manual are not returnable if unwrapped.
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You will receive tracking information via email when your order is fulfilled. You may want to check your junk email to see if it filtered incorrectly. You may also contact us at products@nsca.com to track the status of your order.
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Please login at NSCA.com to review your order history and confirm that the order is active. Orders can take up to 3 business days to process and ship. Allow an additional 3-5 business days for ground delivery, 2 business days for express delivery, and 6-10 business days for international delivery. After the allowed time, please contact us at products@nsca.com so that we may research the status of your order further.
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Please contact us at 800-815-6826 or 719-632-6722 ext 149, or send an email to products@nsca.com immediately so that we may correct the address before it ships incorrectly.
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You may login online at NSCA.com to view your order history and print a receipt. You may also contact us at products@nsca.com to request an electronic receipt.
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The download process happens very quickly. As soon as you click on the link, it is downloading. Please check the download section of your computer or on your browser to locate the file and save it. You will encounter an error if you attempt to download the pdf to your phone.
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You will have access for one year from date of purchase.
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You have unlimited access to the practice questions for one year from date of purchase; however, the questions do not change and you want to ensure you are getting a good gauge of knowledge rather than memorizing the answers.
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Log in at NSCA.com. Click on My Account or Your Name>Cog Wheel and then Courses & Practice Questions. You will have links for all practice question bundles purchased.
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The online practice questions consist of 50% new questions and 50% recycled from practice exam volumes 1, 2, & 3 that were discontinued in 2014.
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Log in at NSCA.com > click on My Account or Your Name>Cog Wheel and then Courses & Practice Questions. You will have access for one year from date of purchase.
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Instructor copies may be requested through our publisher at humankinetics.com > EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES > Adopting a Textbook > Exam/Desk Copy Request Form
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