Apparently, good things come in threes because the last 24 hours have been pretty awesome for me:
Obviously, I am smiling ear-to-ear right now. I’m so glad that all of that studying paid off! I’ll talk more about the NASM exam in a minute—I have lots of recapping to do!
Workout
CrossFit was a lot of fun last night. We only had a small group, but it was still a lively workout with 7 sets of Turkish Get-Ups (3 reps on each arm) and a 7-minute AMRAP with 7 Hand Release Push-ups + 9 Kettle Bell Swings.
I still think it’s crazy how physically challenging even a short AMRAP can be. Last night, in just seven minutes, I got a full-body workout that kicked my butt. At the end of it, I was totally exhausted, and I woke up pretty sore this morning. Somehow, those seven minutes felt like a whole hell of a lot more! I used a 17-pound kettle bell for the swings, and I did 9 cycles of the AMRAP in 7 minutes.
Dinner
For those of you who have eaten pizza from American Flatbread , you know it’s not any old ordinary pizza. It’s frickin’ amazing.
Whole Foods sells frozen American Flatbread pizzas, but they’re pretty expensive. I found a coupon a few weeks ago for a $1 off one, so I’ve been patiently waiting for them to go on sale at Whole Foods. Well, last week, they finally did, and I bought one!
And it was well worth the wait. It was almost as good as the real deal, but definitely one of the best frozen pizzas I have ever eaten. The cheese, the dough, the toppings… all so delicious.
On the side: salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar.
Breakfast
This morning, I woke up bright and early to eat breakfast and prepare to take the NASM exam. On the menu: toasted whole wheat Sandwich Thin with sunflower butter, baked grapefruit, and iced coffee with soy milk.
While I ate, I did some last-minute cramming. I hadn’t taken an exam of any kind since my final year of grad school in 2005, so, of course, I was freaking out a lot a little.
Eventually, I got it together and drove to Bridgewater State College to take the exam.
Two hour later, I’m a certified personal trainer! Woohoo!
Before I forget, here are some of the topics that appeared on my test and are important to know if you plan to take the exam:
- Planes of motion
- Bioenergetic continuum
- Cardiorespiratory system (blood, heart, etc.)
- Sliding Filament Theory
- Length-Tension Relationships
- Overhead Squat Assessment (overactive, underactive muscles, appropriate stretches, and exercises)
- Actions of the muscles (concentric, eccentric, isometric)
- Autogenic Inhibition
- BMI (how to calculate, what’s considered “severe”)
- Muscles of the core
- Blood pressure (normal, hypertension, etc.)
- How many calories in a gram of fat, protein, carb
- Various types of resistance training (vertical loading, horizontal loading, etc.)
- Training volume adaptations
- Examples of exercises for core, balance, and reactive training
- Resistance acute variables
- Temp (4/2/1, X/X/X, etc.)
- Amino acids (essential, Glucogenis, etc.)
- Protein requirements
- Program Design Continuum
- Client relations and administration (communication, goal setting, etc.)
I’m planning to write a post about why I chose NASM over other certifications, but if you have any additional questions about the process, test, etc., let me know, and I’ll answer them in a future post.
Lunch
As soon as I got home from taking the exam, I started to make lunch. I went grocery shopping yesterday, so our fridge is packed full of food, which meant that I couldn’t make up my mind about what to eat, so I had small portions of a few different things.
Roasted Brussels sprouts.
Pistachios.
A Trader Joe’s Vegetable Masala Burger and carrot sticks with veggie hummus.
Good lunch!
Question of the Day
Have you noticed that good things (or bad things) in your life often come in threes?
P.S. A reader just sent me a clip from The Dr. Oz Show!
Apparently, good things come in threes because the last 24 hours have been pretty awesome for me:
Obviously, I am smiling ear-to-ear right now. I’m so glad that all of that studying paid off! I’ll talk more about the NASM exam in a minute—I have lots of recapping to do!
Workout
CrossFit was a lot of fun last night. We only had a small group, but it was still a lively workout with 7 sets of Turkish Get-Ups (3 reps on each arm) and a 7-minute AMRAP with 7 Hand Release Push-ups + 9 Kettle Bell Swings.
I still think it’s crazy how physically challenging even a short AMRAP can be. Last night, in just seven minutes, I got a full-body workout that kicked my butt. At the end of it, I was totally exhausted, and I woke up pretty sore this morning. Somehow, those seven minutes felt like a whole hell of a lot more! I used a 17-pound kettle bell for the swings, and I did 9 cycles of the AMRAP in 7 minutes.
Dinner
For those of you who have eaten pizza from American Flatbread , you know it’s not any old ordinary pizza. It’s frickin’ amazing.
Whole Foods sells frozen American Flatbread pizzas, but they’re pretty expensive. I found a coupon a few weeks ago for a $1 off one, so I’ve been patiently waiting for them to go on sale at Whole Foods. Well, last week, they finally did, and I bought one!
And it was well worth the wait. It was almost as good as the real deal, but definitely one of the best frozen pizzas I have ever eaten. The cheese, the dough, the toppings… all so delicious.
On the side: salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar.
Breakfast
This morning, I woke up bright and early to eat breakfast and prepare to take the NASM exam. On the menu: toasted whole wheat Sandwich Thin with sunflower butter, baked grapefruit, and iced coffee with soy milk.
While I ate, I did some last-minute cramming. I hadn’t taken an exam of any kind since my final year of grad school in 2005, so, of course, I was freaking out a lot a little.
Eventually, I got it together and drove to Bridgewater State College to take the exam.
Two hour later, I’m a certified personal trainer! Woohoo!
Before I forget, here are some of the topics that appeared on my test and are important to know if you plan to take the exam:
I’m planning to write a post about why I chose NASM over other certifications, but if you have any additional questions about the process, test, etc., let me know, and I’ll answer them in a future post.
Lunch
As soon as I got home from taking the exam, I started to make lunch. I went grocery shopping yesterday, so our fridge is packed full of food, which meant that I couldn’t make up my mind about what to eat, so I had small portions of a few different things.
Roasted Brussels sprouts.
Pistachios.
A Trader Joe’s Vegetable Masala Burger and carrot sticks with veggie hummus.
Good lunch!
Question of the Day
Have you noticed that good things (or bad things) in your life often come in threes?
P.S. A reader just sent me a clip from The Dr. Oz Show!