NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training [Hardcover]

NSCA -National Strength & Conditioning Association (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 29, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0736000151 | ISBN-13: 978-0736000154 | Edition: 1

NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training is the ideal authoritative resource for personal trainers, health and fitness instructors, exercise scientists, and other fitness professionals, as well as the primary preparation source for the NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer® examination.

The book includes more than 250 photographs and contributions from leading personal training experts who provide the scientific principles, concepts, and theories of personal training as well as practical applications for health and fitness.

Experts in anatomy, exercise physiology, and biomechanics and other exercise scientists work with respected personal trainers, physical therapists, and sport psychologists to provide in-depth coverage of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of personal trainers. Special coverage is given to exercise technique, including teaching approaches involving free-weight and machine exercises, cardiovascular activities, flexibility, and speed training. A special feature of this text is the manner in which the program designs are offered for the typically healthy client as well as for those clients presenting unique challenges to the personal trainer.

NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training supplies comprehensive information on proper stretching, resistance training, aerobic endurance training, and plyometrics techniques. Additionally, the text covers critical information about the business aspects of personal training, including facility and equipment maintenance and legal issues that many trainers face.

The following are some of the text’s features:

• More than 250 full-color photographs that clearly illustrate and accurately explain proper stretching, resistance training, aerobic endurance training, and plyometrics techniques
• Student study tools—including chapter objectives, key points, sidebars with practical applications, chapter questions, and a comprehensive glossary—that help readers prepare for the NSCA-CPT® exam
• Targeted expert information that will give readers the expertise to deal with clients who have special exercise needs, such as pregnant women, older adults, athletes, and overweight clients
• Scientific and applied information geared toward personal training client consultation and evaluation, exercise technique, program design, and safety and legal issues

NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training is the most comprehensive reference available for personal trainers and other fitness professionals. As an exam preparation tool, it is unmatched in its scope and relevance to the NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer® examination. It is an essential reference for anyone preparing for or already working in a career as a personal trainer.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Roger W. Earle, MA, CSCS,*D, NSCA-CPT,*D, earned his master`s degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in exercise science. He is the associate executive director for National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Certification, where he is responsible for developing the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and the NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer (NSCA-CPT) certification exams. Previously Earle served as the head strength and conditioning coach and a faculty member of the exercise science and athletic training department at Creighton University in Omaha.

Earle has over 20 years of experience as a personal fitness trainer for people of all age and fitness levels, and he frequently gives lectures at national and international conferences about designing personalized exercise and training programs. He coauthored the first and second editions of Fitness Weight Training and coedited Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning.

Earle enjoys spending time with his wife, Tonya, and their four daughters at their home in Glendale, Arizona.

Thomas R. Baechle, EdD, CSCS,*D, NSCA-CPT,*D, is chair of the exercise science and athletic training department at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. In his career covering more than 35 years as a fitness professional and academician, Baechle has earned numerous certifications and awards, taught at various universities, held a variety of professional and civic offices, and volunteered for many national and international associations and organizations related to fitness and personal health.

Baechle is widely published and lectures frequently. His recent honors include receiving the Outstanding Writing Achievement Award from Human Kinetics in 2007, Merit for Excellence in Education and Development of Professional Standards from the International Fitness Institute in 2006, the Distinguished Faculty Service Award from Creighton University in 2002, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the NSCA in 1998.

Baechle makes his home with his wife, Susan, in Omaha.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 688 pages
• Publisher: Human Kinetics; 1 edition (December 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736000151
• ISBN-13: 978-0736000154
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #56,601 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #74 in Books > Medical Books > Medicine > Sports Medicine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

115 of 116 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended as an NSCA-PT study guide, or reference book., August 6, 2005

By 

Groovy Vegan (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)   

This review is from: NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training (Hardcover)

This is pretty much the only book I've been reading for the past couple of months as I prepared for the NSCA's personal trainer exam. I am fairly sure I passed the exam, and I doubt I could have passed without the help of this book and NSCA's exercise techniques DVD which is sold separately. [Update - I DID pass the exam! :-) ] This 674 text is packed full of information and can not be breezed through Harriet Klausner style.

For the most part, I like the book, both as a study guide for the NSCA-PT exam and as a reference for someone in the fitness industry. Each chapter is written by one or more experts on that area of fitness or nutrition. Since the table of contents is not provided on the product page, I've listed the contents at the end. Most of the content is fairly well written, although it could use some tightening up in spots, or additional clarification in others. Being a visual learner, I appreciate the multitude of illustrations, drawings, and tables, and I can't think of any I didn't find helpful. For example, they don't just tell you what partner-assisted and partner-resisted towing are, they provide photographs of them. They don't just tell you what the barbell grips are, they provide illustrations of four grips. Tables are not just in black and white, but alternate rows have tan or light blue backgrounds, making it easier to read. Information in the tables is detailed, for example table 9.1, Coronary Artery Disease Risk Factor Thresholds from ACSM. Through no fault of the publishers, some of the information in this table is already outdated, as the latest data for hypercholesterolemia uses LDLs at >100 mg/dL (instead of >130 mg/dL) and the low HDLs is considered <40 mg/dL, not <35 mg/dL. That is the only information in the book that I know is out of date. Overall, it's a practical book, both for studying for the exam and as a reference book.

Unfortunately, this book has enough flaws that when combined, knock it down a star:
* Editing - I found scattered typos throughout the book. In addition, in the plyometrics chapter, when I was reading the paragraph titled "Pretraining Evaluation," on page 442, I experienced a deja vous. I had read the exact same paragraph on page 434.
* Study Questions - Many 21st century textbooks are packed with study questions and features to help the student learn and retain the material. Each chapter contains four multiple-choice study questions, which approximate the difficulty of the NSCA exam. That's okay, but I think there should have been more, perhaps 10 per chapter. The four study questions barely scratched the surface in covering the material. In addition, several study questions had typographical errors.
* Some of the material on the exam was not covered in the textbook. Please don't email me about this as it is not ethical for me to share those questions. In my opinion, if the material is important enough to be on the exam, it's important enough to include in the textbook.
*Difficulty of using the index. Throughout my studying and after the exam, there were some things that I know are in the book that I tried to look up-unsuccessfully. I tried several different words or phrases to find a concept, and still couldn't find many of them. For example, they briefly discuss water aerobics in the text, but neither "water aerobics" nor "aquatics" are in the index. I think the index needs to be fleshed out with more words that are likely ways one would phrase a concept.

Despite the flaws, it's a book worth having for the reasons mentioned earlier. After reading the NSCA textbook, I felt much more knowledgeable in certain aspects of fitness compared to when I read the ACE personal trainer manual (the edition used in 1999) or ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Training and Prescription, 6th ed. These areas include special populations, plyometrics, exercise techniques, and the specifics of putting someone on a weight training program (choosing the exercises, determining reps and weights, progressing the weights), etc.

Since there is no table of contents provided on the product page, here's an abbreviated version:

Part I. Exercise Sciences
Ch. 1. Muscle, Nervous, Skeletal Systems
Ch. 2. Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems
Ch. 3 Bioenergetics
Ch. 4. Biomechanics
Ch. 5. Resistance Training Adaptations
Ch. 6. Aerobic Training Adaptations
Ch. 7. Nutrition
Ch. 8. Exercise Psychology

Part II. Initial Consultation and Evaluation
Ch. 9. Client Consultation and Health Appraisal
Ch. 10. Fitness Assessment Selection and Administration
Ch. 11. Fitness Testing Protocols and Norms

Part III. Exercise Technique
Ch. 12. Flexibility, Body-Weight, and Stability Ball Exercises
Ch. 13. Resistance Training Exercise Techniques
Ch. 14. Cardiovascular Activity Techniques

Part IV. Program Design
Ch. 15. Resistance Training Program Design
Ch. 16. Aerobic Endurance Training Program Design
Ch. 17. Plyometric and Speed Training

Part V. Clients With Unique Needs
Ch. 18. Clients Who Are Pregnant, Older, or Preadolescent
Ch. 19. Clients With Nutritional and Metabolic Concerns
Ch. 20. Clients With Cardiovascular and Respiratory Conditions
Ch. 21. Clients With Orthopedic, Injury, and Rehabilitation Concerns
Ch. 22. Clients With Spinal Cord Injury, Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy and Cerebral Palsy
Ch. 23. Resistance Training for Clients Who Are Athletes

Part VI. Safety and Legal Issues
Ch. 24. Facility and Equipment Layout and Maintenance
Ch. 25. Legal Issues in Personal Training

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Personal Training, May 9, 2008

By 

Layda (BC Can) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training (Hardcover)

I just took my Personal Training course and this book was recommended to me by the instructor. I think it is a great book and has a lot of information. I think the book would make a little more sense if I had more advanced schooling in Kinesiology or Physiotherapy; however, I was able to pull out the critical information that I needed to complete the course and learn a few things while I was at it.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly high quality, March 2, 2008

By 

William Haynes "Life is good!" (Simpsonville, SC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training (Hardcover)

This is a great book, incredibly high quality like a college text, and a long term part of your library. No wonder it costs a few bucks, but it's worth it. The information was well laid out and different experts wrote each chapter.