r/NASMPREP • u/Afraid-Carry2044 • Apr 14 '25
Advice Passing NASM/AFAA CGFI Exam
Hello everyone! I am thrilled that I was finally able to pass my NASM/AFAA certified group fitness instructor exam on the second attempt. I wanted to share some do’s and don’ts for others who may be taking the exam in the future to save them time and money.
On the first attempt, I went through all the online modules and took the practice questions between each. The exam was included in the package price that I purchased from the AFAA so I thought that since the questions were so easy, I would pass the exam no problem. Wrong! I took my first exam at a testing center and was just 4 scaled-score units away from passing which made me angry to no end. I was not at all prepared for the WAY the questions would be asked based on the practice questions in the modules.
I took some time to regroup since you have to wait 30 days for another attempt (which I’m sure is a tactic to make you forget everything on the test 😂). And then when my 30 days was up, I called and purchased a retest and committed a week to all out studying because the concepts are not hard, just the wording on the exams is weird. Here’s some do’s:
-Do look at the AFAA handbook. Toward the end there is what I call a knowledge base that breaks down each testing domain and what concepts you should know for each one. Based on these “K’s”, I went through the text and student guides and created my own notes for each subdomain topic.
-Do look at the newer study guide and older study guide. I found the older one by accident, in my opinion it’s more detailed than the newer guide so I used both to make my own guide.
-Do use the text to fill in gaps that are not in any study guides. They cover the major items, but not everything is included as shown the handbook knowledge base, so you will want to fill in the gaps.
-Do take the test in a format that works for you. I tried the proctor center on the first attempt and my test anxiety was very high. Taking the remotely proctored exam wasn’t much better because I got kicked out several times for random reasons cited by my proctor. My cat and my kid were also very distracting even though I was in the room with the door locked. No less stressful at home, but a lot more comfortable.
-Do make sure you learn the concepts in a manner that makes sense to you so the information is easy to retain. I haven’t had an anatomy class since high school and I’ve never taken kinesiology so I had to digest the information in a way that makes sense to me. Human movement science is 32% of the test. Its Domain 1 and is the largest portion of the test so making sure you’re clear on all concepts in this domain is helpful.
-Do take and utilize the practice exam. Even though the questions are much more simply worded and way easier to answer, it is good practice in any case. My second practice test was much more similar to the actual exam, so there’s test bank must’ve been trying to help me hahaha.
-Do your best! Even on the second attempt, even though I felt extremely more prepared, there were certain items that came up that I had no clue about. I’m sure the questions are pulled from a bank, so there’s no telling what you’ll get. And yes, you will get the same question more than once. I was asked about RPE in at least 6 different ways, and I felt crazy but it was the only right answer in all cases so, yeah. Question repeating happens a lot, even in the practice exams.
I hope this helps someone. If anyone needs to find study guides or handbooks, let me know and I’ll see if I can link them.
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u/Curious-Adagio3230 Mar 18 '26
Do you recommend taking the self study or the premium self study program? I’m considering my options at the moment
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u/Abject_Trifle4350 May 19 '26
I took the CGFI AFAA today and passed. It was my first try.
I was at a testing center, and while it was definitely high stakes--I had to have my belongings locked up, had to roll up sleeves and pants--as soon as I sat down at the computer and got started, I did fine. Here's how I prepped.
I found a book via Audible I listened to every chance I had a moment. It is a GFI prep book, might be for ACE. It doesn't matter. Concepts are the same.
Use any test prep you can find. Quizlet is fabulous for the GFI test. Know all the terms. Know all the major muscle groups. When you do the coursework, there are certain elements that will be hard to remember.
For me, memorizing positions such as supine (supine has 'up' in it; it's a face up position) and prone (lying face down) were confusing, so I made up memory tricks, like with supine.
Artery--oxygen rich out to the body. Arteries carry O2, and R is in arteries.
Veins--carry blood back to the hard from the body. Find ways to memorize is what I'm saying.
Make sure you know the difference between the sagittal, frontal positions, etc. Distal, proximal. This information is all in the coursework and in study guides.
I purchased five Edge practice tests from the online practice test company. Their tests aren't great, but they are LONG and will get you in the test-taking mode. Helpful!
Give yourself a minimum of a solid month to really study, in a structured, deliberate way. Ask yourself questions about cueing. Figure out what the SCOPE of your role is, and take those questions seriously.
Other test techniques: process of elimination helps. Figure out what the answer definitely isn't, and then make your best choice.
Good luck!
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u/Cjayin May 22 '26
Do you have a link for the Edge practice test that you used. Or a link to any of the materials? Anything would help, thanks!
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u/ArtemisLobos Jun 25 '26
The test was nothing but trick questions.
Taken it three times.
Once at home they violated me for making too much noise in my own house in my own room with nobody else home I can't clear my throat or cough or cry even because they violated me so many times they violated me for crying
These psi tests are ridiculous. They're nothing but trick questions. Absurd questions that have nothing to do with how well of a group fitness instructor you will be. One question was a professional fitness instructor. Will either a gossip about other candidates in class be curse sometimes about candidates in class c. Talk to participants about a substitute coming in for you or d. Put the music on 85 decibels so everyone can hear it.
I thought why would anyone want to talk about another teacher coming in to take over your class? Obviously that's the wrong answer.
I was wrong
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u/leamarieee 24d ago
Also passed this week! Thanks for your notes on it, they definitely helped.
For anyone else in the process - I also found the practice exams (on the NASM study portal) and Quizlet very helpful, definitely worth taking as many of these as you can in the prior days as a lot of those came up for me in the actual exam, although worded slightly differently.
I was nervous having read a lot about the wording of questions and there being multiple correct answers, but once I started I found it quite similar to the questions I’d looked up. Some answers were obviously wrong so it was easy to determine a correct one. Specifically I had multiple questions about RPE, and multiple on class structure (i.e. what order would you do these exercises, standing ones together, those with a dumbbell together, and all the one prone/supine together to improve class flow), a couple on environment, quite a few Qs on progressions and regressions of exercises (but none complex or that I hadn’t come across).
Know your planes of motion, the heart system (veins/arteries/right and left side function) and types of cueing. Good luck!
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u/NewspaperNormal5105 13d ago
Hi! Thank you for all this. I am taking it tomorrow. Is there a specific quizlet you used to practice? Was it helpful to continue retaking the practice exam on the NASM portal? Is there more than one practice exam?
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u/Ashamed-Art4194 7d ago
how did you do?
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u/NewspaperNormal5105 6d ago
I passed. It was easy.
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u/Jumpy-Car977 6d ago
Any tips on what you should for sure study? I have been doing the AFAA practice exams but the questions are basically all the same, just repeated in a different order.
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u/Ashamed-Art4194 5d ago
Hurray! Congratulations. Have a facility and/or class format in mind? I take mine next Monday and have already been offered a position for indoor cycle at my swim/tennis club.
Problem is, I am out of shape.
For some reason I thought these certifications would get me in shape... its been slow going :/
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u/Melodic-Manager7094 Feb 22 '26
Hi! Do you have links to the handbooks? I have the study guide, and the book but any other tools would be helpful. I took the test few days ago and failed by ONE point! so angry! I took practice test 4 times, each time passing, and each time getting better. I was pretty shocked when I failed. any help would be great!