It was exactly 5 months ago today I ordered my study materials and registered for my National Academy of Sports Medicine course.  This is was something I’d considered for years, thought about constantly, and finally I made my dream a reality.  A little inspiration from my guy helped to, he reminded me if it’s something I want then GO FOR IT!

In the beginning it felt like starting kindergarten, I was excited to read the text and start learning right away.  Some parts came to me easily (nutrition)…others not so much, but I was determined to learn it all.

I was scheduled to take my exam in May, and the closer it got the more and more nervous I became.  In February I made the decision that I would attend my boyfriends Law School graduation, which meant, I needed to speed up my studying and take the exam early.  I juggled the idea for a while, but I couldn’t possibly miss his graduation, but I also did not want to put the exam off too much longer.  I aimed for taking the exam at the end of April, but had May 5^th as a fall back week, just in case I really truly felt I wasn’t prepared enough.

As April 28^th approached, I got more nervous, the test is pass or fail, 120 question; 20 of which are “research questions”, which they throw out, but you don’t know which ones, and you have 2 hours to complete.

TEST DAY: I allowed adequate time to drive to the testing facility and had to be there 30 minutes prior to testing.  My test was scheduled for 2:00 and I arrived, parked, took a potty break, and was in the door a quarter after 1.  (Maybe it was nervous, but I swore it took me longer to drive there the night before on my practice run.)  The proctor snapped a photo of me, checked my ID and AED/CPR cert card and I was ready to go.

My biggest fear going into the exam was I would not have enough time to finish, but it quickly came to my realization that I had more than enough time, as it kept track of your time, number of questions answer, marked, and unanswered at the top.  An hour and 20 minutes later I was finished and checking all the answers.  I felt confident but was still nervous.  Of course to delay you from settling your nerves and seeing your results right away, they make you fill out a survey before you’re actually done.

I headed out the door and approached the proctor, where he printed out my results…..I PASSED!! WAHOO! I have never been more relieved in my life!  I hustled straight out that door and celebrated with a trip to Yogurt Land on my way home!

I am now a NASM Certified Personal Trainer!