If you’re about to take the ACE exam, you’ve probably been studying everything you can in order to prepare. Did you know you can take a practice test for your ACE exam in order to get a feel for the test, remove those test anxiety jitters, and feel even more equipped for your big test day. Let’s take a look at everything you need to know for your ACE practice test.
Chapter Overview
Some Important Information
The first thing to know is that the ACE exam itself has a 65% pass rate. This means you’re going to want to study. With an ACE practice test, you can set yourself up well for the day you take the real exam.
It has been frequently discussed that the ACE exam is pretty challenging. One thing that’s great about taking a practice test is that it not only walks you through questions on the exam, you also get an opportunity to understand why a specific question was right or wrong.
The framework work of the ACE practice test is broken down into four domains, or four categories. Each of these domains covers a certain criteria found in the ACE textbook and study guide. Within the practice test, each domain category has ten questions. Once you answer the questions on your own, you get to expand the text to see why a particular choice was the right option for the question asked.
How to Prepare for the Practice Test
As stated before, there are four domains to be prepared for in your ACE practice test. Let’s look into the basics of each domain.
Domain 1
Domain 1 covers the interviewing and assessments portion of the test. You can expect this section to:
- Cover approximately 23% of the test
- Have roughly 35 questions total
In this section, it is critical for you to understand the effective interviewing strategies, questionnaires, and active listening skills it takes to obtain the client’s information. It is important to understand your client’s health, medical history, and baseline functioning in order to execute effective program developments. Additionally, you should prepare to understand how to conduct physiological assessments and gather nutritional information.
Domain 2
Domain 2 is the largest portion of the exam:
- 31% of the total exam
- 46 questions
In order to perform well on the practice exam, you’re going to want to have a thorough understanding of this section. Program design and implementation is the heart of personal training. This is where you apply your knowledge to develop a program that follows your clients goals and is designed with desired outcomes in mind.
Take these concepts into consideration when studying:
- Health
- Performance
- Fitness
- Functional goals
You can also expect to be tested on your knowledge of how these areas apply to program design and implementation:
- Muscular strength
- Cardiorespiratory fitness
- Flexibility
When preparing for the ACE practice test, if you have a confident understanding of Domain 2, you are in good shape for the exam.
Domain 3
Domain 3 covers program progression and modification concepts. This domain represents:
- 26% of the total exam
- Contains approximately 39 questions
In this section, prepare to understand how education, motivation, and modification impacts the progression of your client. Additionally, you will want to be adequately prepared to respond to questions that are reactive to the client’s needs. What this means is that when a problem presents itself as a factor in limiting success, you must know what needs to be done in order to help your client. This could be a potential response to regression.
In observation of collected data and client disclosure, you must also be able to modify the program in adherence to what the client requests or needs.
Domain 4
Domain 4 is the smallest category of the exam:
- Covers about 20% of the test
- Contains roughly 30 questions
In this domain, all questions will be centered on subjects relating to professional conduct, safety, and risk management.
You must be prepared to answer questions that gauge your response to risk management. In addition to responding to risk management, you must be able to recall information regarding regulations, laws, and guidelines that are in place to protect you and the client. It is also important to understand:
- Confidentiality
- Ethics
- Preventing injury
- Understanding hazards in training
Even though it is the smallest section of the practice test, it is still critical to be prepared for this domain.
Helpful Study Guides
If you walk into the practice exam with these key concepts in your tool belt, you will be equipped to answer the questions well. Preparing for the day of your big exam can feel stressful. However, you can be more prepared with the help of study guides and the ACE practice test.