CSCS exercise technique, teach, cue, correct

During an overhead forward medicine ball throw, an athlete extends the elbows before the hips and trunk have finished driving forward. Which movement principle should the coach cue to correct this fault?

1. Distal-to-proximal sequencing
   Distal-to-proximal sequencing describes the fault itself, with the arms leading before the hips and trunk.
2. Proximal-to-distal sequencing
   Force should flow from the hips and trunk out to the arms, so cueing proximal-to-distal sequencing fixes elbows that extend too early.
3. Simultaneous joint extension
   Extending all joints at once wastes the summation of speed from large to small segments that a throw depends on.

During the first three steps of a sprint start, an athlete is cued to 'get off the ground as fast as possible,' producing very short ground contact times. What is the MOST likely effect on early acceleration?

1. Less propulsive impulse per step
   Very short contacts leave too little time to apply force, so each early step delivers less propulsive impulse.
2. Longer flight time per step
   Less impulse means the athlete is projected less, so flight time per step does not lengthen.
3. More horizontal impulse per step
   Shorter contact time reduces the time available to apply force, so horizontal impulse goes down, not up.

During a conventional deadlift, an athlete's lower back rounds as the bar leaves the floor while the head is tilted back to look at the ceiling. Which cue BEST addresses the primary safety fault?

1. "Keep your weight in your heels"
   Shifting weight to the heels changes balance over the feet but does not correct the rounded lower back.
2. "Show your chest logo to the wall"
   Lifting the chest toward the wall sets the spine in a flat, neutral position, which addresses the rounding that is the main safety problem.
3. "Look down at the floor"
   Looking down changes the head position but does nothing to set the back, and the rounding is the fault that matters most.

A strength and conditioning professional builds a complex that pairs a back squat set with countermovement jumps to acutely enhance jump performance. Which squat set is MOST appropriate?

1. 3 reps at about 90% 1RM
   A heavy, low-rep set such as 3 reps near 90% 1RM excites the nervous system with little fatigue, which is the classic potentiating stimulus before jumps.
2. 3 reps at about 40% 1RM
   Three reps at 40% 1RM is too light to produce a meaningful potentiating effect.
3. 10 reps at about 60% 1RM
   Ten reps at 60% 1RM builds fatigue that outweighs any potentiation, so the following jumps tend to get worse.

When teaching a depth jump, how should the athlete leave the box?

1. Step off and land on one foot
   A one-foot landing does not fit the bilateral depth jump being taught.
2. Jump up off the box first
   Jumping up off the box first raises the drop height above the box and makes the landing harder to control.
3. Step off and land on both feet
   Stepping off and landing on both feet keeps the drop height exact and gives a stable base for the immediate rebound.

A novice athlete's plyometric program should start with drills from the lowest-intensity lower-body category. Which drill fits this starting point?

1. Squat jumps in place
   Squat jumps in place are among the lowest-intensity lower-body drills, the right entry point for a novice.
2. Standing long jumps
   Standing long jumps sit a step above jumps in place in plyometric intensity, with a harder landing.
3. Alternate-leg bounds
   Alternate-leg bounds load one leg at a time at speed and belong to a higher intensity category.

An athlete wants to include foam rolling before a sprint and jump training session. How should it be used?

1. Dynamic drills, then long rolling
   Long rolling right before explosive work comes after the dynamic warm-up and can blunt the readiness those drills built.
2. Rolling in place of dynamic drills
   Rolling cannot replace dynamic drills, which raise temperature and rehearse the movement patterns for sprints and jumps.
3. Brief rolling, then dynamic drills
   A short bout of rolling before the dynamic warm-up can increase range of motion without reducing power, and the dynamic drills then prepare for sprinting.

A strength and conditioning professional is coaching arm action for maximal-velocity sprinting. Which arm action is correct?

1. From the shoulder, front to back
   At top speed the arms swing from the shoulder in a front-to-back path, which balances the leg action and keeps the trunk stable.
2. From the elbow only
   Moving only the forearms from the elbow shortens the arm swing and loses the balancing effect of the whole arm.
3. Across the body, side to side
   Swinging the arms across the body, side to side, rotates the trunk and pulls the athlete off a straight line.

During a seated cable row, an athlete swings the torso backward to finish each repetition. Which correction is MOST appropriate?

1. Round forward at the start of reps
   Rounding forward at the start loads the flexed lumbar spine and creates more range to swing through.
2. Keep the torso upright and still
   Keeping the torso upright and still makes the back and arm muscles move the handle instead of momentum.
3. Lean back further to finish reps
   Leaning back further adds more torso swing, which is the fault being corrected.

At the top of a barbell hip thrust, which position is correct?

1. Chin up, head pushed back hard
   Pushing the chin up and the head back hard strains the neck; the head should stay neutral or slightly tucked.
2. Hips fully extended, ribs down
   At lockout the hips should be fully extended with the ribs kept down, so the glutes finish the movement and the spine stays neutral.
3. Lower back arched to lift higher
   Arching the lower back fakes extra height through the spine and shifts load off the hips.

An endurance athlete performs aerobic interval training with 4-minute work bouts at an intensity close to VO2max. Which work:rest ratio is MOST appropriate?

1. 1:5
   A 1:5 ratio gives far more rest than this kind of aerobic interval needs and fits shorter glycolytic efforts.
2. 1:1
   Intervals of a few minutes at about VO2max are paired with roughly equal rest, a 1:1 work-to-rest ratio.
3. 1:12
   A 1:12 ratio suits brief, all-out phosphagen sprints, not long efforts near VO2max.

A 260-lb (118-kg) football lineman is progressing to depth jumps. What is the MAXIMUM box height the strength and conditioning professional should use?

1. 42 in (107 cm)
   42 in is the upper end of the general range for depth jumps and far too high for a 260-lb lineman.
2. 30 in (76 cm)
   30 in sits in the normal range for lighter athletes but is above the cap for anyone over 220 lb.
3. 18 in (46 cm)
   Athletes over 220 lb (100 kg) should not drop from boxes higher than 18 in (46 cm), which is the maximum here.

A strength and conditioning professional allots 15 minutes for the warm-up before a sprint session. Which split is MOST consistent with NSCA guidance?

1. 10 min general, 5 min specific
   Ten general minutes leaves only five for sprint-specific preparation, which reverses the emphasis.
2. 1 min general, 14 min specific
   One minute of general activity is too short to raise body temperature before the specific drills.
3. 5 min general, 10 min specific
   About 5 minutes of general activity followed by 8–12 minutes of specific movements fits a 5/10 split of a 15-minute warm-up.

During the barbell bench press, an athlete lowers the bar to touch the chest near the collarbones. Where should the bar touch the chest?

1. High on the upper chest
   Touching high on the chest flares the elbows and puts the shoulders in a vulnerable position.
2. At the upper abdomen
   The upper abdomen is too low for a standard grip and pulls the bar off its path.
3. At nipple level
   The bar should touch the chest at about nipple level, with the forearms roughly vertical under the bar.

An athlete misses a power snatch overhead, and the bar begins to travel behind the head. What should the athlete do?

1. Release the bar and jump forward
   Power lifts are not spotted, so a bar falling behind the head is released while the athlete jumps forward, out of its path.
2. Have a spotter catch the barbell
   Spotters are not used on power snatches, because nobody can safely catch a bar moving fast overhead.
3. Keep hold and ride the bar down
   Holding on to a bar falling behind the head forces the shoulders and elbows into a position that can injure them.