NSCA TSAC-F Exam Questions

Correct answer: 220 minus his age

The Karvonen method provides equations that can be used to estimate one's age-predicted maximal heart rate (MHR) and target heart rates (THR).

1. To estimate one's age-predicted maximal heart rate (APMHR) using this formula, subtract their age from 220.

For Gary: APMHR = 220 - 35 = 185 bpm (estimated max heart rate)

2. Determine heart rate reserve (HRR): HRR = APMHR - resting heart rate (RHR)

HRR = 185 bpm - 65 bpm = 120 bpm

3. Determine target heart rate (THR): THR = HRR x exercise intensity + RHR

THR = 120 x 0.55 + 65 = 66 + 65 = 131 bpm (target heart rate)

Note that a true maximal heart rate would have to be determined via lab testing, and the age-predicted equations for estimating MHR can be unreliable. Therefore, it's also important to monitor the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) at varying intensities. Beginners should also start at lower intensities and progress with consistent training.

Correct answer: Hypotension

Caffeine is widely used for performance enhancement, especially in tactical populations. Supplementation with caffeine has been shown to increase focus, energy, and endurance, and can even help maintain cognitive function despite a lack of sleep. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and helps reduce fatigue but can also lead to side effects including restlessness and headaches, as well as increased heart rate and blood pressure.

The suggested dose is 3 mg/kg body weight.

Correct answer: Broad jump

There are low-speed and high-speed strength tests. Low-speed strength tests are ones that cannot be performed quickly; ones that are maximum strength tests, such as 1RM bench or 1RM squat. 

High-speed strength tests are tests of maximal power and include movements such as the power clean or standing long jump.

The maximum number of sit-ups would test muscular endurance.

Correct answer: (SBP - DBP) / 3 + DBP

The Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) of an athlete is calculated using the following formula: MAP = (SBP - DBP) / 3 + DBP. This equation takes into account both the Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP), which is the maximum pressure in the arteries during heart contraction, and the Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP), which is the pressure when the heart is at rest between beats. The formula essentially estimates the average arterial pressure over a single cardiac cycle with a weighting that reflects the fact that the heart spends more time in diastole (rest) than in systole (contraction).

The incorrect formulas provided deviate from the established method for calculating MAP and would not accurately reflect the average arterial pressure:

• (SBP - DBP) / 2 + SBP: This formula inaccurately overemphasizes systolic pressure and does not correctly calculate the mean arterial pressure.
• (SBP - DBP) / 2 - DBP: Subtracting the diastolic pressure in this manner does not make physiological sense in the context of calculating average arterial pressure and would result in an inaccurate value.
• (SBP - DBP) / 5 x DBP: This formula not only uses an incorrect divisor (5 instead of 3) but also improperly applies the relationship between SBP, DBP, and MAP, leading to an incorrect calculation of mean arterial pressure.

Correctly calculating MAP is crucial for understanding an athlete's cardiovascular health, especially during physical exertion. MAP provides a more comprehensive picture of blood flow, oxygen delivery to tissues, and overall cardiovascular stress than either SBP or DBP alone, making it a valuable measure for athletes and their coaches to monitor.

Correct answer: RDA

The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is the daily amount of essential nutrients that is believed to fulfill the nutritional requirements of almost all (97% to 98%) healthy people in particular age and gender categories. It acts as a benchmark for individuals' daily nutrient goals and helps guide the nutritional content of public health policies and dietary plans. The RDA is established with a buffer, based on the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR), to ensure the nutritional needs of the vast majority are met.

In contrast:

• Adequate Intake (AI) is a provisional guideline used when there isn't enough evidence to establish a precise RDA. It's a best guess at what level of nutrient intake would be adequate for most people.
• Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) is the amount of a nutrient estimated to satisfy the needs of half the healthy individuals in a demographic group. It's primarily used for evaluating the nutrient adequacy of populations and setting the RDAs.
• Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) marks the maximum daily intake unlikely to cause adverse health effects in almost all individuals. It's a safety threshold to help prevent the risk of nutrient toxicity from excessive consumption.

The RDA is designed to help individuals achieve optimal health and prevent nutritional deficiencies and chronic diseases, while AI, EAR, and UL are tools for nutritional research, assessment, and policy-making.

Correct answer: Cori cycle

Lactate can be cleared by oxidation during exercise, or it can also be transported in the blood to the liver, where it is converted to glucose. This process is known as the Cori cycle. This glucose is used for energy when needed during exercise, or may instead be converted to glycogen and stored.

Correct answer: Cutting

Cutting (or shuffle) drills are specifically designed to improve an athlete's ability to move laterally with efficiency and speed, making them perfect for an agility-focused program aimed at enhancing lateral movement skills. These drills help athletes develop quick change-of-direction capabilities, which are essential for scenarios requiring sudden lateral shifts, such as dodging obstacles or quickly altering paths during a pursuit.

• Rounding cone: While rounding cone drills can help improve agility, they often emphasize more gradual changes of direction rather than the sharp, immediate lateral movements developed through cutting drills. Rounding cone drills are more about maintaining speed and momentum through a turn rather than quick, lateral shifts.
• Open step: Open step drills focus on initiating movement, especially in breaking from a static position or transitioning from one direction to another. Though useful for overall agility, they do not specifically target the efficiency of lateral movements as cutting drills do.
• 10 out, 5 back: This drill emphasizes forward movement and rapid deceleration followed by a change in direction to return to the starting point. While it develops agility and the ability to start, stop, and change directions quickly, it doesn't specifically enhance lateral movement capabilities to the extent that cutting drills do.

Correct answer: Contact the athletic medicine department

In a non-life-threatening emergency situation, there are three steps involved:

1. Contact the athletic medicine department; if no answer, contact campus security
   2. Provide all requested information
   3. Follow all given instructions

In life-threatening emergencies, there are six steps involved:

1. Call 911
   2. Send someone to contact campus security
   3. Send someone to contact the athletic medicine department
   4. Do not attempt to move victim unless absolutely necessary
   5. If victim is not breathing, perform CPR if trained
   6. Stay with victim and administer any necessary first aid until help arrives

Correct answer: They calm nerves and anxiety

Beta-blockers are a class of drugs that can calm the body down, reducing anxiety levels and tremors during performance. They are designed to reduce blood-pressure. Athletes who rely on being steady, such as marksmen or archers, might use beta-blockers to keep them still.

Correct answer: Second class lever

When discussing biomechanics and how forces act on the human body, particularly in relation to exercise and movement, the concept of lever systems becomes crucial. A lever is a simple machine consisting of a rigid bar (the body segment in this case) that rotates around a fixed point called the fulcrum (the joint). Lever systems are categorized according to the arrangement of three key components: the fulcrum (the pivot point), the effort (the force exerted, often by a muscle), and the load (the resistance that needs to be overcome or moved).

A second class lever system is characterized by the load being located between the fulcrum and the point where the force is applied. An everyday example is a wheelbarrow, where the wheel acts as the fulcrum, the load is in the middle, and the effort is applied at the handles. In the human body, an example could be standing on your toes, where the balls of your feet are the fulcrum, the body weight acts as the load on the ankle joint, and the effort is applied by the calf muscles behind the ankle joint. This arrangement provides a mechanical advantage, allowing the applied force to move a larger load.

The other lever types have different configurations:

• First class lever: The fulcrum is positioned between the effort and the load, such as in the case of a seesaw. An example in the human body is the action of the neck muscles when nodding the head, with the skull as the load, the neck joint as the fulcrum, and the neck muscles providing the effort.
• Third class lever: Here, the effort is applied between the fulcrum and the load. This is the most common type of lever in the human body, providing a speed and range of motion advantage at the expense of force. An example is the biceps curl, where the elbow acts as the fulcrum, the effort is applied by the biceps muscle, and the load is in the hand (the weight being lifted).
• Fourth class lever: This is not a standard classification in the study of biomechanics and lever systems. The traditional models include only the first, second, and third class levers.

Therefore, when the muscle force is exerted farther away from the joint than the weight or resistance, especially when the joint is located near one end of the body segment like the arm, it represents a second class lever system. This arrangement is less common in the human body but is effective for specific movements where the mechanical advantage allows for the lifting or moving of heavy loads with comparatively less effort.

Correct answer: Reduced muscle mass

When evaluating an athlete for the potential use of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids (AAS), observing reduced muscle mass as a sign or symptom would be incorrect. AAS are known to promote muscle growth and increase strength; therefore, reduced muscle mass would typically not be associated with their use. 

In contrast, some direct signs of AAS use include gynecomastia (the development of breast tissue in men), acne (due to hormonal imbalances), and excessive hair growth (or hair loss), which can result from the hormonal changes induced by steroid use. 

These signs can help in identifying athletes who may be using AAS, in contrast to reduced muscle mass, which would more likely indicate a lack of AAS use or other conditions unrelated to steroid use.

Correct answer: Motor neurons

The nerves responsible for innervating skeletal muscle, prompting it to contract and produce movement, are known as motor neurons. These specialized neurons transmit signals from the central nervous system to the skeletal muscles, effectively converting neurological messages into mechanical actions.

• Golgi tendon organs: These are sensory receptors located within the tendons near the muscle-tendon junction. They monitor tension developed in muscles and provide feedback to the central nervous system to prevent muscle damage from excessive force. While they are involved in the feedback loop that regulates muscle contraction, they do not directly innervate muscles.
• Motor units: A motor unit is comprised of one motor neuron and the muscle fibers it stimulates. This unit is the essential component of muscle contraction, where a solitary impulse from the motor neuron triggers a synchronized contraction of all connected muscle fibers. While it is intimately linked to the function of motor neurons, a motor unit encompasses the neuron along with the muscle fibers it governs rather than the nerve alone.
• Muscle fibers: These are the individual cells that make up skeletal muscles. Muscle fibers are the contractile units that shorten and generate force when stimulated by motor neurons. While they are the target of innervation by motor neurons, they are not the nerves themselves.

Motor neurons are the specific type of nerves that innervate skeletal muscle, enabling the control of voluntary movements through the transmission of signals from the central nervous system to the muscles. This distinguishes them from the other options, which are related components of the neuromuscular system but do not serve the same direct innervating function as motor neurons.

Correct answer: Replicate the movement patterns of critical tasks

When developing a fitness program for law enforcement officers, the key guideline for exercise selection is to replicate the movement patterns of critical tasks they perform on the job. This approach ensures that the training is functionally relevant and directly transfers to improved performance in their operational roles. Exercises should mimic the physical demands encountered during pursuits, arrests, and other law enforcement activities to enhance the officers' physical preparedness, agility, and resilience in various scenarios.

The incorrect options provided are as follows:

• Minimize the transfer to the operational environment: Contrary to this statement, the goal is to maximize the transferability of training to the operational environment, ensuring that exercises closely mirror the real-world physical challenges faced by law enforcement officers.
• Limit the use of a movement competency program: Movement competency is crucial for law enforcement officers to perform their duties effectively and reduce the risk of injury. Therefore, incorporating a movement competency program is beneficial, not something to be limited.
• Focus on the force that is statically used during training: While static strength has its place, law enforcement officers benefit more from dynamic exercises that reflect the unpredictable, multifaceted nature of their work. Training should encompass a broad range of physical abilities, including strength, power, endurance, and mobility, rather than focusing solely on static force.

The guideline for exercise selection in a program for law enforcement officers is to include exercises that replicate the movement patterns of their critical tasks, thereby ensuring that the training is directly applicable and beneficial to their specific operational needs.

Correct answer: Single-arm throw

The single-arm throw is a medium-intensity upper body plyometric drill that highly mimics a baseball pitch or even a football throw from a quarterback. 

Medicine balls should weigh no more than 5 pounds and should be thrown at a rebounder (a small trampoline) or a partner.

Correct answer: 85% of 1RM, 5 sets of 5 repetitions

Load and repetition assignment are important considerations when programming training sessions. 

Repetitions lower than 6 with loads above 80% 1RM will target strength for more advanced individuals. The lower rep scheme will allow the lifter to lift heavier loads and maximize strength gains. 

It's important to know that tactical athletes with less training experience will see the greatest increases in strength using 60-70% of their 1RM for 8-12 repetitions. Additionally, it has been established in research that doing multiple sets is better for gaining strength than doing a single set for individuals with previous training experience.

Correct answer: Back extension

The back extension exercise, while valuable for strengthening the lower back, may not directly prepare a firefighter for the specific demands of the breach and pull task as effectively as the other exercises listed. 

The breach and pull task involves a complex combination of movements that require upper body strength, core stability, and the ability to exert force in a pulling motion, typically involving both vertical and horizontal elements.

Exercises such as the lat pulldown and dumbbell front raise target the muscles involved in pulling motions more directly, while the back squat provides foundational lower body strength that supports overall power and stability. These exercises together offer a more comprehensive approach to training for the breach and pull task by focusing on the specific muscle groups and movement patterns required.

Correct answer: Turkish get-up

The Turkish get-up is the optimal exercise for training firefighters to lift and position ladders efficiently. This comprehensive movement targets several key physical attributes necessary for the task, including strength, stability, and coordination, by engaging the entire body in a controlled, fluid motion. 

Unlike the glute-ham raise, which focuses on posterior chain strength, the farmer's walk, which builds grip strength and endurance, and the good morning exercise, known for its emphasis on the lower back and hamstrings, the Turkish get-up offers a more holistic approach. It mirrors the complex, multi-step process of handling ladders, making it a crucial component of a firefighter's physical preparation regimen.

Correct answer: Aerobic capacity

Aerobic capacity is the ability to perform exercise at a moderate to high intensity for more than a few minutes. Running tests such as the 12-minute run can estimate an individual's aerobic fitness level as long as the individual being tested is running as fast as they can for the test. It must be a maximum effort.

The 12-minute run is a test where the runner runs as far as possible in 12 minutes. This test is often performed on a track, but could be performed anywhere that distance over the 12 minutes could be accurately measured. When on a track, the distance run is calculated by multiplying the number of laps by 400 (meters).

Correct answer: 85-95% 1RM

During a strength phase, the intensity levels are high, while the volume levels are low. During this phase, loads are generally above 80% of 1RM, and repetitions usually range from 1 to 6.

Lower intensities (less than 67% 1RM) are used during a muscular endurance phase, and moderate intensities (75-85% 1RM) are used in training for hypertrophy.

Correct answer: Increase muscle glycogen

Carbohydrate loading is a technique used to increase muscle glycogen before a competition. A common method of carb loading is to increase carb intake to about 600g a day for three consecutive days.

This can potentially increase muscle glycogen stores to 20-40% above normal and increase carbohydrate oxidation during submaximal exercise and can improve high-intensity, short-duration performance.