010-111 is ACSM's Certified Personal Trainer (ACSM-CPT) exam: 135 multiple-choice questions (120 scored), 150 minutes, passing scaled score of 550 out of 200–800. It's a clinically-oriented cert — exercise physiology, anatomy, and safe program design for both healthy clients and those with medically cleared health conditions.
Domain II (Exercise Programming and Implementation) is 43% of the exam on its own, so it deserves the most study time of the four domains.
Exam at a Glance
Exam Code : 010-111
Certification : ACSM Certified Personal Trainer (ACSM-CPT®)
Vendor : American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
Number of Questions : 135 total (120 scored, 15 unscored pretest items)
Question Format : Multiple choice
Exam Duration : 150 minutes (2.5 hours) seat time
Passing Score : Scaled score of 550 (scale of 200–800)
Delivery Method : Pearson VUE — in-person at a testing center or online proctored
Exam Fee : $410 (non-member) / $310 (ACSM member), includes a $50 application fee
Retest Fee : $205
Prerequisites : 18+ years old, high school diploma or equivalent, current Adult CPR/AED certification
Content Outline Version : Effective July 10, 2025 — aligned to ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 12th edition
Exam Domain Breakdown
These four domains come directly from ACSM's official Exam Content Outline, effective July 10, 2025.
Domain 1: Initial Client Consultation and Assessment : Weight: 25%
What It Covers: Intake paperwork, health history, informed consent, risk stratification, and selecting/administering fitness assessments
Domain 2 : Exercise Programming and Implementation : Weight: 43%
What It Covers: FITT principle, exercise selection, program design, demonstrating exercises, monitoring technique, and progressions
Domain3 : Exercise Leadership, Client Education and Client Engagement : Weight: 22%
What It Covers: Motivation and adherence strategies, basic nutrition education, and collecting client feedback
Domain 4 : Legal and Professional Responsibilities : Weight:10%
What It Covers:Scope of practice, emergency action plans, risk management, confidentiality, HIPAA/FERPA basics
Health/medical history forms, PAR-Q+, informed consent, and trainer-client contracts
Risk factors and symptoms of cardiovascular, metabolic, and renal disease
Preparticipation screening and determining when medical clearance is require
Body composition methods: skinfolds, bioelectrical impedance, DEXA, BMI, circumference
Cardiovascular, muscular strength/endurance, flexibility, and balance assessment protocols
Basic anatomical terms (flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, etc.) and major muscle groups and bones
The FITT principle (Frequency, Intensity, Time, Type) for healthy adults, older adults, and clients with stable chronic disease
Target heart rate calculation using the Karvonen (heart rate reserve) formula
Resistance training methods — periodization, pyramid training, sets/reps/rest periods, 1RM testing
Cardiovascular, resistance, and flexibility training modalities and their contraindications
Proper spotting technique and demonstrating exercises safely
Recognizing normal vs. abnormal exercise responses and when to modify or stop a session
Progressive overload, specificity, and program progression for continuing clients
Behavior change models (Transtheoretical Model) and motivational interviewing
Communication techniques across learning styles — visual, auditory, kinesthetic
Basic nutrition: macronutrients, hydration, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and myths around fad diets and disordered eating
Barriers to exercise adherence and strategies to overcome them
Collecting and acting on client feedback
Scope of practice for a personal trainer vs. other allied health professionals
Emergency action plans, CPR/AED procedures, and incident documentation
Contraindicated exercises and associated injury risks
HIPAA, FERPA, and client confidentiality basics
Professional liability, negligence, and ethical conduct
Aspiring personal trainers who want a credential built on exercise science rather than a weekend certificate
Fitness enthusiasts and gym staff looking to move into a paid training role
Group fitness instructors, coaches, or athletic trainers adding a nationally recognized personal training credential
Career changers coming from healthcare, physical therapy aide, or athletic backgrounds who already have some anatomy/physiology exposure
Current personal trainers with a different certification who want ACSM's credential for its clinical-population credibility
TroyTec's 010-111 bundle gives you both a PDF question bank and an Online Test Engine built around the current ACSM-CPT Exam Content Outline (effective July 10, 2025), so you're studying against the domains and weightings that are actually on the test today — not an outdated 3-domain breakdown still floating around on some prep sites.
PDF Question Bank — study offline, at your own pace, on any device
Online Test Engine — simulate the real 150-minute, 135-question exam experience
Free AI Chatbot Tutor — ask follow-up questions on FITT calculations, muscle anatomy, or any topic you're stuck on, unlimited and free
Free preview available before you buy — try the PDF, test engine, and AI tutor on a limited basis first
Use code TROYTEC50OFF at checkout for a discount on your 010-111 bundle or any TroyTec package.
It's the certification exam administered by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) for personal trainers. Passing it earns you the ACSM Certified Personal Trainer (ACSM-CPT) credential, which covers exercise assessment, program design, client leadership, and legal/professional responsibilities for working with both healthy clients and those with medically cleared health conditions.
135 multiple-choice questions total. Of those, 120 are scored and 15 are unscored pretest items ACSM uses to evaluate future exam content — they're mixed in randomly, so you won't be able to tell which is which. Treat every question as if it counts.
You need a scaled score of 550 out of a possible 200–800. ACSM uses scaled scoring rather than a straight percentage, so your raw number of correct answers gets converted to account for slight differences in difficulty between exam versions.
You get 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of seat time to complete all 135 questions.
$410 for non-members or $310 for ACSM members, which includes a $50 non-refundable application fee. If you need to retake it, the retest fee is $205.
You can retake it, though ACSM requires a waiting period before you're eligible to retest — check your candidate handbook for the current window, since retest policies can be updated. You'll pay the $205 retest fee and won't need to resubmit your original eligibility documents.
Yes. ACSM offers the exam both in-person at a Pearson VUE testing center and as an online proctored exam you can take from home or your workplace.
You need to be at least 18 years old, have a high school diploma or equivalent, and hold a current Adult CPR/AED certification. ACSM has also announced that starting in 2027, all of its certifications will require first aid training as well.
No — TroyTec doesn't sell leaked or dumped exam content, and we'd steer you away from any site that claims to. Our 010-111 materials are original practice questions built around ACSM's published Exam Content Outline, designed to test the same knowledge and skills the real exam covers rather than reproduce it.
Four domains: Initial Client Consultation and Assessment (25%), Exercise Programming and Implementation (43%), Exercise Leadership, Client Education and Client Engagement (22%), and Legal and Professional Responsibilities (10%). Domain II carries almost half the exam weight on its own.
It depends on your existing background — candidates with prior anatomy or exercise science coursework often need less time than complete beginners. A focused week using a structured plan (like the 7-day plan above) plus a full practice exam is a reasonable minimum; many candidates spread that same material over 3–4 weeks alongside other commitments.
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Everything you need to know about the ACSM-CPT — ACSM Certified Personal Trainer certification
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Updated September 17, 2026
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