Certified Exercise Physiologist ACSM Exam
Questions And 100% Correct Answers
What are the three types of muscle? -Answer Smooth, Cardiac, Smooth
What is the function of the prime movers (agonists)? -Answer Agonist, active, eccentric,
and a major force of specific movement.
What is the function of the antagonists? -Answer Oppose prime movers, stretch reflex
and includes active relaxation.
What is the function of the synergist? -Answer Cross multiple joints, prevents unwanted
action and known as a fixator & anatagonist.
What does the fixator do? -Answer Stabilizer of proximal joints.
Describe Sliding Filament Theory. -Answer Describes the way muscles generate force
and contractions take place that shorten the muscle. The thick filaments are myosin and
the the thin filaments are actin. Both filaments are within the sarcomere and slide past
one another, shortening the entire length of the sarcomere.
What is Trp? (Troponin) - Answer Controls Trm, regulated by Calcium and is involved in
the cross-bridging cycle.
What is Trm (Tropomyosin)? - Answer Controlled by Trp, covers myosin binding sites
and inhibits muscle contraction.
What is an isometric contraction? - Answer Same distance, no movement, no changes in
muscle length.
,What is an isotonic contraction? - Answer Same tension, dependent on direction of
movement and length changes, concentric vs eccentric.
What is an isokinetic contraction? - Same speed, contracts maximally, full ROM and
increases muscle length.
What is a static exercise? - Answer Isometric, high strength & intensity and stationary.
What is a dynamic exercise? - Answer Isotonic, active ROM, slow & controlled
movement and continuous movement.
Concentric vs eccentric? -Answer Concentric -Shortening, contraction.
Eccentric- Lengthening, relaxation.
Type 1 Fiber - Answer Slow, oxidative fibers, tonic, aerobic exercise, resistant to fatigue
and primarily used in distance runners.
Type 2A Fiber - Answer Intermediate, 1/2 oxidative 1/2 anaerobic, 75% fatigue resistant
and used for intermediate sports.
Type 2X Fiber - Answer Fast,'Phasic', lots of glycogen, quick to fatigue, little
mitochondria, capillaries and myoglobin primarily used by sprinters.
What muscle type has a mix of fiber types? - Answer Skeletal.
One motor unit contains how many fiber types? -Answer One.
If you train your body a certain way some _________ fiber types can become more type 1
or 2x depending on training. - Answer Type 2.
,What is the Golgi Tendon Organ? - Answer The muscle messenger, connects the muscle
to the mind, and gives locomotion direction.
What is the autogenic inhibition/inverse stretch reflex? -Answer Reflex inhibition of a
motor unit in response to excessive tension in the muscle fibers it supplies.
What is IB Afferent? -Answer It is the sensory axon that innervates GTO and carries a
signal to the spinal cord.
What is the contract-relax technique? - Answer A proprioceptive technique used to
inhibit muscle spasm. The target muscle engaged in an isometric contraction and then
relaxed.
Musculotendonous Junction represents what? - Answer The place in which the muscle
is joined by the tendon GTO Location.
Explain Parkinson's Disease. - Answer A degenerative disorder of CNS that often
impairs an individual motor functioning, speech, etc.
How does the Myostatic Stretch Reflex work? -Answer When the muscle spindle is
stretched and the impulse is also immediately received to contract, it is protecting the
muscle from being pulled forcefully or beyond normal ROM.
-Contracted synergist & inhibited antagonist
What is the sagittal plane? -Answer -Makes left/right sides.
-Flexion/Extension
Difference b/w flexion and extension. -Answer Flexion: decreases angle at the moving
joint.
, Extension: opposite movement; increases the angle at joint.
What is the frontal plane? -Answer -Make front/back sides.
-Abduction/Adduction
Difference b/w abduction and adduction. -Answer Abduction: away from central body
line.
Adduction: moving towards central body line.
What is the transverse plane? -Answer -Makes top/bottom.
-Rotation (internal/external, pronation/supination)
Difference b/w pronation and supination. -Answer *Specialized movements of the ankle
and forearm.*
Pronation: downwards
Supination: upwards
Difference b/w eversion and inversion. - Answer *Specialised movements of ankle and
forearm.*
Eversion: foot turned outwards
Inversion: foot turned inwards.
Anatomical neutral position. - Answer Upright, leg together, knees straight, toes
forward, arms by side and palms upwards.
Circumduction. - Answer It is a combination of all movements involving shoulder, hip,
wrist and ankle.
Protraction. - Answer Forwards projection of a facial structure.