What is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach?
The CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist) is the gold standard certification in the strength and conditioning field. A certified strength and conditioning coach holds a lot of value and respect in the professional, collegiate, and private sectors of athletics. As a physical therapist who is a CSCS, you have the knowledge and ability to treat and train athletes and return them back to competition at a more advanced level. The CSCS demonstrates that you have an understanding of individual sports and the specific demands that individual athletes go through during competition.
If you coordinate care with a strength coach or want to be a strength coach, your main focus and duty is to keep athletes healthy, moving well, and improve on-field performance. Learning about the various physiological and biomechanical demands of different sports will improve your patients’ outcomes and performance. A strength coach will work in the professional, collegiate, or private sectors to train all levels of athletes on health and performance.
About Ivy Rehab’s CSCS Prep Program
The program that is offered at Ivy Rehab is perfect for working professionals in the field of fitness or physical therapy. When you are in the clinic treating and helping patients all day, having a plan to maximize your time to study and help others is crucial. Through the CSCS Prep Program, we will efficiently cover necessary material and minimize the time needed to attend a class/study. We will meet virtually as a group twice monthly to review CSCS study material, answer any questions, and foster productive discussion amongst the group. Having a well-organized study schedule and a group of colleagues to rely on creates more accountability leading to an increased likelihood of passing the CSCS exam.
Who can participate in the CSCS Prep Program?
Ivy Rehab’s CSCS Prep Program is open to anyone working in a clinic that has their bachelor’s degree and the desire to either enhance their practice or add a strength and conditioning service line into their clinic. Applications are open to Physical Therapists, Physical Therapy Assistants, Occupational Therapists, Certified Occupational Therapists, and Rehab Aides.
Why Register for the CSCS Prep Program?
Ivy Rehab will provide you with the materials needed to pass the test, as well as real-life training recommendations and clinical case reviews that will impact your practice and patients’ performance. This program will be a blend of material you will need to know to pass the CSCS examination and case-based learning and recommendations through actual cases.
I am a therapist, why should I also be a CSCS?
- Become more knowledgeable on athlete and sport demands
- Communicate with a strength and conditioning coach more effectively
- Improve your return-to-sport protocols and athlete outcomes
- You want to start working with and seeing more athletes in your clinic
- Improve your coaching or exercise technique knowledge
- Become more proficient at writing and designing athlete training/rehab programs
Extra Benefits of This Program
Anyone can read a book and take a quiz and practice tests but learning real-life strength and conditioning knowledge and being able to apply it in practice is priceless. Through the CSCS Prep Program, you will also learn how to install strength and conditioning training operations and logistics in your clinic. Adding strength and conditioning services into a clinic and working with or becoming a strength and conditioning coach will make your clinic more profitable and desirable for doctors and patients. Investing your time and financial resources into improving your knowledge will, at the end of the day, improve your patient outcomes and make you a better therapist and coach.
Overall, this program will be a great teaching and educational/mentoring program where valuable information is provided about fitness and strength and conditioning through professional experience. There will be meetings that will include live demonstrations of exercise form and program design. There will also be a good blend of learning from lectures and live demos.
The CSCS Prep Program will also help you study for the CSCS examination. Materials needed to help you prepare for the exam will be provided to you and included in the cost of the program. These materials include CSCS study guide, text, and a CSCS app, which will allow you to take daily exam questions and short quizzes. There will be practice tests to help you get used to the format of the exam questions and allow you to get comfortable with the pace of the exam.
If you are looking to better yourself and to learn new training methods and practices, then this is the program for you.
Article By: Rob Rabena MS, CSCS
Rob is currently practicing as a CSCS in the Ivy Rehab/Physical Therapy and Wellness clinic in Newtown Square, PA. Before joining the Ivy Team, Rob was the Director of Sports Performance at Ascent Athlete, where he trained numerous MLB, Professional, College, High School and youth athletes. Rob is an Adjunct Professor at Widener University Doctor of Physical Therapy Program and Cabrini University for Undergraduate students in Exercise Science. Rob is a Fitness Consultant for Altis Movement Technologies and has published research on conditioning for baseball. Rob has an MS in Exercise Science and completed an internship at Cressey Sports Performance in Boston, MA. He has presented multiple times for the NSCA on best practices for assessment and program design as it pertains to athletes.
