- CSCC here means Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach, delivered by ISSA and marketed as its Strength and Conditioning Certification.
- The prep curriculum spans 24 chapters, from the nervous system and bioenergetics to periodization, supplementation, and professional practice.
- The final is online, at-home, open-book, and open-note, with two free attempts and a USD 99 fee per extra attempt.
- The displayed package price is USD 639 for course plus final, but a 5% administrative and technology fee and tax may apply.
What CSCC Means Here
On this site, CSCC stands for Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach. The acronym is shared by several unrelated credentials in other fields, so it is worth being precise at the outset: everything in this article concerns the strength and conditioning specialization offered through the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA), and nothing here describes any other certification that happens to use the same four letters.
One nuance deserves an upfront note. ISSA currently markets this specialization under the name Strength and Conditioning Certification. The CSCC label is the identity this site uses for it. If you search ISSA's catalog, look for the strength and conditioning product rather than a listing literally titled "CSCC." For a deeper look at naming and terminology, see our explainers on what CSCC stands for and the meaning of CSCC.
At its core, the credential is aimed at people who design and deliver training for athletic performance: programming strength, power, endurance, speed, agility, and recovery, while grounding those choices in sports science, biomechanics, and injury prevention. If you want the broader overview of the credential, our page on CSCC certification covers the big picture.
Who Issues It and How It Is Packaged
ISSA is the issuing organization. The strength and conditioning course is sold as a single package that bundles the study material and the final exam. The current product summary describes the curriculum as covering:
- Sports science and biomechanics
- Strength, power, and endurance training design
- Speed, agility, and recovery programming
- Periodization and performance tracking
- Injury prevention and functional movement
The official course text is ISSA's Strength and Conditioning, 2nd Edition (copyright 2020), still listed in ISSA's bookstore. A public 14-page sample of the text shows the full table of contents and the introductory chapter. That sample is the best publicly verifiable window into scope, but it is not the full textbook, and the copyright year is a publication date, not an exam version number.
The 24-Chapter Curriculum Map
The domains below follow the textbook's chapter order. They are unweighted, so use them to organize your preparation rather than to ration your attention by percentage. For a domain-by-domain walkthrough, see our complete guide to all 24 CSCC content areas.
Foundations: Chapters 1 through 7
Domains 1-4: Introduction, Nervous System, Muscular System, Skeletal System and Joint Actions
This block establishes the professional context and the anatomy you will lean on for the rest of the course.
- Motor unit recruitment and how the nervous system governs force production
- Muscle fiber types, muscle actions, and the role of agonists, antagonists, and synergists
- Joint actions and planes of movement, which underpin every exercise description later in the text
Domains 5-7: Cardio Respiratory and Support Systems, Bioenergetics, Biomechanics
These chapters explain how the body fuels and applies force.
- Energy system contributions across different work durations and intensities
- Cardiovascular and respiratory responses to training
- Lever systems, force, torque, and movement mechanics as they apply to coaching cues
Assessment and Program Design: Chapters 8 through 10
Domains 8-10: General Assessments, Performance Assessments, Principles of Program Design
Here the course shifts from "how the body works" to "how you evaluate and plan." Expect scenario thinking: given an athlete's profile and test results, what should the program emphasize?
- Distinguishing general screening from sport-relevant performance testing
- Choosing assessments that match an athlete's goals and training status
- Applying core program-design principles such as specificity, progression, and overload
Exercise Technique and Modalities: Chapters 11 through 17
This is the largest practical block: Flexibility, Plyometric Exercises, Core Exercises, Lower-Body Exercises, Upper-Body Exercises, Power and Olympic-Style Weight Lifting, and Resistance Training Systems. Candidates should be able to name exercises, identify the primary movers, recognize common technique faults, and select appropriate progressions and regressions. Resistance training systems (the organizational formats used to structure sets and loads) reward comparison thinking: know what each system is best suited for and when it is a poor fit.
Long-Term Planning and Whole-Athlete Topics: Chapters 18 through 24
Domains 18-20: Applying Periodization, Cardiorespiratory Programming, Recovery and Injury Prevention
Periodization asks you to arrange training across time; cardiorespiratory programming extends design principles to conditioning; recovery and injury prevention keep the plan sustainable.
- Sequencing training phases around competition or performance goals
- Matching conditioning methods to the energy demands of a sport
- Building recovery and injury-reduction strategies into the plan, not bolting them on afterward
Domains 21-24: Nutrition, Supplementation, Performance Psychology, Professional Practice
The closing chapters broaden the coach's responsibilities. Study the boundaries here carefully: what falls within a coach's role, and what calls for referral to another professional.
- Fueling and hydration principles for training and performance
- Evidence-aware thinking about supplements
- Motivation, focus, and communication with athletes
- Scope of practice and professional conduct
How the Final Exam Works
The final exam is delivered online, at home, and open-book/open-note. Before you can access it, ISSA's general final-exam policy requires you to complete and pass all course quizzes. Once you begin, you can save your progress and resume later, and there is no time limit. The average-completion estimate in ISSA's materials is a planning figure, not a countdown clock.
Two attempts are included during enrollment, and retakes are available immediately when needed.
The passing-score question
ISSA's FAQ and general terms both state a requirement of at least 75% in each section of specialization exams. However, the current Help Center directs students to the passing requirement displayed within their own final exam. In practice, that means you should treat 75% per section as the working assumption while confirming the operative threshold inside your enrolled course. We unpack this in our passing-score guide.
Why open-book does not mean easy
An open-book final shifts the challenge from memorization to navigation and application. Candidates tend to struggle when they have not built an index of the material in their heads: if you do not already know that a question belongs to bioenergetics rather than cardiorespiratory programming, you will burn time searching in the wrong chapter. Our difficulty breakdown discusses how to calibrate your expectations.
Price, Fees, and Retakes
The cost picture is straightforward but has a few moving parts. Here is what the sources support:
| Item | What the sources state |
|---|---|
| Displayed package price | USD 639, one time, including the course and final exam |
| Administrative and technology fee | 5% per ISSA's general terms; prices exclude applicable tax |
| Included final-exam attempts | Two free attempts during enrollment |
| Additional attempts | USD 99 per attempt beyond the two included |
| Standard renewal fee | USD 99, possibly waived if all 20 CEUs are earned through ISSA |
Because of the fee and tax language, the displayed USD 639 should not be read as a guaranteed checkout total. Your final amount depends on your location and the checkout screen. For the full picture, including payment-plan implications, read our CSCC certification cost breakdown.
Eligibility, CPR/AED, and Certificate Release
ISSA's general certification terms require candidates to be at least 18 years old and to hold current adult CPR/AED certification from an approved provider. The Help Center specifies that current CPR/AED documentation is needed for the certificate to be released. In other words, you can study and pass the final before sorting out CPR/AED, but you cannot receive the credential until the documentation is on file.
Students on a payment plan face one more gate: you must have paid at least 1/12 of the total order and remain current on payments before certificate release.
On timelines, ISSA's FAQ assigns eight months to specialization courses, while a separate general CPR-documentation answer mentions six months. The terms direct students to the deadline shown in their enrolled course portal, so the portal is the authority. These are course-completion periods, not exam timers. Our requirements guide and exam dates and deadlines article walk through the planning implications.
Who Uses This Credential
We have no verified hiring data tied specifically to this certification, so we will not invent job counts or employer lists. What the curriculum itself tells us is the kind of work it is built to support:
- Personal trainers and fitness professionals who want to add performance-oriented programming for athletic clients
- Youth, high school, and club sport coaches who write training plans for teams
- Gym and facility staff who run group performance sessions, speed and agility work, or conditioning blocks
- Online and independent coaches who package programming for competitive athletes
Treat it as a skills-and-specialization credential that supports these roles rather than a guaranteed key to a particular job. Employers and clients vary in what they value, and some roles in higher-level athletics may expect other qualifications. If you are weighing career impact, our pieces on CSCC jobs, earnings, and whether the certification is worth it frame the question without overpromising.
Sequencing the Domains Over Eight Months
This is the one place we will talk study logistics, and it is tied directly to the chapter structure. Because the final is open-book, your goal is not rote recall but fast, accurate navigation. Sequence the material so that foundational chapters are fresh when you reach the applied ones.
Foundations (Domains 1-7)
- Prioritize the nervous system, muscular system, and bioenergetics: later program-design chapters assume them
- Build a one-page energy-system comparison and a joint-actions reference
Assessment and Design (Domains 8-10)
- Practice matching assessments to athlete goals
- Write two sample program outlines using the design principles
Technique and Modalities (Domains 11-17)
- Work through each exercise category with primary movers and common faults
- Compare resistance training systems side by side
Planning, Recovery, and Practice (Domains 18-24)
- Map a full periodized year for one sample athlete
- Review nutrition, supplementation, and professional-practice boundaries, then take timed practice sets before attempting the final
Adjust the pacing to your enrollment deadline; the portal date governs. For a fuller plan, see our CSCC study guide, and keep our one-page cheat sheet handy for last-mile review. When you want realistic question practice, the main practice test site is built for exactly that.
Key Takeaway
Build a personal index. Since the final is open-book and untimed, your edge comes from knowing instantly which of the 24 chapters a question lives in. Practice labeling questions by domain before you answer them.
Renewal and Recertification
ISSA's general recertification rules require renewal every two years. A renewal requires:
- 20 CEUs, equivalent to 20 contact hours
- Current CPR/AED certification
- A renewal submission
The standard renewal fee is USD 99, and it may be waived when all 20 CEUs are earned through ISSA.
Frequently Asked Questions
It stands for Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach, the ISSA specialization currently marketed as the Strength and Conditioning Certification. It is not any other credential that shares the acronym.
According to ISSA's materials, the final is online, taken at home, and open-book/open-note, with the ability to save and resume and no time limit. Always confirm details in your own course portal.
Two attempts are included during enrollment. Retakes are available immediately, and each attempt beyond the two included costs USD 99 under ISSA's general retake policy.
The documented requirement is that you hold current adult CPR/AED for the certificate to be released, so you can begin studying first. You must also be at least 18, and payment-plan students must meet the payment conditions before release.
No official weights have been published. The 24 chapters are the preparation curriculum, not a verified exam blueprint, so study all of them rather than betting on percentages.