ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription

Abstract

The 10th edition of ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription will continue the efforts of the editors and contributing authors of the eighth and ninth editions to make it a true guidelines book rather than a sole and inclusive resource. It was the original intent of the Guidelines to be user-friendly, easily accessible, and a current primary resource for exercise and other health professionals who conduct exercise testing and exercise programs. To this effect, in this edition, text descriptions have been minimized; more tables, boxes, and figures have been included; and key Web sites conclude each chapter. The reader of this edition of ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription will notice several innovations. The 10th edition of the EGuidelines presents ACSM’s new recommendations for the preparticipation health screening process, which represents a significant change from previous versions. Recommendations for the Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type (FITT) principle of exercise prescription are presented using a new succinct format for quick reference. Some of the book content has been reorganized to make it easier to locate information quickly. Finally, there was a substantial increase in the number of external reviewers. In lieu of chapter reviewers, the 10th edition used content expert reviewers for specific sections within chapters. This included the development of an expert panel which met several times to develop the new preparticipation health screening process. We have integrated the most recent guidelines and recommendations available from ACSM position stands and other relevant professional organizations’ scientific statements so that the Guidelines are the most current, primary resource for exercise testing and prescription. It is important for the readership to know that new themes and innovations included in the 10th edition were developed with input from the ACSM membership prior to the initiation of this project via an electronic survey and focus groups conducted at the 2014 ACSM Annual Meeting that asked respondents and participants, respectively, for their suggestions regarding the content.