CROSSFIT LEVEL 2 CORE EXAM TEST QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS RATED A+
✔ Synovial joints and diarthrosis - ✔✔The most common joints in the human body and
are the joints directly involved in human movement.
Types: Hinge joints, gliding joints, pivot joints, condyloid joints, saddle joints, ball and
socket joints
All synovial joints contain a joint capsule, a synovial membrane, synovial fluid, and
hyaline cartilage.
✔✔Hinge Joints - ✔✔Articulations that allow motion in only one anatomic plane.
Examples: Elbow, knee
✔✔Pivot joints - ✔✔Joints that allow rotation as the primary movement.
Examples: neck between the first and second cervical vertebrae, known as the atlas
and axis.
✔✔Ball and socket joints - ✔✔Joints that are the most mobile in the body and allow
motion in an infinite number of planes and axes.
Examples: hip, shoulder
✔✔Gliding, saddle, and condyloid joints - ✔✔Gliding joints: allow for a limited amount of
motion is only one plane.
Saddle and condyloid joints involve the concave surface of one bone sliding over the
convex surface of another bone. This arrangement allows for motion in two planes.
All three are essential for normal function of the hands, wrists, and feet.
✔✔Joint capsule - ✔✔Completely encloses the synovial joint and is attached to the
periosteum of the bones that comprise the joint.
Joint capsule has an inner layer (rich blood supply, poorly innervated, act as an entry
point for nutrients for the joint) and an outer layer (dense and fibrous, has many nerve
endings but poor blood supply).
✔✔Synovial membrane - ✔✔The next tissue found beyond the inner layer of the joint
capsule.
,The primary function of the synovial membrane is to produce and secrete the lubricating
fluid for the joint known as the synovial fluid.
✔✔Hyaline cartilage - ✔✔Smooth, pearly white covering all synovial joint surfaces. It
functions to decrease friction within the joint and provide a sliding surface for the two
bones to move across.
Hyaline cartilage has no blood or nerve supply is therefore incapable of repairing itself if
damaged.
✔✔Fibrocartilage - ✔✔Synovial joints often contain accessory structures composed of
fibrocartilage.
These structures, such as disks, menisci and labrums, act as shock absorbers as well
as improve congruency. Blood an nerve supply to fibrocartilage varies depending on the
type of structure (they may repair themselves).
✔✔3 types of muscle - ✔✔Smooth muscle - walls of the organs, found in arteries. Not
under voluntary control, not a factor in human movement.
Cardiac muscle - found in the heart. Classified as involuntary, but we can exert some
control over it.
Skeletal muscle - Directly involved in human movement. Voluntary because we control
the initiation, magnitude, and termination of contraction consciously.
✔✔Skeletal muscle - ✔✔- Striated
- Composed of bundles known as fascicles
- Within each, there are a varying number of muscle fibers
✔✔Muscle fibers - ✔✔- Long and cylindrical
- Contain the proteins myosin and actin which are responsible for generating muscle
contraction. Myosin and actin are arranged into myofilaments, and it is the arrangement
of the myofilaments that gives skeletal muscle it's striped or striated appearance.
- Muscle contraction occurs when actin and myosin filaments unite and pull toward
eachother, causing a shortening or thickening of the fascicle and therefore the muscle.
- With training, it is possible to consciously contract more muscle fibers, therefore
increasing the force of the contraction.
✔✔Tendons - ✔✔- Cable-like connective tissue strcutures, which allow muscles to
attach to the bone.
- Attach directly with the connective fibers of the muscle forming a broad connection to
the periosteum of the bone.
✔✔Aponeuroses - ✔✔A flat sheet-like tendon attachment.
,✔✔Tendons versus ligaments - ✔✔A ligament is the fibrous connection of bone to
bone.
Ligaments support the stability of a joint structure and have no direct role in creating
movement.
Tendons support movement at a joint by connecting the contraction of the muscle to the
rigid frame of the skeleton.
✔✔Origin and insertion - ✔✔Muscles acting on a joint will have attatchments to two
different bones: the original and the insertion.
Usually, the proximal atttachment is often the origin and distal attachment is often the
insertion. (Though it depends on the movement). The origin refers to the fixed location
and the insertion refers to the moving body segment.
For example, the original of the biceps brachii during a biceps curl is the proximal
attachment, however in a pull-up the original is the distal attachment.
✔✔Sprain - ✔✔A tearing of ligament or joint capsule.
Spains often occur when a joint is forced beyond it's natural range of motion.
Grade I Sprain: mild, little to no tearing, causes no instability
Grade II Sprain: More serious injury causing instability in the joint.
Grade III Sprain: a complete tear or rupturing of the ligament or joint capsule.
✔✔Strain - ✔✔A strecthing or tearing of a muscle or tendinous structure.
Acute strains occur when a muscle is stretched and suddenly contracts.
Grade I: mild, little to no tearing, causes no instability
Grade II: More serious injury causing instability in the joint.
Grade III: a complete tear or rupturing of the ligament or joint capsule.
Chronic strains can occur as a reuslt of overuse or repetitive stress, resulting in
inflammation or tendonitis.
✔✔Three [most commonly found in functional movements] types of muscular
contractions - ✔✔Concentric, eccentric, isometric
, ✔✔Concentric contractions - ✔✔When the tension in the muscle is great enough to
overcome the load on the muscle. The muscle shortens in length.
E.g., during the squat, the quadriceps and gluteals act in a concentric manner during
the ascent.
✔✔Eccentric contractions - ✔✔When tension is maintained in a muscle and the length
of a muscle increases.
E.g., during the squat, when the athlete lowers themselves the quadricepts and gluteals
act in an eccentric fashion.
✔✔Isometric contractions - ✔✔Muscle contractions where the tension in the muscle
neither overcdomes nor yeilds to the load onthe muscle. The muscle will neither
lengthen nor shorten.
E.g., During a squat, the spinal erectors and abdominals contract isometrically to resist
motion of the spine.
✔✔Rhabdomyolysis - ✔✔The breakdown of muscle cells too great for the body to
handle. The contents of the muscle cells (such as myoglobin) overwhelm the kidneys
and lead to renal failure (and death). This condition is known as extertional
rhabdomyolysis.
All contractions can cause rhabdo. Of particular concern are exercises where there is a
significant eccentric component to the movement (such as pull ups and GHD situps).
✔✔Central Nervous System (CNS) - ✔✔Brain and spinal cord.
All voluntary activtiy is controlled by the brain. The spinal cord conducts the voluntary
motor signals from the brain and hands them off to the peripheral nerves. The brain also
receives sensory input from the periphery via the spinal cord, processes that information
and initiates appropriate responses.
Involuntary reflexes such as the knee jerk reflex are controlled at the level of the spinal
cord. The reflexive extension of the of the knee that occurs is not initiated by the brain,
but the brain does receive signals letting it know what occurred.
✔✔Peripheral nervous system (PNS) - ✔✔Composed of the nerves extending off the
spinal cord.
The nerves transmit motor signals from the CNS to the muscles involved in a movement
and then send sensory information to the CNS to provide feedback on the movement.
✔✔Motor Unit - ✔✔A motor neuron and all of the muscle fibers it innervates.
ANSWERS RATED A+
✔ Synovial joints and diarthrosis - ✔✔The most common joints in the human body and
are the joints directly involved in human movement.
Types: Hinge joints, gliding joints, pivot joints, condyloid joints, saddle joints, ball and
socket joints
All synovial joints contain a joint capsule, a synovial membrane, synovial fluid, and
hyaline cartilage.
✔✔Hinge Joints - ✔✔Articulations that allow motion in only one anatomic plane.
Examples: Elbow, knee
✔✔Pivot joints - ✔✔Joints that allow rotation as the primary movement.
Examples: neck between the first and second cervical vertebrae, known as the atlas
and axis.
✔✔Ball and socket joints - ✔✔Joints that are the most mobile in the body and allow
motion in an infinite number of planes and axes.
Examples: hip, shoulder
✔✔Gliding, saddle, and condyloid joints - ✔✔Gliding joints: allow for a limited amount of
motion is only one plane.
Saddle and condyloid joints involve the concave surface of one bone sliding over the
convex surface of another bone. This arrangement allows for motion in two planes.
All three are essential for normal function of the hands, wrists, and feet.
✔✔Joint capsule - ✔✔Completely encloses the synovial joint and is attached to the
periosteum of the bones that comprise the joint.
Joint capsule has an inner layer (rich blood supply, poorly innervated, act as an entry
point for nutrients for the joint) and an outer layer (dense and fibrous, has many nerve
endings but poor blood supply).
✔✔Synovial membrane - ✔✔The next tissue found beyond the inner layer of the joint
capsule.
,The primary function of the synovial membrane is to produce and secrete the lubricating
fluid for the joint known as the synovial fluid.
✔✔Hyaline cartilage - ✔✔Smooth, pearly white covering all synovial joint surfaces. It
functions to decrease friction within the joint and provide a sliding surface for the two
bones to move across.
Hyaline cartilage has no blood or nerve supply is therefore incapable of repairing itself if
damaged.
✔✔Fibrocartilage - ✔✔Synovial joints often contain accessory structures composed of
fibrocartilage.
These structures, such as disks, menisci and labrums, act as shock absorbers as well
as improve congruency. Blood an nerve supply to fibrocartilage varies depending on the
type of structure (they may repair themselves).
✔✔3 types of muscle - ✔✔Smooth muscle - walls of the organs, found in arteries. Not
under voluntary control, not a factor in human movement.
Cardiac muscle - found in the heart. Classified as involuntary, but we can exert some
control over it.
Skeletal muscle - Directly involved in human movement. Voluntary because we control
the initiation, magnitude, and termination of contraction consciously.
✔✔Skeletal muscle - ✔✔- Striated
- Composed of bundles known as fascicles
- Within each, there are a varying number of muscle fibers
✔✔Muscle fibers - ✔✔- Long and cylindrical
- Contain the proteins myosin and actin which are responsible for generating muscle
contraction. Myosin and actin are arranged into myofilaments, and it is the arrangement
of the myofilaments that gives skeletal muscle it's striped or striated appearance.
- Muscle contraction occurs when actin and myosin filaments unite and pull toward
eachother, causing a shortening or thickening of the fascicle and therefore the muscle.
- With training, it is possible to consciously contract more muscle fibers, therefore
increasing the force of the contraction.
✔✔Tendons - ✔✔- Cable-like connective tissue strcutures, which allow muscles to
attach to the bone.
- Attach directly with the connective fibers of the muscle forming a broad connection to
the periosteum of the bone.
✔✔Aponeuroses - ✔✔A flat sheet-like tendon attachment.
,✔✔Tendons versus ligaments - ✔✔A ligament is the fibrous connection of bone to
bone.
Ligaments support the stability of a joint structure and have no direct role in creating
movement.
Tendons support movement at a joint by connecting the contraction of the muscle to the
rigid frame of the skeleton.
✔✔Origin and insertion - ✔✔Muscles acting on a joint will have attatchments to two
different bones: the original and the insertion.
Usually, the proximal atttachment is often the origin and distal attachment is often the
insertion. (Though it depends on the movement). The origin refers to the fixed location
and the insertion refers to the moving body segment.
For example, the original of the biceps brachii during a biceps curl is the proximal
attachment, however in a pull-up the original is the distal attachment.
✔✔Sprain - ✔✔A tearing of ligament or joint capsule.
Spains often occur when a joint is forced beyond it's natural range of motion.
Grade I Sprain: mild, little to no tearing, causes no instability
Grade II Sprain: More serious injury causing instability in the joint.
Grade III Sprain: a complete tear or rupturing of the ligament or joint capsule.
✔✔Strain - ✔✔A strecthing or tearing of a muscle or tendinous structure.
Acute strains occur when a muscle is stretched and suddenly contracts.
Grade I: mild, little to no tearing, causes no instability
Grade II: More serious injury causing instability in the joint.
Grade III: a complete tear or rupturing of the ligament or joint capsule.
Chronic strains can occur as a reuslt of overuse or repetitive stress, resulting in
inflammation or tendonitis.
✔✔Three [most commonly found in functional movements] types of muscular
contractions - ✔✔Concentric, eccentric, isometric
, ✔✔Concentric contractions - ✔✔When the tension in the muscle is great enough to
overcome the load on the muscle. The muscle shortens in length.
E.g., during the squat, the quadriceps and gluteals act in a concentric manner during
the ascent.
✔✔Eccentric contractions - ✔✔When tension is maintained in a muscle and the length
of a muscle increases.
E.g., during the squat, when the athlete lowers themselves the quadricepts and gluteals
act in an eccentric fashion.
✔✔Isometric contractions - ✔✔Muscle contractions where the tension in the muscle
neither overcdomes nor yeilds to the load onthe muscle. The muscle will neither
lengthen nor shorten.
E.g., During a squat, the spinal erectors and abdominals contract isometrically to resist
motion of the spine.
✔✔Rhabdomyolysis - ✔✔The breakdown of muscle cells too great for the body to
handle. The contents of the muscle cells (such as myoglobin) overwhelm the kidneys
and lead to renal failure (and death). This condition is known as extertional
rhabdomyolysis.
All contractions can cause rhabdo. Of particular concern are exercises where there is a
significant eccentric component to the movement (such as pull ups and GHD situps).
✔✔Central Nervous System (CNS) - ✔✔Brain and spinal cord.
All voluntary activtiy is controlled by the brain. The spinal cord conducts the voluntary
motor signals from the brain and hands them off to the peripheral nerves. The brain also
receives sensory input from the periphery via the spinal cord, processes that information
and initiates appropriate responses.
Involuntary reflexes such as the knee jerk reflex are controlled at the level of the spinal
cord. The reflexive extension of the of the knee that occurs is not initiated by the brain,
but the brain does receive signals letting it know what occurred.
✔✔Peripheral nervous system (PNS) - ✔✔Composed of the nerves extending off the
spinal cord.
The nerves transmit motor signals from the CNS to the muscles involved in a movement
and then send sensory information to the CNS to provide feedback on the movement.
✔✔Motor Unit - ✔✔A motor neuron and all of the muscle fibers it innervates.
