W.I.T.S. Certification

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W.I.T.S. Certification

by Joann Cummings

I am considering taking a stab at following my dream and try to become a Personal Trainer. A local college is host for a personal trainer certification program offered by W.I.T.S. Do you think this is a reputable certification program?

I don't want to just become certified but I really want to learn something. I have a full time career so the W.I.T.S. personal trainer certification program is very appealing. It is a 6 week program (6 consecutive Sundays). It also requires 20 hours internship and training experience before you get your certification. What do you know about W.I.T.S. please?

Thanks for your feedback. You have the best website for someone like me who is starting out as a personal trainer, just looking for information/answers about Personal Training. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

Joann

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W.I.T.S. Certification

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W.I.T.S. Certification is growing
by: Katie - Admin

I am starting to come across WITS certified personal trainers more frequently lately. The description of the program sounds decent. It is good that they require practical time and that it is through a college. That tends to weed out the sharks.

The downside is that very few people will have heard of WITS. So you may still need to get another certification to get the job. If you know where you plan to work, ask them if they accept the WITS certification.

Can somebody with first hand experience with WITS share their thoughts?

- Katie

WITS
by: Anonymous

My old gym (Golds Gym) would use this cert. IMO the cert doesn't make the trainer so I never looked into it.

Running Techniques WITS course
by: Sheila

I have been toying with signing up for the W.I.T.S. personal trainer program. To check it out, I took a 3-hour "Running Techniques" workshop through them. It was by far the worst waste of gas and time I've ever spent. The "instructor" was a hack who had experience as a coach, but only for a children's rec program. He had no idea how to organize, motivate or educate any of the students. Be Wary of W.I.T.S!

Go for W.I.T.S. !
by: Joe Bartovic NASM-CPT,PES

Joann,
It's great that you want to be a trainer and want to really get a education. W.I.T.S . is the best way to go for a new trainer because it has the real classroom time, real gym time and not only a classroom exam, a live gym exam plus an internship. No other certification does that and is college credit too!

Afterwards you might want to expand into others like NASM, NSCA or ACSM ( W.I.T.S. uses the same book as ACSM ).

If you are looking to get the best foundation, go for W.I.T.S. but study hard, the 6 weeks goes by fast.

Best Health
Joe Bartovic NASM-CPT,PES
Personal Training Director
Wow! Fitness Middletown Cromwell, Glastonbury, West Hartford Connecticut

WITS Waste
by: Clarkey

I took WITS. What a waste.

I took it as I wanted something 'hands on'.
It was badly organized, instructors didn't turn up. We didn't get the practical experience promised.

They offered all 10 students the opportunity to retake the course again free as we all complained about it.

That said, I did land a job. But I also have prior experience and am group fitness and cycle certified, and the club knows me. All that was taken into account.

I am now taking ACE as my employer now requires more from me.

Certified with WITS
by: Rances Perez

I am certified with WITS(world instructor training school),I Took The course in New Jersey. I find that many people seem to be impressed simply with the process that I went through to get certified. The way it was for me was like this; first I had a course for three months half in a class room the other half in a weight room. The class room part was all the science and written stuff and the weight room was all the hands on and equipment familiarization. Then you take a written test and a practical test, after you've past the tests you go on to do a twenty hour internship where you shadow a trainer in a gym, and when that is completed then you receive your certification.

Also, my Instructors for the course where very well prepared and knew their stuff. one of them had a degree in sports science, and the other (The instructor in the weight room)had many years experience and runs his own personal training company.

w.i.t.s certification compared to others.
by: Mike

I'm considering my p.t.c., i live in Connecticut, & 95% of the courses offered are on-line with the the option of a practical course offered as an extra option. w.i.t.s. offers 6 eight hour days, which are divided in half, so you get as much practical time, as text book. Then you do a 20 hour internship at a gym for more experience. Also what is offered for there curriculum is very close to the other certs.,

any input from anyone?

Thanks Mike

Requesting a Full-Refund from WITS
by: Anonymous

The best part of WITS is that you get a kick in the pants to start studying. In my opinion it is not worth $550!

WITS is worthless
by: JimB

I took the WITS course at my local community college last fall and passed the written and practical exams. In order to get your certification, you have to perform a 20-hour internship at a fitness facility. They tell you they "help" you arrange the internship. The "help" consists of giving you a list of gyms and health clubs in your state, and it's no more helpful than the Yellow Pages. They lead you to believe that these facilities offer an internship program, but when you call them they tell you flat out they don't offer internships. Clients who are paying good money for an experienced trainer don't want to be trained by an intern. I got my gym's training director to reluctantly agree to grant me an internship, and I got through the 10 hours of observation and the first four hours of alternating training/observation, then hit a brick wall. Clients wanted their money's worth from a certified trainer. I interviewed at one gym where they said they would take me as a trainee, but that WITS is not actually accredited I would have to get ACSM certification within two months. So now I'm blowing off WITS and going for ACSM.

NON- PROFFESSIONAL
by: Karen R

I to attended the WITS class, I am already certified through a few other organizations and I took this course manly for the CEC's and to compare this 6wks course to the basic weekend course(AFAA,NETA,ACE). In my opinion it was a waste of time! one of the proctors never showed up for the practical testing( about 10 of us sat there for hours waiting to be tested then had to leave then wait to be scheduled for anothere time)the other guy got lost and was never notified that the gym moved so he was late starting, he had no phone # to call to see where to go or find out what was up w/ the missing proctor! VERY UNPROFFESSIONAL considering we all spent almost $600 for the course. I sent emails, called to complain and was trated very rudely by their reps!!!!!!! I would strongly advise get your cert thru someone else ( AFAA ,they are proffessional and reputable) I have worked in the fitness field for 20 yrs. and have never attended anything that was soooo unorganized or treated so unproffessional like i have been w/ the WITS organization!

Worth it!
by: Anonymous

I took the course in NJ and was very impressed! The instructor was very organized and his knowledge was second to none. You have to put in the time to study but you learn so much by the end of the 6 weeks. I am currently employed as a personal trainer (yes, I passed the course) at a major health club in central NJ and WITS definitely set the foundation for me.

I think WITS programs are just about in every state and I was fortunate to have a great instructor (Monmouth county area). I'm glad that I went through their course.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY!
by: Anonymous

W.I.T.S. is only good if you want to learn basics for your own personal use. I was mislead by all the hype the college wrote about W.I.T.S......they claim to help you get an intern ship, which they require for you to officially get certified. THEY DO NOT HELP! And worst of all, the gym's I called (on their so-called gym's that participate list) said they want nothing to do with the company. I passed the certification tests at the end of the 6 weeks of Saturday's course.....but I can not officially get certified because I cannot find anywhere in which to do the internship!(They give you 2 years to do so) When I call the corp. offices, they just give me the run-a-round...like a bunch of used car sales people. And the instructor of the course was just a fast talker with no personality and non-motivational speak. Now I have to spend more money and time.....or everything I have done so far will be for nothing. A word to the wise....if you want to be the best you can be...go somewhere else! $700 and 2 months of Saturdays gone, not to mention feeling stupid about it for the last year....try to explain that to everyone who knew you were taking the course.

WITS worthless
by: Anonymous

I inquired about a refund after askiing several gyms about WITS certification and discovering none of them recognized it. However, I spoke to the community college and the instructor and was told it was too late to obtain a refund. That said, the classes were so elementary amd the instructor refused to answer any in depth questions (said he had 2 masters degrees in sports science, exercise physiology).

Quite a waste. I thought maybe the classwork would be better than an online course but this is not true, at least at this course. Furthermore, the instructor said if one could not arrange to take the test on the last day, he would schedule another test date. I cannot get off work and was told I have to wait months until I can take the test and then do the internship--which as said, they do not help you set up.

The community colleges should look into this instead of telling you their is always a waiting list for the class.

Un-Professional Company
by: Anonymous

I took the course and it was OK, I could not test at the end of class because they moved the date and It conflicted with my schedule. They told me I would be able to test at the next testing date. They told me I would be contacted for the testing date, I was never contacted so I kept calling, no reply, four months went by. I went to the college and found that another class started (I missed one week)and I talked to the Instructor and was able to join the class to refrest the material. I was able to talk with someone at WITS after I started the class and they told me I could not join the class and I would have to wait until the next class, I told them that the Instructor said it was OK and I was already in the class. I was able to test and passed the written but missed the other test by 3 points, so I have to retest. I called around and found another college testing in a month, but WITS would not let me test and I would have to wait another four months to retest, they said they would contact me, but guess what I tried for over six weeks to get a reply and none. They finely called me four days before the test. I told them I need more time than four days and I also need to get thhe day off work. They told me that I could take the next test which is another four months from now, and they would follow up with an email to confirm, guess what it has been three weeks and they still have not replied to me. I have been working on this certification for over a year and still do not have it. I WOULD NOT RECOMEND THIS CERT to anyone, they do not seem to care about the students.

I have already taken other certs and passed in the last year (AFAA), I am working on other certs. I may or may not ever get WITS cert but I have learned that I can move on to better companys that want their students to be happy and certified.

Look to AFAA, ACE ect... To get certified

Good luck to all in the fitness field.

Unsure W.I.T.
by: Anonymous

I also took the course at the community college. It was also a 6 week course. For somebody who worked out for years but only took Jazzercise classes, I had no idea what the machines were all about. We had no access to weight machines during the 6 wk course. We were brought into a local gym for 1 day (about 1 hr) and were to familiarize ourselves with all the machines. Needless to say I was lost and on my own because everybody else worked out in gyms and were familiar with machines and left early. I did pass my practical/written, but still felt stupid. I never was required to do an internship, which I believe would of definitely of helped... re-think W.I.T.S

Cert
by: Anonymous

I read all of the comments and I guess your experience is based on how good your instructor was. Well I had an excellent instructor, but the class before me had a very poor one. Also I could not find a gym and trainer in my area to do my internship, well after six months I ended up calling the instructor that I had and he helped me with my internship. 45 minutes one way from my home.

After I turned in my paperwork to WITS, CPR card and internship hours they sent me my certification.....but with the date of when I finished the classes not when I finished my internship.

I lost six months of training, I could not train any clients until I could show them I was certified. Because of this I contacted Jay D and told him it was not stated anywhere on his website about when your certification starts but he told me that was the industry's practice. They are the only certification to do this and now they increased it to thirty hours. Also after I told me about the information not being on his website he has now added it.

At first I thought it was a great company to go with but now you never know if you are going to get a good instructor and I believe they want you to drag out the internship training so they can get the money for the Continuing Education Credits and the renewal fee.

Also the college I took the course is no longer is offering CEC classes. I would have to buy them online directly from WITS

I know they will be contacting me when my certification gets closer to its expiration date. I think I will look into another company, even if it will cost me more money.

Bottom line...if you want to take the chance of what kind of instructor you are going to get (Which I had an excellent one, the only good thing out of all of this) and getting your internship hours done as soon as you can and not being concerned if any one has ever heard of them then maybe you should consider this certification.

WITS Practicum Test
by: Anonymous

I am in my 3rd week of the WITS program. I am very unsure of the taking the practicum test. We have not done very many assessments protcols, to practice our skills. Does anybody have any suggestions for study for the practicum?

I was scammed
by: Anonymous

The community college I took the WITS course with did not mention ANYTHING about an intership in their course booklet. The first day of class (when it's too late to file for a refund) the instructor informed us we'd have to do a 30 hour internship before we'd get our certificate, even if we passed the exams. As stated in another posting, the "internship" list consists of gyms with outdated email addresses who no longer offer internships. I've spent $550 on the course, $88 on the book and $55 on a CPR course (also required), six Sundays in classes and no certification to show for it. No wonder they made us sign a form the first day of class saying we'd have to go to Virginia(their HQs) if we were to file a lawsuit against the company. The couple of times I called instructors they either did not return my call or told me they couldn't help me.
I was scammed.

My WITS Experience
by: Anonymous

I am currently enrolled in the W.I.T.S. program, and I am quite underwhelmed with the company. The classroom lectures are disorganized, disjointed, and feel very fragmented. The practical hours are better, and I feel I will have enough basic knowledge about offering personal training once I am done with the class.

I have been fit and active my whole life but I am not familiar with any practical part of being a personal trainer which is why I chose the WITS program offered by a local community college. I have been aware before I started that WITS may not be industry standard, but it was worth it to me to spend $500 for the practical experience. Our instructors are doing an adequate job giving us practical skills, and I know I'll be okay with the practical skills I am currently learning once I start working in the field.

Having said that I have no plans to make WITS my certification of choice, so it will make no difference whether I pass the exam or not - I will consider it a practice exam for what I really want. I will take from the class what I can, and then go for either the ACSM or at least the ACE certification. I also have no intention to even worry about the internship because that means I would not be able to get the WITS certification for another 4-6 months, and I want to be certified ASAP.

For someone who wants to do just WITS, please know that you may or may not get decent instructors. If you already work in the industry or are at least fit from working out in the gym, go for ACE or ACSM certification, and don't waste your money on WITS.

If, however, you need some practical experience like I did - you may want to give it a shot. If you are lucky, and your instructors are half-way decent you will get something out of the practical part of the course. But order the required workbook at amazon - it's a whole lot cheaper than ordering from WITS.

Not Bad
by: Audrey

W.I.T.S. isn't a bad entry into fitness. I did the course through a local community college. The course instructor was fine and made sure the basics were covered. I think the quality really depends on the instructor.

I did the course for personal interest and satisfaction. I started training a few years ago and so did my husband. I wanted the short course to help me understand my own fitness and help my husband in his fitness and running. The W.I.T.S. classes did this for me. Having a hands-on class was the real plus for me.

Is this a top notch premier certification? Not in my opinion. Is it a good starting place for someone with no formal fitness education? I say yes. It can be used as a starting place to take more recognized tests such as ACE.

W.I.T.S. is not bad, just don't expect to be a master personal trainer after 5 classes and a test.

WITS
by: Carole

After reading all the above comments, I too agree that it depends on who your instructor is. I was lucky enough to have a very knowledgeable instructor who was also a good teacher. I took the class because it was the only hands-on one available. I liked the time spent in the lab classes. It was also great being able to ask questions as they arose. That all being said, I did encounter some big obstacles to certification. I, too, called several of the gyms on the intership list and was also told they did not participate. It took me 4 months of calling and going to local gyms to find someone that would allow me to shadow a trainer. I also should add that not 1 gym had ever heard of W.I.T.S.-and these were all people in the business! You are required to do a 30-hour internship with the last 10 hours being with you training the client by yourself. When we reached that segment of the internship, everything was put on hold as the gym was not comfortale allowing an un-certified trainer to train paying clients. Luckily, I was in the process of studying for my NASM cert and once I passed that test, the gym allowed me to finish my internship. I don't know if I would have ever finished otherwise. So my advice would be to take the W.I.T.S. course if you want in-person instruction. If you know a personal trainer who has been certified for at least 18 months and is willing to do your internship then it you will be able to get your certification. Otherwise, trying to find a gym that will allow an un-certified trainer to train paying clients is nearly impossible. Also, at the end of it all, my W.I.T.S. cert is an unknown in the industry whereas my NASM cert opened every door and I now have a personal trainer job.
Hope this helps!

wits
by: Anonymous

Listen to anonymous. I could not find a single gym that ever heard of it and thus none of them accept it. I mean thats the important part, getting a job right?

too basic
by: Anonymous

I took the WITS class a couple of years ago at a community college. I took the class just for my own knowledge and was not intending to become a trainer at that point so I didn't take the final exams or practicum. The instructor was OK and I got something out of the classes, but when I asked local gyms their opinion of WITS they all said it is not a respected cert and it's better to get certified by a more reputable organization. I'm working on getting my NASM cert now. I think WITS is good if you're just interested in the field and need an intro course.

I kept in touch with some classmates who told me they weren't able to schedule the practicum anywhere (except for one guy who was already working at gym before he took the class) so that is definitely a problem.

Weight your options/needs
by: Kat

I've been looking into W.I.T.S. I have a 4 yr degree in Kinesiology and a Group Instructor Cert through AFAA. I've been looking at the HFS Cert through ACSM as well. Based on my experience, W.I.T.S is at least legit, though not very popular and very brief. The website lays out the program for you well, and the fact that it "offers" an internship is fantastic so, unlike one of the above comments, don't bitch that you went into it and were surprised/disappointed there was an internship. It doesn't seem like they give you much support in finding that internship, but even in my internship course in COLLEGE they didn't set it up for you! YOU HAVE TO DO THE WORK HERE. YOU find your internship, YOU put time and effort into learning. There are places and people that want to help you, sharing knowledge is the only way we better ourselves. As is the case with any education. You get out what you put in. That said, the instructors for W.I.T.S can be almost anybody, which is the downside. Depends who your instructor is, as to whether you'll have a good experience or not. It's a 5-week course, so if your instructor is knowledgeable you'll get a lot out of it, and if they aren't...well, study on your own like you would if you were taking an ACSM or other national cert. People study for months for the ACSM exam, so a 5-6 week course isn't bad at all...just make sure you make an effort to learn the material.

Well said Kat
by: Anonymous

You all sounds like a bunch of lazy idiots, some of which with serious inabilities to spell correctly which leaves very little likelihood that you can market yourself with a certification of any kind.

W.I.T.S. is great if YOU do the work and don't expect to be spoonfed. Oh and by the way, they can't help you get a list of future clients either so don't cry a river when everything isn't done for you. GROW UP!

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