WITS certification - Personal Trainer Community - Forum

[pookie]

My local community college is offering a class on personal training by a group called WITS. I guess you take the class for 5 weeks and then there is a national certification test at the end. Has anyone taken this class? Just wondering how it is and if it's worth it. It costs about $450.

[Christina]

Hi pookie and welcome.

Are you already a trainer? Have you taken any classes in exercise science? If you can give me a little more background info I can give you my opinion on this.

Glad you found us!

Christina

[pookie]

Hi Christina,

No, I am not a personal trainer and I have no experience or classes in the field. I was thinking of getting certified mainly for my own knowledge and maybe doing it part-time at some point. I have a career I like and have no plans to quit doing that, but personal training and fitness has always interested me.

[Christina]

Okay, Pookie. If you were planning on making personal training your career I would not recommend you go this direction. However, since you are completing the course mainly for your own learning purposes I would say go for it if you are comfortable with the research you have done. I do not know anything about this organization. What I *do* know is that most employers would prefer you have a certification from a better known organization. To put things in perspective, most people spend a few months studying for a reputable personal trainer certification. Also, some trainers have 4 year degrees and advanced degrees in exercise science. It is hard to learn all of this in a 5 week course!

Hope this helps a little.
Christina

[pookie]

Thanks for your help. Here is a link to the organization that teaches the course in case you want to check it out: http://www.witseducation.com/certifications/ptcert.htm

I was attracted to it because it has both a hands on element and an internship. From the research I've done on the more well-known organizations it seems that they do not have a practical element and it's all learning out of a book on your own, which is hard to do when you're just starting out with no experience. But I could be wrong about that.

[Christina]

From the research I've done on the more well-known organizations it seems that they do not have a practical element and it's all learning out of a book on your own, which is hard to do when you're just starting out with no experience.

You are correct.

I just checked out the link. It looks like their instructors are really knowledgeable and the required text is really good. (I am familiar with the authors because I own one of their books.)

Does anyone out there know anything about this organization? Since I am not familiar with WITS I probably should not be answering this question!

Christina

Hey, I'm new here-first post.

I took the WITS course at my local community college. The book is a great resource and full of information. The course I took had a written/lecture section for about 3 hours then a hands on practical section for 3 hours.

I passed both sections, it's two seperate test written and practical. Now I have to complete 20 hours of an internship and a CPR course.

I feel like I knew a lot of what the course had to offer, but I've been working out and creating plans since I was 16, I'm 29 now.

After the internship, I will have a sense if the course is worth taken or not.

[Christina]

Hi Randall and welcome to the forum. Thanks for sharing your experience with WITS! I am sure others will find this information helpful. When you are done with the internship please check back in and give us a review.

Christina

I was told the WITS Certification is on the lower end of the spectrum and I should look into getting another certification.

[pookie]

I was told the WITS Certification is on the lower end of the spectrum and I should look into getting another certification.

Hi Randall, Who told you that? Just curious. I was going to take this at my local community college very soon, but have to drop it due to an injury. I had the impression it was a good course so I'm surprised to hear someone said it was on the lower end of the spectrum.