[John Izzo]

Hi Jess,
I actually teach for WITS here in Connecticut. I have been on their faculty for the last 5 years and I can tell you that one of the attractive points in their program is the accessibility to a professional (within classroom setting). Students learn through lectures and practicals that teach proper assessments, flexibility, exercise instruction, warm-up, and proper client rapport.
Each time I teach a course, the student ALWAYS raise the same concerns as yourself:
"No one has ever heard of WITS"

The truth is they are correct. WITS is a relatively small certification organization that uses community colleges as a platform to offer the course. The course uses the ACSM HFI Textbook 2nd. ed. (in the past we used the ACE) and covers alot of material in a very short time (5 weeks). I think the number 1 complaint I often hear from students is the amount of info is overwhelming in the time-frame that students get.

With that said, a couple of personal opinions:
Most WITS students are 99% new to fitness and realize that they want to change careers (into fitness) I think this is a big obstacle for most with the overload of info. (We cover everything from ATP production-to PNF stretching-to sliding filament theory).

Most clubs do not know of WITS because WITS does not spend alot of money on marketing. I think WITS depends solely on the "community college branding", which IMO, can be a bit deceptive. Just because it is offered at a community college, does not mean it is a high standard cert. HOWEVER...if you are relatively new to the field, it is an appropriate cert. to pursue.

I should also note that WITS also requires a 20 hour internship to complete the cert process, which I do not know if that is offered by anyone else. This is also a positive for newbies. Again, the course is only as effective as the instructor teaching it. SO I recommend you ask plenty of questions and try it out.

Hope this helps you out.