FiTour Personal Trainer Certification

by Lesli Burke

I was wondering if you had any information on a certification place called Fitour. They are offering certification courses for $99.00 including study materials and testing. Is it too good to be true? Is it legit? Would love to hear your take on it. I am on a budget but I don't want to waste time or money on something that would end up being useless!

Thanks for your attention and thanks for the great website!

Comments for FiTour Personal Trainer Certification

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You get what you pay for
by: Katie - Admin

I would steer away from any $99 certification. A good text book will cost almost that much. I think their program is legit but very lightweight and not widely recognized. If you know where you want to work, ask them what certifications they accept. You can also try self-studying for an NCCA accredited program like ACE or NASM. Try to find some used study materials. You can do it cheaper that way but still end up with a good cert.

Would you pay $60 for a personal training session with somebody that has a $99 education? Don't go cheap. Get educated. The best choice if you can afford it is to get a diploma from one of the personal training schools.

You talk the talk, you must walk the walk
by: Anonymous

One of the best known certification outlets comes to the USM campus and for 2-300 dollars you can get certified in one or two days.

Some on line courses offer a full study program and are a lot cheaper.

I took group exercise classes for aerobic instructor. A full 8 wk course with study and program layout etc. Received an A in the class.
When the certification company came to give their certification test for 250-300 dollars I didn't have the money to get certified.(a very popular co.)

I'm a senior at the University of Southern Mississippi, with 2 semesters to go and I'll have a bachelor degree in Physical Education.

I had taken 4 classes in weight lifting, an aerobic class, a Racquet ball class, Karate class, a volleyball class, an aquatics class, a golf class and a high level circuit training class...before I decided to make Physical Education my major. Did I happen to mention that I'm 61 years old. I will tell someone quick that when they can do what I do then you have the right to talk to me about age.

Certification only means that you have taken the step to publicly state that you can do what you say. Gyms like certain certifications, but your training and ability won't come from a certification class. A gym manager can figure this out fast.

I don't plan on working for a gym. I do a strength training class at a local school and have a promise of a PE position at a school in my home town if I want it.

I'm getting certified for insurance purposes and I've checked to see if the company I'm certifying with, is acceptable for it's very economical. Also have college credit for the classes.

Just remember one thing: The comment Title above: IF YOU TALK THE TALK, THEN YOU MUST WALK THE WALK.

The Certification doesn't make the person
by: Mark

I currently have 3 Fitour certifications. They are very fast to complete and the textbooks come with a lot of health forms and other things that you will use for years to come!

I would suggest going for the Fitour personal trainer certification if you plan on working for private gyms. If you wanna go corporate I would suggest the ACE or AFAA Personal trainer certifcation (although that may cost about 500 dollars).

Just remember that learning how to train or teach someone doesn't come from certification programs, it comes from experience! So if you have done personal training before I would suggest going for the Fitour certification to have something to your name. From my understanding, all the certification programs I went for, the textbooks only use 1 chapter to show how to personal train or teach a class. As long as you know what you are doing, then the fitour personal training is the right one for you :)

If you have any questions email me at MarkRadex@aim.com

Good luck!

Response to Fitour
by: Anonymous

Hello. I am a former FiTOUR trainer and I have certs from them (got certified before applying to be a trainer, and had to get certs in order to conduct their workshops). FiTOUR was originally known (back in the 90's) as a CEU provider. They primarily brought fitness professionals such as Gay Gasper, Jay Blanik, etc. to major cities where certified instructors could take a 3-4 hour CEU and receive credits.

Although FiTOUR is well-known (out there) by many gyms, many of them WILL NOT accept it. I've experienced this first hand. I have been in this business for nearly 15 years. Because of the recent crackdown with certifying bodies now being forced to be accredited (FiTOUR is one that sought accredidation as well as other major certification organizations), many will only accept certifications (even with Group Exercise--let alone Personal Training) from: AFAA, ACE, ACSM, NASM, and maybe a couple of others.

Again, because I have been on both sides of FiTOUR, initially, the study materials were vague, some contradictions with testing (they now test online--even if they host a live certification in a city), in the past 2 years, they have improved.

To me, FiTOUR would be a start if you don't have any certifications and/or are new to the industry. However, many major nationwide clubs will not accept them--I know this first hand.

Hope this is helpful.

Fitour is GREAT. . .for what it is
by: Anonymous

PLEASE re-read the response "You Talk the Talk. . ." because I think it's the perfect summary of the value of Fitour: they offer just what you need to get started in the industry, they DO NOT provide high-level, gold star, universally recognized certifications BUT they do offer you enough to be recognized by insurance companies and they're affordable. So the bottom line is that they ARE credible.

With all due respect, there are highly qualified, trained, educated and experienced folks out there who would balk at the level of education Fitour provides. BUT I've been in this industry long enough to know that what makes the best trainers great IS NOT what they learned in any certification course!

They truly gained proficiency through experience in the field and by continuing their education even after they began working. Good trainers are CONSTANTLY taking additional classes either to keep up with the times/trends in the industry &/or to match their own ever-evolving interests. In fact, most of the folks I know & respect have MULTIPLE certs from different agencies/organizations.

So if you know that you are going to be one of those people who supplements their initial certification with greater knowledge over time, then save your money and go with Fitour for now. Again, Fitour WILL LIMIT the number of places that'll hire you. But those types of gyms want a lot of experience too so it's not like the cert alone is your golden ticket. Over time (and believe me, this can be as short as 1 year) you'll get better at a smaller gym, have a much better feel for your particular strengths and then have a much better idea of the different agencies out there and who you want to upgrade with next.

Fitour is Great!
by: health and fitness guru

Fitour is a Great certification company! Very affordable, and the information in their certification programs is very useful and straight to the point. I've been apart of the health and fitness industry for 6 years and i have a bachelors degree in sports science/ exercise science, and Fitour certification will definately help you create a solid foundation by providing you will all the information you need to get started off on the way to becoming a successful health and fitness professional. Most gyms will give you a shot at being a personal trainer or group exercise instructor if they are hiring and they dont base everything off of what certification you have. Certifications programs arent much more than a starting point, i've seen ACSM certified trainers, who can probably name all the bones in the body, but cant design a unique program if their life depended on it, i've seen ACE trainers, with hollywood looks, and 2nd grad smarts who dont have enough time in their schedule to train everyone who wants to work with them. The best personal trainer i've ever seen was certified by NASM, but NASM dont give trainers too much creativity (they have their own system, and philosophy) but they deal the most with actual training, NSCA CPT isnt 2 popular its really hard, ACSM is a board of doctors who are great at research and writing books, but arent actually out their training, fitour is a book for trainers made by trainers, and its very affordable to renue. No one wants to pay 600 dollars for a certification package, and then 300 every two years to renue it. thats rediculious, especially us professionals who already have degrees in the field. If you want to be a successful health and fitness professional. All you need is a great personality and plenty of passion.

Fitour
by: Anonymous

I hold several certifications with Fitour. I enjoy their low prices and fast service. Their on-line courses do need more practical demonstrations on their DVD's, and some courses (like cycling) don't even have a DVD. This I do believe is a weakness. However, if you are very familiar with the different gym formats, you can take the academic side of the certification program and work on the practical on your own. I also have a yoga certification with AFPA. (It's more expensive and thorough, requiring a practical show of your knowledge and ability through video or photographs). I must agree, however, with those that say paper certification does not make you a great instructor. If you love what you do, you will seek additional training at workshops, personal study, or DVD's to enhance your abilities. The certification gives you basic information and will get you into the door of the fitness industry. Fitour has very good one day workshops that they give at various locations in the US. I took the advanced yoga workshop with CarolAnn and was very pleased with it. (I work at LA Fitness teaching yoga.)

FitTour basic
by: Anonymous

I ordered the personal trainer program and the advanced trainer program through FitTour and I sent it back. To me the material I received in 2007 was just an outline of the information of what a personal trainer should know, it reminded me of a cheat sheet. I wanted the technical information and to me it seemed to be lacking. Perhaps they have changed their material since then, but I would not purchase it, since it is not recommended by most professionals. I would think if you did do the program perhaps the course live would be more of a benefit. Also, if you have no fitness background at all it would give you an outline and you should move on to your next certification after that. I would not stop my learning at Fit Tour. I have an ISSA and NASM CPT certification, and I prefer NASM more, but ISSA has alot of great information. Good luck on your choice.

FiTOUR is perfect for beginner
by: Lita Pepion

I am a YMCA certified group and water fitness instructor and Personal Trainer. I am also a FiTOUR certified Personal Trainer and Master Trainer (meaning I can provide trainings, give the exam and certify personal trainers). When I went into business for myself I wanted to be able to provide a "certification" course to Native American fitness professionals getting started in the business just to get people moving to address the Diabetes epidemic among Native Americans and to help them maintain their funding. I tried to work with a number of the "reputable" agencies but many of them wanted too much money, too much time (e.g. ACE wanted me to provide a semester long course) or too many details. Many of the people I train do not have a strong academic or science background but are smart people and good trainers. They had been to Cooper or taken exams from other companies and failed because they didn't have the science background. Does this mean they can't train people safely and effectively? NO! You don't need to know all of that stuff as a beginning trainer - it will come with experience and continued training. As long as you outline the risks and benefits to clients, have them complete the Par-Q and get a doctor's release for those with medical or other issues you should be o.k. AS A BEGINNER. Once you get some experience and knowledge under your belt you might want to get additional certs but to get started and to learn the basics of personal training FiTOUR is the best. They were willing to work with me where other agencies turned their nose up on the issues facing Native Americans and what is need to get Native People moving. FiTOUR staff were AWESOME and they made so many adjustments to help me get people started I wouldn't recommend a better certification place, again for beginners who have completed the proper liability waivers, medical screening requirements, etc.

Can't get an email response from FiTour
by: Anonymous

I have tried for several days to get an answer to some questions by filling out the contact form on FiTour's website, with no response to date.

I have also tried to find a phone # on their site, with no luck there either.

Beyond that, I have no idea or experience what FiTour is like.

Follow up on: Can't get an email response from FiTour
by: Anonymous

i normally don't add on to one of my own posts anywhere, but have to add that, over 10 days later, i still have never gotten a response from FiTour's "response" team - wish i could say otherwise

Blind leading the blind!
by: Anonymous

I believe if you are going to promote yourself as a certified personal trainer and supervise an individual's weight training, you better be legitimately certified and KNOW what you are doing. Taking any or all FiTour ONLINE classes, in my opinion, does NOT qualify anyone to promote themselves as a personal trainer to directly supervise someone lifting weights! Weight training can be dangerous if improperly and ignorantly supervised by someone who is book smart but not experienced or knowledgeable with the human body's capabilities! Taking a simple online course is NOT the same as going to college and studying with books and training classes to obtain a legitimate certification to be a personal trainer! Sort of like the blind leading the blind! In my opinion, shame on any " personal trainers" who irresponsibly misguide their clients of any and all ages with false acclimations of having obtained professional quality FiTour certifications!

FiTour
by: Anonymous

I have a fiTour Personal Trainer Certification. I believe that if you study as much as you can about fitness and anatomy you will be a great trainer. I spoke to someone at fiTour over a year ago and that is why I chose them. I don't care how many certs one has it doesn't make them better than the next person with an online cert! I work in a gym with trainers with college degrees in sports/fitness and NASM and a few others and I have witnessed them do so many things incorrectly!

Fitour
by: Anonymous

This was very helpful as for a beginner I just signed up with Fitour for the certification. I want to do the NASM when I am ready to pursue actively training but for budget purposes I wanted to start somewhere and a trainer friend of mine recommended this as a first step but as was mentioned, it is hands on knowledge, but this material is a start. In the meantime I plan to take a CPR course and do the smaller things I can to gain more experience and then try various gyms once I have gotten another cert!

who knew?
by: Anonymous

I think that this is a great cert if you have a college degree. If you don't have the education then a more expensive cert should be attained because there is more in depth knowledge. I think all the Certs out there are ways for people to keep getting paid. there is no reason ACE, ACSM, or any other big wig cert should be that expensive. Yeah you might get that more trendy gym job with more clients ($$$), but your going to be spending it all again trying to keep up with those extremely expensive CEC's. In order to be a trainer, I think one should have at least a 4 year degree to cover the in depth understanding of the human body that certifications just don't give. but who am i to say...veteran, PHD, in the biz for 15 years. Get the Fitour! its by trainers for trainers.

For PhD VET
by: Anonymous

For the record: I’m not attacking veterans, I think they deserve our thanks for the service they provided. I’m wondering why you think being a vet makes your opinion on this topic matter. It doesn’t. And you’re a PhD? And you’re recommending FiTour? Something doesn’t add up. I’m calling BS on this. My guess is if you are a PhD it isn’t in this field or it is a fly-by-night school that you mail-in a check and an essay and they send you a diploma. Original Poster – until you get some proof this person is legit, I’d treat their post very lightly as sounds like they can’t afford to maintain the CEU’s, which is weird because if he is a PhD, money shouldn’t be a problem. If you want to be a success go with some of these others. The ACE, ACSM, CFT, NASM are the ones you want. Forget FiTour.

Vet = Militaryx20 years = fitness standardsx20years
by: Anonymous

Being a Vet means he probabaly spent 20+ years in the military. We have fitness standards that must be met or you will be discharged from the military. Other than out constant Fitness Assessments (developed my civilian doctors in the field) we also have unit PT on a regular basis (at least three times a week for most people.) Being in the military means you are living a fit lifestyle. I'm not saying it qualifies you as a Personal Trainer, but it IS worth mentioning.

"Being aVet...
by: Anonymous

“Being a Vet means he probabaly spent 20+ years in the military.” I disagree with your supposition. Go back and reread his post. (I say ‘his’ for expediency, not an assumption.) The poster I was referring to was obviously trying to bring up his credentials in a effort to lend credence to his post. If he were career military, then I really think he would have put the word “retired” or # of yrs served as you did. That being said, I do believe your point about a Vet, even a non-career one, has a better than a non-layman’s sense of physical fitness. Yes, a Vet might be able to look at the coursework and say it is BS. But anyone who has spent time, energy and interest in fitness would probably be able to do the same thing. I kind of took that as given. My point was how does being a Veteran help evaluate the effectiveness of the certification for success in the industry. Would a Vet know what parts of the country are accepting FiTour? Which gym chains? Is it getting mentioned in any publications or net sites like MensHealth, BB.com, T-nation, etc. Again, I am not knocking Vets. I just don’t see how that would help in evaluating the certificate's worth.

Now on to why I called BS on that poster.
I numbered his sentences so it would be easier to take apart in the next post since there is a 3000 character max:
(1)I think that this is a great cert if you have a college degree. (2)If you don't have the education then a more expensive cert should be attained because there is more in depth knowledge. (3)I think all the Certs out there are ways for people to keep getting paid. (4)there is no reason ACE, ACSM, or any other big wig cert should be that expensive. (5)Yeah you might get that more trendy gym job with more clients ($$$), but you’re going to be spending it all again trying to keep up with those extremely expensive CEC's. (6)In order to be a trainer, I think one should have at least a 4 year degree to cover the in depth understanding of the human body that certifications just don't give. (7)but who am i to say...veteran, PHD, in the biz for 15 years. (8)Get the Fitour! (9)its by trainers for trainers.

Logic Errors
by: Anonymous

Sentence 1 implies Fitour is a good supplement to a college degree. Sentence 2 implies Fitour can’t really stand on its own. Sentences 3-5 imply a prejudice against the more expensive certifications because of their higher application cost and higher cec’s. This is in conflict with sentence 2 since he did state there was a benefit to the more expensive ones. It is also inconsistent with sentence 1 as anyone who has went to college knows a degree costs vastly more than certifications. Why bring up cost of cert’s as a detriment while at the same time espouse a preference for higher education. Said differently a 4-yr degree at an accreditated university will cost between $50- $100K and the poster is arguing that spending a few $100 more per year on an admittedly more recognized certificate is somehow material? Sentence 3 takes away any cost/benefit of degree vs certification. Sentence 6 agrees with 1 but *might* disagree with sentence 2. If he had stopped after sentence 1 and 2, everything would have been fine and internally consistent. But everything after that is a mess and contradiction to itself. And that is what bothers me about this post. A PhD, through their educational process becomes very adept at logics and critical thinking and being consistent in their positions. This post was not written by anyone who went through 6+ years of college and graduate coursework. It was written by someone who refuses to pay or can’t pay for those ‘big wig’ certifications and is trying to come up with rationales that are inconsistent and creating his own support for them by inflating his own self-worth. Sentences 8 and 9 are just silly.

Again, being a Vet is something to be proud of. So is a PhD...

Fitour and Others
by: Anonymous

Fitour, AFAA and other certification you can get in the fitness industry Highly recommends that you have extra college or degrees in the fitness/antamoy etc to be good at your job.
Fitour has fabulous programs. They have made is less expensive and that is great. You need a background in fitness to make yourself better at your job.

Look how many years Physical Therapist go to school. All us trainers should go to school and take the time to really learn more than weekend or short certifications. Fitour is awesome. BUT, if you want to better youself, be smart and educate yourself about he body. Take anatomy. Study.

Doctors, physical therapist and nurses take weekend seminars that are very educational and informing. BUT, they all have the BASE of knowledge and experience. Look at the profiles of the fitour teachers/trainers on their website. They have education and experience. That is what makes a good trainer or teacher of such in the fitness field. If you work out and take a test that you spent a few days to pass and think your a persona trainer the equals any personal trainer out there, you are highly fooling yourself.

Would you pay a trainer $400.00 for 10 personal training sessions if they ONLY aquired a quick certification? That sounds silly. What makes you feel that only spending a few hours to pace your whole careerr qualifies you to give a cient more hours of paid visits that is more time then you educated yourself in.

Use fitour to add very qualified teachings to your carrerr in the business. Not your main source, it is a great extra to what you should be doing to help others.
people are trusting you with their bodies, injuries, personal issues. If you expect clients to pay you

my point Fitour has great programs.. if you want to be in this field full time and truly help people , educate yourself.
I have taken several of fitours course, AFAA and others, on top of my college degree. You have to have the full package to be good at what you do. keep up with the new regulations and safety measures. your clients trust you did more than 1 quick cert and called yourself "professional"

if your mom or dad needed a fitness trainer would you want someone who spent maybe a week or shorter time on their education or someone who spend years and studied and learned.

FiTour
by: Anonymous

I attended National Personal Training Institute, we did 100 hours of theory & Practice of Personal Training,100 hours of basic nutrition, 100 hours of Anatomy & physiology and 200 hours of Practical application of Personal Training. Although not certified through them I do have a certificate of completion. This school is state certified.
I hold several certifications from FiTour, they are helpful if you want to do more than Personal Training, I like to teach classes too so having the group fitness and core and functional certs are good for me.

Passion Driven
by: AgapeBiz

I think in whatever you do, it is the passion to help other people that will allow other people to see it and build up your credibility.

Don't let the prices of courses govern you which is better or which is not. Some organisation charge few hundred dollars, but you can finished the course quite quickly and do you think it is better than another cheap course?

I know Certification helps to land you a job, but I think try helping as many people as possible in your journey, and do you continuous learning along the way. In that sense, you have both knowledge and practicum; walking the talk which is so much better than many of the certified people!

The world today has so many with papers qualification but no passion, we need people with passion and learning automatically becomes part of their life!

Fitour - Good Start
by: JC

I've completed several Fitour online programs and found them comprehensive and, generally, good quality. I agree with other posters, these certifications are a necessary entry level credential. Once in the field, you need to work under a competent, experienced trainer to really begin to learn how to be an effective personal trainer. In my situation, I have advanced college degrees, and was a school teacher, college Judo Instructor and corporate trainer for years. I'm also in the process of preparing to take the NCSF cPT exam. I also agree with other posters, that certain gyms look for certain credentials (i.e., NASM, ACT, ACSM, etc.). And, if you have anything other than one of these certifications, they simply won't hire you. Bottom line is, you need to make inquiries in the event you want to hire on with a big fitness center. Otherwise, make sure you get the necessary liability coverage and start your own shop - once you gain some good practical experience!

What's in a cert
by: Court Ellis

This from Joe Cannon

A certification only means you know the "minimum requirements" needed to be a personal trainer.

You should not believe anyone who says "this is the best fitness certification or that is the best certification". People who say this stuff are just repeating what they have heard others say.

In the world of fitness and personal training, there is often a "my cert is better than your cert" mentality when it comes to gyms and which certification they accept. Trainers also sometimes feel that whatever organization they are certified is the best also. I think a lot of this thinking is short sighted because it often gives into word of mouth and which organization is better at marketing themselves. A certified personal trainer is not a qualified personal trainer. I liked what he wrote here!!

Great certifications
by: Anonymous

I have been in the wellness and fitness industry since 1999 and have had various personal training certifications and group exercise certifications from highly reputable organizations; I have gained a lot of information and retained that knowledge from them: the scientific information and more associated with my certifications. And have held a position for 20-plus years in a wellness and fitness program. And it can get pretty expensive to accumulate cecs and renew certifications with the big fitness certification organizations.

I chose FiTour for the past eight years to keep my credential as a personal trainer and group fitness trainer. I am grateful that the community wellness center I'm employed with has accepted my FiTour certifications. Being an exceptional personal trainer or group exercise is how your clients feel about the services you give them. I am currently self-employed as a personal trainer and group exercise instructor.

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