This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
» Canadian Forum


FITNESS »


HEALTH AND


Continued from page 44


in other words, how to work with the medical community to increase the number of clients you have. There are five steps:


1. professional preparation 2. preparation of marketing materials


3. marketing yourself to the health care provider’s ‘gatekeepers’


4. marketing yourself to the health care provider


5. getting the health care provid- er to consistently refer their pa- tients to you


and a vital new business for many fit- ness providers.


Can health pros and fitness pros work together? We go to a hospital when we get


sick. Doctors help us to get well again. Public tax dollars pay doctors to do this. For the most part, doctors do not get paid for preventive medicine. We go to a fitness club when we


strive to avoid getting sick in the first place. Fitness professionals help us to avoid chronic disease and to operate at peak efficiency. They get paid through membership fees. While generally true, there are im-


portant exceptions to the foregoing. Doctors are aware of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and, where time permits, many counsel their patients on the importance of exercise and


“Given the health care involvement of many fitness clubs today, it is fair to suggest that many fitness professionals envision health care as a vital function of their business.”


An initial sponsor for EIM is


Anytime Fitness, the world’s larg- est 24-hour co-ed fitness franchise. “Anytime Fitness is a strong believer in the connection between exercise and medicine, and our member suc- cess stories serve as proof of this link,” said Chuck Runyon, president and co- founder of Anytime Fitness. The EIM team welcomes participa-


tion from all fitness providers. Could the EIM concept and program


support work in Canada? Presumably, the full meaning of fitness – including nutrition, weight control, stress man- agement, etc. – would be included in contacts between medical and fitness professionals. Additional qualification for fitness professionals working in ar- eas such as cardiac rehab would be required. Nevertheless, the common cause for both professions, healthy Canadians, would trigger many ben- efits including major tax savings achieved by reducing health care costs


46 Fitness Business Canada March/April 2011


good nutrition. They also administer regular checkups including a variety of tests designed to reveal potential health concerns in healthy patients. Fitness professionals conduct physi- cal assessments as well. They are also healing when they provide rehab ser- vices to injured patients and to those coping with chronic disease. Do medical professionals and fitness


professionals share enough of a com- mon cause to work together in a more organized manner? It seems clear


from the global work of the Exercise is Medicine organization within ACSM that many doctors certainly think so. Given the health care involvement of many fitness clubs today, it is fair to suggest that many fitness profession- als envision health care as a vital func- tion of their business.


Common ground Doctors and other health care pro-


viders could use physical activity, in the right “dosage,” as a highly effective prescription for the prevention, treat- ment and management of more than 40 of the most common chronic health conditions encountered in primary practice. Specific programs could be requested or the patient could be re- ferred to a certified health and fitness professional, who would oversee the patient’s exercise under the doctor’s supervision. Patients could be helped by pro-


grams prescribed by doctors for specif- ic conditions that fitness professionals could provide. A few examples might include:


• reducing high blood pressure, losing weight, reducing choles- terol levels


• coping with the effects of chron- ic diseases such as arthritis and diabetes


• rehab programs for injured pa- tients, post operative recovery


• a variety of preventive medicine programs that would strengthen immune systems, reduce stress levels, manage weight and im- prove nutrition


The EIM website (www.exerciseis-


medicine.org )provides a variety of action guides and handout forms for both physicians and fitness profession- als to work together. FBC


Don Longwell is the former publisher of Fitness Business Canada.


Start with a club program of your own Many clubs in Canada already have exercise and nutrition programs


related to health issues. We hope to report on these programs as well as those where club


staff are already working with health care professionals. Please contact Fitness Business Canada at fc@fitnet.ca or call us at 905-873-0850 (toll free 1-888-920-6537). Sharing experiences in health/fitness programs will benefit all.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48