In this episode, Kelli gives great insight into how she goes about designing primarily weight loss programs for her clients, many of whom have gotten caught up with unsuccessful yo-yo dieting, quick fixes, and other unsustainable methods with her clients.  She also discusses topics such as: how she addresses lack of adherence if it becomes an issue, why tracking fats, carbs, protein, at least initially, is so important in setting up a successful weight loss journey, the importance of progressive resistance training as part of a weight loss program, addressing common misconceptions around weight loss, and views on the “body weight set point theory”, which is a theory that proposes our bodies have a set point that it gravitate towards, which may make it harder to successfully lose weight.

This was a great episode that I’m sure you’ll enjoy!

Follow Kelli:

IG: KelzBFit
Facebook Group:  Anti-Dieting Methods For Forever Fat Loss With KelzBFit   https://www.facebook.com/groups/1108524286335617
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kellibrower30

In this fun and informative episode, David Flench, the President and CEO of the Medical Fitness Association, shares his insight and experience on building a successful career; the state of medical fitness in the US today; the need to build trust between clinicians and fitness professionals, and ways to accomplish it; examples of highly collaborative facilities, and much more! See the time stamps below for more information:

1:07 - David’s introduction, background, and trajectory to the president/CEO of the MFA

6:54 – Jeff asks David to expound on his advice for people to lead to a successful career (e.g., the importance of networking and “getting involved”)

9:34: - David’s response

17:14 – How does David define “medical fitness” and what does medical fitness look like in the U.S. today

22:51 – David discusses what medical fitness facility certification and qualifications look like. His answer includes how critical it is to create a level of trust between clinicians and fitness professionals

29:11 – David discusses the primary initiatives the Medical Fitness Association is currently focused on

32:48 - Benchmarks: what does it mean to track data/benchmarks and which are important to track?

39:04 – What are David’s thoughts on physical therapy private practices being “medical fitness facilities waiting to happen,” and the collaboration with physical therapists as part of the medical fitness landscape?

48:45 – What are examples of highly collaborative facilities where clinicians and fitness professionals are working well together?

51:54 - What is the biggest problem that the field of medical fitness is facing today and needs to solve?

56:20 - What innovations in medical fitness does David hope to see in the next 5 to 10 years? He touches on this “obesity medicine explosion” with the GLP-1 agonist medications and the importance of medical fitness as part of this landscape as well.

1:03:30 – Wrapping up…why listeners would benefit from becoming members of the Medical Fitness Association and how to stay connected with David

David Flench Biography:

David Flench servesd as the Board Chair (2021-2023) of the Medical Fitness Association Board of Directors and is the current President and CEO.

He has over 20 years of experience working in the health and wellness industry. Previously, David was the Director of Wellness Centers and Diabetes Center at Hancock Health in Greenfield, IN.

David obtained his Master of Business Administration from Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio and his Bachelor of Science with a concentration in Exercise Science from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. He also has achieved a range of certifications including Six Sigma Green Belt, American College of Sports Medicine Certified Exercise Physiologist (ACSM-cEP), and ACSM Level 2 Exercise in Medicine, certified Health Care Manager by the Indiana Hospital Association, and board certified in healthcare management as a Fellow of ACHE, demonstrating that he is committed to furthering the medical fitness industry.

David also serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Medical Fitness Foundation. He has previously served on the Certification, Education, Conference, Budget & Finance, Ethics, and Nominating committees with MFA.

http://www.medicalfitness.org
https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidflench/

In this episode of The Medical Fitness Podcast, Karli Burridge, Physician Associate, presents a broad and interesting insight into her background and what led her to the field of obesity medicine.  She explains how she incorporates the four pillars of clinical obesity treatment into her practice; what she recommends in terms of physical activity and exercise, and common misconceptions around obesity and obesity care.

You can connect with or follow Karli at:
1. Karlijn (Karli) Burridge, PA-C, MMS, FOMA | LinkedIn
2. http://www.GainingHealth.com
3. https://www.facebook.com/MyGainingHealth/Podcast – Gaining Health Podcast

In this episode I interview my friend and colleague, Sheila Hautbois, PA-C.

Sheila gives insight into her patient visits -- how she goes about discussing lifestyle medicine and exercise.  She also talks about how she determines which patients are candidates for referral; how she uses her own progressive strength program to plant seeds, intrigue, and motivate patients, and why this is such an important part of the referral process; how she developed trust in me, and the trainers who work with me; the qualifications she looks for in a trainer and the importance of the vetting process to determine who is qualified.

Finally, she explains why she likes my virtual medical fitnes business model – which is a "give people the tools and create informed consumers so they can exercise on their own" model...instead of the usual "entertain to retain clients" that nearly every fitness professional in the industry does.

If you're interested in learning from an outlier clinician who REALLY understands the importance of connecting medicine and fitness, and how she goes about it, this is a great listen.

Sheila also provides consulting services for clinicians who are interested in setting up a medicine-to-fitness model as part of their practice.  She has presented on this at national conferences, and is an amazing resource for clinicians to tap in to.

In this episode, Thomas and I begin discussing what I like to call the 'six components to needed to create a healthy musculoskeletal system' – a topic I cover in most of my presentations, including a recent presentation for the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Personal Trainers National Conference.

But our talk ended up evolving into an even better discussion on how this concept is actually a small part of the bigger picture on why we need to merge the PT and fitness fields together.

If having a better understanding of the medicine to rehab to fitness pathway is important to you, this podcast is worth your while.

I’m excited to post this podcast because I’ve been working in clinical, rehab settings for nearly 20 years in very traditional settings, where the primary goal is pain management and “fixing the person’s broken part.”  I, like many people, including most physical therapists, assumed this was the norm.
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And then I met an exercise specialist named Joe Copeland, who introduced me to my friend, colleague, and co-host of our Medical Fitness Podcast, Dr. Thomas Hammett.  They flipped my world upside-down.
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This episode is a case study, where Thomas does most of the interviewing, and our guests are a few of his colleagues in Seattle, WA – two physical therapists and a PT assistant.
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The discussion revolves around a situation where they were also practicing in a traditional setting, and then were told that they needed to transition to a lifestyle medicine and wellness-based model, where their care would be integrated along with a dietitian and exercise physiologist.
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This case study is an example of how PTs can and should transition their practices to something like this.  It makes perfect sense, benefits everyone, and also increases revenue for the facility.  In the big picture, if every practice operated in this way it would have a SIGNIFICANT impact on public health.
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Physical therapy should be holistic and should serve as a pit stop to transition patients into long-term fitness and wellness.
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Please listen to how this is accomplished.  And if you’re interested in help with transitioning your practice to a more holistic, integrative medical model – or if you have any questions at all, including fitness professionals who would like to know how to get involved in something like this – don’t hesitate to reach out.  Helping people establish this type of practice is what we do.
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It’s models like this that fuel the fire for the passion that I have in connecting medicine, rehab, and fitness.
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Please visit MRFInstitute.org.

 Resistance training programming.
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So many clinicians and fitness professionals want to know more, be better at discussing it, be better at prescribing it, and just generally feel more comfortable about it.
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A big reason why there's a disconnect between medicine/rehab and fitness is because so many fitness professionals SCARE clinicians with their programming. It lacks a "continuity of care" which safely bridges what the patient has experienced in rehab, or what they are experiencing in daily life with their medical and musculoskeletal conditions with the fitness program itself.
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In this episode of The Medical Fitness Podcast, Thomas and I discuss a best practice approach on how to begin a resistance training program, and how this applies to both the physical therapy (and clinical) and fitness worlds.
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We also discuss how the initial familiarization phase differs from the rest of a properly designed resistance training program, and why it’s a critical start point from a fitness, medical, and even a behavior context.
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This is a unique opportunity to listen to a seasoned clinician and a seasoned exercise specialist discuss resistance training programming. We'll dive even deeper into the topic in future episodes. 

This episode was the first of what will be many where Jeff and Thomas discuss their perspective on various topics.  It provides an opportunity to listen to a seasoned clinician and seasoned exercise specialist discuss their views on building the bridge between medicine, rehab, and fitness from a very unique perspective.

Both Jeff and Thomas either have experienced or are currently involved in successful medical referral models which everyone can learn from.

In this episode we discuss:

• How do clinicians make the patient referral to fitness professionals and what does the exercise prescription and plan of care look like?
• What do we mean by “medical plan” or “plan of care” following the patient visit, and how can we use it to catapult the patient into exercise?
• In the plan of care, what is the difference between including physical activity and exercise?  How do the prescriptions differ from each other?
• How can clinicians make it easier to collaborate with fitness professionals and refer their patients?
• What should fitness professionals learn about the patient when receiving referrals?
• And how can we overcome perceived barriers to referral, such as lack of time and lack of money, which tend to be the most common barriers?

I hope you enjoy the conversation!

For more information about Thomas, Jeff, and the education we offer, please visit our website at www.MRFInstitute.org or email MRFInstituteOrg@gmail.com for any questions.