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Prescription to exercise

Diana Dimas (right), an instructor of Fundamental Fitness at Galter LifeCenter, explains the proper way to do crunches.

Dr. Elizabeth Anderson loves to work out at Galter LifeCenter. But in the past when the Swedish Covenant Hospital internist recommended that her patients exercise too, the advice wasn’t always heeded.

Since January that’s changed. When Dr. Anderson sees a patient who’s inactive or has health issues that could clearly be helped with exercise, she pulls out a one-of-a-kind prescription pad and checks off ‘Fundamental Fitness.’

The product of a unique partnership between Swedish Covenant Hospital and Galter LifeCenter, Fundamental Fitness is a 9-week class that introduces users to the basics of leading a healthy lifestyle, using equipment and classes at Galter LifeCenter. (The only medically based fitness center in Chicago.)

Topics covered are:
• Flexibility
• Cardiovascular Exercise
• Strength Training
• Nutrition and risk factors
• Balance and core training
• Tools and strategies (how to implement an exercise program into your life)
• Goal Setting
• Mind-Body Connection

The 60-minute class is offered at four different times a week, and personal trainers are available 30 minutes before and after class. A limited, two-month membership to Galter is also part of the program.

“We know how important fitness is, that people just aren’t moving as much as they used to, and that there’s an obesity epidemic,” says Dr. Anderson. “We’ve been trying to figure out how to get people moving, and how to get people who don’t think of themselves as ‘health club people’ into the Galter LifeCenter.”

Fundamental Fitness was the answer.

The prescription pad carries more weight than a verbal suggestion. “We created it to establish a user-friendly, one-stop shop for both the doctor and the patient,” explains Amy Petersen, personal training manager at Galter LifeCenter. With hundreds of group fitness classes and programs available, it was overwhelming for new exercisers to walk in the door and get started.

“We’ve packaged everything we have to offer in a digestible, affordable way,” Petersen explains. (The program is $100, or $50 for current members.) Each class is half classroom and half practical. Participants learn what strength training is and how it impacts health, for example, and then learn basic strength training exercises on the gym floor.

“Not only does the participant learn new exercises, but the person also gains comfort in the gym environment and knows what to do on their own, safely and comfortably,” Petersen says.

The last week of Fundamental Fitness is the Bridge Meeting, when the participant and trainer talk one-on-one about an upcoming fitness strategy and plan.

“We’ve had people who’ve gone from not liking exercise at all to inviting their friends to take this new class they’ve discovered,” says Petersen. One of Dr. Anderson’s patients had a knee replacement, did physical therapy, then went through the Fundamental Fitness program. Now she’s doing water therapy and other classes and the gym’s become a big part of her social life and her health care.

“On our exit survey we ask, ‘Would you recommend this program to someone else’ and 99 percent said yes,” says Petersen. “Seven out of 10 Americans don’t exercise and that’s who we’re trying to reach through this program. We’re also trying to plug them into the vast list of what we have here, then they can whittle it down to a manageable chunk.”

Participants, who don’t need to be referred by a doctor, can join at any time, and once the program’s over, the Galter LifeCenter's initiation fee is waived for those who want to become members.

Exercise is medicine

One of the guiding concepts in designing Fundamental Fitness is the American College of Sports Medicine’s ‘Exercise is Medicine’ national initiative.

The vision of Exercise is Medicine is: “To make physical activity and exercise a standard part of a disease prevention and treatment medical paradigm in the United States…For physical activity to be considered by all healthcare providers as a vital sign in every patient visit, and that patients are effectively counseled and referred as to their physical activity and health needs, thus leading to overall improvement in the public’s health and long-term reduction in healthcare cost.”

“As a medical fitness center,” says Amy Petersen, “we wanted to give physicians a resource for enacting the Exercise is Medicine principle.” 

Fundamental Fitness addresses 7 top reasons for not exercising:

• It’s too expensive
• I don’t have enough time
• It’s hard
• It’s uncomfortable
• I don’t know how to start or what to do
• I’m embarrassed of my body and being out of shape
• I have negative feelings about exercise/I’ve had bad exercise experiences

For more information, contact: (773) 878-9936, ext. 3863 or email: FundamentalFitness@SwedishCovenant.org

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