How cool would it be if your insurance company paid for indoor cycling classes?
A national policy of Prescriptive Exercise would be the holy grail* for small studio owners.
Imagine; A new client walks in with her doctor specified exercise regimen for you to “fill”, just like at a pharmacy. As an approved provider, you and your studio would provide the required exercise and then bill the clients insurance company… and not at your normal class rate – at a much higher rate in recognition of your fitness expertise.
A fantasy? Nope**, not if you're near The Wellness Institute in Winnipeg Canada. Doctors there are actually writing detailed prescriptions for exercise. How cool is that?
Doctors at a unique medical facility in Winnipeg are starting to write some unusual prescriptions.
“A lap a day keeps the doctor away” is one of the mottos at the Seven Oaks Wellness Institute (SOWI), a fitness facility attached to the Seven Oaks General Hospital on Leila Avenue, where doctors have started prescribing exercise instead of pills.
Dr. Kevin Saunders is one of the founders of the SOWI and the medical director. He said exercise is an effective treatment for all kinds of illnesses, including hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and even some forms of cancer.
The facility offers clients a more holistic approach to fitness, helping people from all walks of life to understand what kinds of exercise they should be doing, and what they need to avoid if it puts their health in jeopardy.
You'll note that what Dr. Sanders is targeting with this program are Special Populations of people who would benefit from physical activity. I'm guessing you'd have a little trouble getting a prescription for a USAT Triathlon coach to get you ready for your next Ironman 🙂
What has me most excited here is the potential for prescriptive exercise for people suffering from Parkinson's Disease. It's been shown repeatedly that people of all ages with PD respond well to Indoor Cycling classes. Especially classes that are designed and taught by a Parkinson's Cycling Coach. Indoor Cycling studios already have the necessary tools to conduct this hugely beneficial classes. They're best held around 10:30 – 11:30 in the morning, which is normally a time without a scheduled class
I did some research and found an excellent article here at emedicine.medscape.com that explains in detail what Perscriptive Exercise is (different from physical rehab) and includes a number of areas where exercise is typically prescribed by a physiian.
Background
Exercise prescription commonly refers to the specific plan of fitness-related activities that are designed for a specified purpose, which is often developed by a fitness or rehabilitation specialist for the client or patient. Due to the specific and unique needs and interests of the client/patient, the goal of exercise prescription should be successful integration of exercise principles and behavioral techniques that motivates the participant to be compliant, thus achieving their goals.[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
Components of exercise prescription
An exercise prescription generally includes the following specific recommendations:
Type of exercise or activity (eg, walking, swimming, cycling)
Specific workloads (eg, watts, walking speed)
Duration and frequency of the activity or exercise session
Intensity guidelines — Target heart rate (THR) range and estimated rate of perceived exertion (RPE)
Precautions regarding certain orthopedic (or other) concerns or related comments
Note that a properly structured, Power based Indoor Cycling class would easily include all of the stated components.
Consider this simple prescription:
Type of exercise or activity – Indoor Cycling class.
Specific workloads – Below, @ and Above riders observed 4 minute Best Effort PTP Watts or FTP if known
Duration and frequency of the activity or exercise session – 3 x 60 min classes weekly
Intensity guidelines — each 60 class to include: 5 x 5 min intervals @ PTP, 3 x 1 min intervals Above PTP, that remainder of class Below PTP and Above VT1 (staying aerobic) + adequate recovery after each @/Above interval.
Precautions – None
What you'd have is essentially an endurance training program, written by an MD.
Taking this further. If you were to incorporate the rider's performance data capture, from a Display Training system like Performance IQ or Spivi, your doctor could review your progress = make informed recommendations for future exercise prescriptions. Wouldn't that be awesome?
If you can offer any additional information about prescriptive exercise, I'd love to hear from you!
*Yes, I'm aware that many insurance programs offer a discount/rebate for club dues – if you attend a speciaf number of days a month. This is very different.
** I don't know the specifics of Canada's reimbursement system, but I'm looking into it. I have asked for a representative join me on the Podcast to discuss all of this.
Hi, my name is Kathy Helmuth and I am excited to share a wonderful new program called Parkinson’s Indoor Cycling.
UPDATE September 25, 2014:
We are now offering an ACE approved Parkinson’s Cycling Coach training program. To learn if you qualify click here.
As group cycling instructors, we try to educate and encourage success in our indoor group cycling classes. We see those moments of achievement and we are excited for the participants who have reached their goals. In the Parkinson’s Cycling Coach classes, those moments of achievement are multiplied by 10.
Parkinson’s Disease can rob a person of smell, facial expression, movement, and flexibility.
Imagine this…. A person with Parkinson’s Disease comes into your indoor cycling class using a cane or a walker. He or she registers for the program, completes the necessary paperwork, and goes through the initial testing. You notice that this individual shows very little expression on their face.
After riding a few classes being coached at the proper intensity and cadence, that individual no longer needs a cane or walker. That person is walking with an improved gait and has better balance and flexibility. They have a smile and some expression back on their face!
Or imagine this…. a person diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease not being able to smell the aroma of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven. After a few Parkinson’s Cycling classes, that individual can now able to smell and taste those delicious cookies.
I have really enjoyed the opportunity to help these Parkinson’s individuals feel better and move through their daily activities with greater ease.
“Feeling normal” is the way one of our riders describes why she loves this program. In my interview with Sharon in the video above, she says that the pedaling class makes her “feel normal….like everyone else”.
I hope this helps ignite the compassion you have for helping others. Seven to ten million people have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease around the world.
If we could provide you with the training you needed, would you be willing join us as a Parkinson's Cycling Coach?
We'll be offering a coaching certification in early October.
Kathy Helmuth and I have just received confirmation that our ACE approved Parkinson's Indoor Cycling Coaching program has been accepted by the SilverSneakers organization!
Now, Parkinson's Cycling Coaches will now receive reimbursement directly from SilverSneakers, through their FLEX Instructor Program.
I am planning an interview with the SilverSneakers National Program director that will explain exactly how the FLEX program works.
My short description: a FLEX Instructor can walk into any studio and teach a SilverSneakers approved class and it's free to SilverSneakers members. SilverSneakers then compensates the Instructor directly.
To become a SilverSneakers group exercise class instructor, one must:
Be at least 18 years of age.
Maintain current CPR certification.
Hold a two or four year degree in health, exercise science, recreation or physical activity related field or maintain a nationally recognized certification (for example, ACE, AFAA, YMCA).
Attend a SilverSneakers instructor training workshop for the specific SilverSneakers class one would like to teach.
SilverSneakers classes are available in 12,000 locations and the FLEX Instructor program allows you to easily (and at no cost) add SilverSneakers classes to your studio 🙂
Me with Master Parkinson's Cycling Coach Kathy Helmuth
This is without a doubt the most worthwhile project I've ever had the privilege to be involved in.
Over one million people in the USA suffer from the debilitating effects of Parkinson’s Disease. As of today, there is no known cure for Parkinson’s Disease, however, regular exercise has shown to help with the reduction of the symptoms associated with Parkinson’s Disease in many of those afflicted.
We feel Indoor Cycling is the safest and most effective form of exercise available.
The National Parkinson Foundation’s most recent study identified that 61 percent of people with Parkinson’s suffer from depression, with symptoms that ranged from mild to severe.
Exercise has been proven as an effective treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD), and now there is sufficient research to help doctors prescribe the proper dose of exercise for depressed patients… again, we feel Indoor Cycling is the best form of exercise.
But there are very few clubs or studios offering Indoor Cycling classes specifically for people with Parkinson’s Disease. And for good reason; there are only a handful of fitness professionals trained to properly conduct these classes — we plan to change that!
We're looking for committed fitness professionals to join our army of Parkinson’s Cycling Coaches, who will provide these hugely beneficial classes!
Earn 0.5 ACE CEC's
Meet Master Parkinson's Cycling Coach Kathy Helmuth and learn how you can train to become an ACE accredited Parkinson's Cycling Coach by listening to our announcement podcast below.
Interested in becoming a Parkinson's Cycling Coach?
Coaching a room full of Parkinson’s people is very different from teaching a traditional Indoor Cycling class… so different that we describe your future role as that of a coach, not an Instructor. Classes are coached off the bike, with you working the room, addressing individual needs and motivating your class.
To qualify for this training you'll need to possess a verifiable combination of the following prerequisites:
#1. Current Certification in CPR and AED
AND
#2 Current National Group Fitness Certification — ACE, AFAA, NETA or similar
OR
Current Personal Training Certification — ACSM, NASM, NETA or similar
OR
BS in Exercise Science or related Medical field
OR
Athletic / Endurance Coaching Certification — USA Cycling, ITCA, USAT or similar
2 or more years experience in conducting indoor cycling classes is helpful, but not mandatory for this program.
We feel these qualifications will provide a strong foundation to the training we provide, resulting in quality Parkinson’s Cycle Coaches.
This is an online training program that will take ~ 5 hours to complete. It's a combination of written articles, audio interviews and video demonstrations.
Join our army by clicking here to start your training as a Parkinson’s Cycling Coach.
Questions?
You can email Coach Kathy: kathy@parkinsonscyclingcoach.com or feel free to call her (941)-313-0004
Click here to learn more about the initial research that discovered how Indoor Cycling can help reduce the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease.
Dr Jay Alberts discovered the value of cycling as a relief of symptoms for people who suffer with Parkinson's disease, while riding a tandem bicycle in Iowa during the RAGBRAI – the ride across the state of Iowa. Based on his observations of the reduction in symptoms he saw in his tandem partner Cathy Frazier, he began clinical trials to study the affects of what he describes as “forced exercise” on someone suffering from a neurological diseases like Parkinson's.
UPDATE September 2014:
We are now offering an ACE approved Parkinson’s Cycling Coach training program. To learn if you qualify click here.
Jay Alberts is a native of Sanborn, Iowa and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Exercise Science from Iowa State University in 1994. He completed his neuroscience doctoral training in 2000 at Arizona State University where he worked under Drs. George E. Stelmach and James R. Bloedel in his studies investigating the effects of Parkinson’s disease on motor performance and learning.
Dr. Alberts is currently an Assistant Staff in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, within the Lerner Research Institute and the Center for Neurological Restoration , Cleveland Clinic , in Cleveland, OH. For more information on his research visit: http://www.lerner.ccf.org/bme/alberts/ . He has more than 25 peer-reviewed scientific publications in journals such as Brain, Experimental Brain Research and other prominent medical journals. Dr. Alberts serves as a reviewer for a number of scientific journals and funding agencies and his professional affiliations include, American Academy of Neurology, Society of Neuroscience and International Graphonomics Society. Dr. Alberts has had continual extramural funding for his research since 1997 in the form of grants from the National Institutes of Health, American Parkinson’s disease Association and Achievement Rewards for College Scientists Foundation.
Dr. Alberts is married to Janelle and they have two children. Dr. Alberts and his wife are tandem enthusiasts.
Listen to our discussion below to get a more complete understanding of this fascinating topic – or subscribe to our free Podcast in iTunes.
Interested in offering Parkinson's Cycling Classes at your location?
Click here for more information about our ACE approved training for Coaches.
