Former LSU football coach and athletic director Paul Dietzel sails through his workout with an expression of serenity on his face.
With an extensive background in kinesiology and sports medicine as well as decades of experience in athletics, Dietzel is the first person to acknowledge the importance of physical fitness. Now 85, his main goal is to strengthen the muscles in his back to prevent the natural stooping that comes with age.
To that end, Dietzel and his wife, Anne, last month joined Rxercise, a specialized exercise program offered by Peak Performance Physical Therapy aimed at physical fitness and a healthier, more active lifestyle.
“I’m pleased that I’m beginning to see a difference, even though it doesn’t happen overnight,” he says. “I’d recommend this [program] to anyone, especially if they really have a desire to improve themselves.”
So what’s the difference between Rxercise and other fitness programs? The intervention often comes in the form of a pen scratching on a prescription pad.
The brainchild of Peak Performance co-owner Chris Purvis and medical wellness program director Bill Gvoich, Rxercise is built on the simple principle that a specialized exercise routine, when combined with good nutrition, is the key to a healthier lifestyle. By encouraging physicians to prescribe exercise to patients with health problems, there is a better chance of individuals following through.
Joining Rxercise is easy. Each patient meets with Gvoich for an initial consultation and to undergo written and workout assessments to determine their level of health and physical fitness. Then, taking into account the doctor’s recommendations and those assessments, Gvoich designs a workout program tailored to that patient’s needs, be it for hypertension, diabetes or even a bum knee or shoulder.
Purvis says about 80% of patients join the program after the initial consultation, and there is a 90% retention rate among patients who join the program for the first three-month trial period. A three-month commitment seems much less daunting than a yearlong gym contract while still long enough to actually show results should the patient stick to the training regimen.
“What we’re basically saying to physicians is, you take the responsibility to give your patients the information, they have the responsibility to come in and check the program out, and we have the responsibility to help them get through this program,” Purvis says.
Research appears to support the idea of prescribed exercise. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in April found that patients given a tailored exercise prescription were more likely to engage in physical activity than those that were just given verbal advice. The American College of Sports Medicine debuted an “Exercise is Medicine” campaign this year designed to encourage doctors to whip out their prescription pads. Locally based programs such as Rxercise dovetail nicely with those national efforts.
Although the program basics have been informally offered for almost two years, Rxercise is debuting in part because of the purchase of two Spectrum Fitness locations from which Peak Performance had previously leased space. Combining the two businesses—physical therapy and fitness training—exposed a gap in knowledge between physicians and professional trainers. The medical community’s interest in prescribing exercise is increasing, but trainers often have little exposure to medicine. Conversely, doctors might be unclear on the specifics of how to achieve fitness results.
“A prescription tells you what the medication is, how to take it, how much to take and how long to take it,” Purvis says. “They didn’t have anything like that for exercise, so we put this program together so physicians could have a consistent avenue to prescribe exercise.”
Purvis and Gvoich now are marketing the program to Baton Rouge physicians and are receiving a warm response, partially because of former relationships based in the physical-therapy side of the business and Gvoich’s reputation as a trainer. But the enthusiasm they hear from local physicians is what fuels the concept.
Jeff Burnham, who has a family practice and is a LSU football team physician, has been writing exercise prescriptions for years. There are always some exceptions, but he says writing the specifics seem to have more of an impact for most patients.
Other patients become angry because they expect a pill that will instantly cure the ills caused by being overweight. But a prescription for exercise, once incorporated into a routine, has lasting benefits not found in any pill. That’s why Burnham says incentivizing patients through exercise prescriptions and referrals to programs such as Rxercise will become more popular.
“All physicians are to some degree concerned with the overall health and physical fitness of their patients,” he says. “Addressing that doesn’t depend on a specific program. [Rxercise] is a specific way to do this locally, but it’s also part of a wider context.”
By marketing to doctors and, as a result, their patients, Rxercise also opens up a brand new market. About 15% of the population engages in some type of formal exercise program, and fitness centers generally fight over the same market share. Prescribed exercise enables the other 85% that would not ordinarily seek out a program to do so for assorted reasons, including intimidation, a lack of knowledge about exercise or injuries, Gvoich says.
“It makes exercise more palpable,” he says. “It’s not just a commitment to come to the gym. It’s a lifestyle change.”
The program does not necessarily require a prescription for entry. A rapidly approaching 50th birthday was Maureen Laurent’s inspiration to become fit.
When she started her training program, her best time on an elliptical machine—a stationary exercise machine that simulates walking or running without causing excessive pressure to the joints—was three minutes. She’s now increased that time to an hour.
Two years later, she has shed 80 pounds and feels better about herself, her lifestyle and her hard-earned stamina.
“Turning 50 was a real milestone for me,” Laurent says between deep breaths as she pedals on a stationary bicycle. “I made up my mind. I was going to do this [exercise] in order to be responsible for my health.”
