🎙️ New Episode: Redefining Cardiac Rehab—How One Team Is Disrupting the Status Quo

📍 Season 3, Episode 14 | Guests: Ashan Korala & Alex Cannon
🎧 Listen now on all major podcast platforms

For decades, cardiac rehab has followed the same outdated script: light aerobic work, RPE-based guesswork, minimal resistance training, and low adherence. The result? Underwhelming outcomes and missed opportunities.

In this episode, we spotlight a cardiac rehab model that challenges all of that.

Ashan Korala, Director of Wellness Services at Pinnacle Lifestyle Medicine, and Alex Cannon, Lead Exercise Physiologist at Valley Medical Center, join us to break down how they’ve rebuilt cardiac rehab from the inside out—shifting from subjective, nurse-led monitoring to a progressive, data-driven, exercise science-based program that delivers real outcomes.

🚨 Highlights from the conversation:
✅ Objective Testing Over Guesswork
Patients now undergo baseline submax VO₂ testing and 1RM assessments. VO₂ estimates are used to guide aerobic prescriptions, while strength training is periodized using real metrics, not assumptions.
✅ Resistance Training Is No Longer Optional
Forget light bands and 5-pound dumbbells. Their program integrates structured, progressive resistance training using Technogym’s BioCircuit system—allowing for safe eccentric overload, objective progress tracking, and meaningful improvements in lean mass and strength.
✅ Quantifiable Outcomes
•35.5% increase in VO₂ (vs. national average of ~10%)
•12% increase in grip strength
•27 average visits per patient (vs. 15 national average)
•Seamless transition into a structured, self-pay phase 3 program with high continuity rates
✅ Built-In Safety, Structure, and Oversight
This model isn't just scalable, it's smart. Safety features in the equipment, team-based staffing models, and consistent reassessments allow for aggressive progression when appropriate, and conservative dosing when necessary.
✅ Patient Retention Through Smart Handoffs
The “Vitality Visit” and integrated phase 3 transition model ensure patients don’t fall through the cracks post-rehab. Instead of handing them a generic home exercise program and hoping for the best, they’re walked directly into their next step—with purpose, planning, and accountability.

💬 “This isn’t just cardiac rehab. It’s a clinic-wide systems shift—fusing medical oversight with the best of exercise science. And it’s working.”

Whether you're a clinician referring to rehab, an exercise specialist working in a hospital, or a fitness pro hoping to collaborate across disciplines—this episode is a blueprint for what cardiac rehab should look like.

🧠 Data-driven.
💪 Strength-integrated.
🔁 Patient-centered.
📈 Outcome-focused.

This is how we bridge the gap.

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🏥💪 A Certified First in Medical Fitness: How One YMCA is Reshaping Community Health

🎙️ In the latest episode of the Medical Fitness Podcast, we sat down with Veronica Lopez, RN, Vice President of Health Strategies at the YMCA of Greater Brandywine—the first YMCA in the country to become Medical Fitness Association certified.

Hosted by David Flench, President and CEO of the MFA, this episode is a playbook for any organization looking to elevate their impact, credibility, and partnerships in the health continuum.

What you'll learn:

🔹 How a vision became reality: Veronica explains how her team took a bold idea—positioning the Y as a legitimate healthcare ally—and executed it across nine branches.

🔹 Behind the scenes of MFA certification: From culture shifts and weekly task-force meetings to scoring a 97+ on the audit, this is the blueprint for making medical fitness real in a community setting.

🔹 Why now?: With healthcare access gaps, transportation deserts, and chronic disease on the rise, the Y leaned in—not away—and created solutions like the Fit Truk, a mobile fitness and screening center.

🔹 What’s next? “Prescribe the Y” is launching soon, powered by encrypted EHR and real clinical referrals. Their team of certified professionals (mostly NASM) is trained, connected, and ready.

🔹 Key takeaways for leaders:

Don’t wait for the perfect time—start with your “why.”

Create cross-functional teams and track progress visually (think: red-yellow-green dashboards).

Certification isn’t about checking a box—it’s about credibility, partnerships, and long-term sustainability.

A certified facility gets a real seat at the healthcare table.

Whether you’re in healthcare, fitness, public health, or community leadership, this episode shows what’s possible when standards meet passion—and when strategy meets service.

👇 Tag a clinician, YMCA leader, or fitness professional who needs to hear this.

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🎙️ NEW EPISODE ALERT: “From Policy to Pavement: Building a Physically Active Nation” 💪🗽

In this powerful new episode of the Medical Fitness Podcast, co-hosts Jeff Young (MRF Institute) and David Flench (Medical Fitness Association) sit down with Greg Mihailovich, National Advocacy Consultant for the American Heart Association, to break down what it really takes to make physical activity a national priority.

🔥 We’re not just talking about guidelines — we’re talking about action:
✅ How the AHA pushes for policy, system, and environmental change
✅ The origin and evolution of the Physical Activity Alliance
✅ The inside story behind the launch of the New York Moves Coalition
✅ The challenges and equity issues in state-level planning
✅ Lessons from success stories in NYC, Michigan, and West Virginia

🎯 Whether you're a healthcare provider, policymaker, fitness professional, or someone fighting for a healthier future in your community — this episode shows how advocacy and collaboration can drive measurable change.

📣 “You can’t just tell people to move more. You have to create the conditions that make movement possible — and sustainable.”

👂 Tune in to learn how we’re scaling the blueprint for a movement-friendly nation. From state coalitions to national campaigns like “It’s Time to Move,” this conversation lays out what’s working, what’s scalable, and why your voice matters.

🎧 Available now on all podcast platforms.

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🎙️ NEW EPISODE: When PT Ends, What’s Next? A Physiatrist’s Answer to the Follow-Through Problem

Dr. Sarae Jandreau is not your average physician. A Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, athlete, and former assistant strength coach, she’s now a newly minted physiatrist with a mission: bridge the disconnect between therapy, medicine, and fitness.

This episode is a masterclass in what can happen when a physician is trained in the science of exercise before they ever wear a white coat. Sarae gets it — the underdosing, the communication breakdowns, the passive referrals that never go anywhere. She’s not just treating back pain, she’s addressing the root cause and planning for what the patient’s body should look like 20 years from now.

We dig into:
🔹 What physiatry is — and why it’s uniquely positioned to bridge medicine, rehab, and fitness
🔹 How Sarae plans to use intake forms and lifestyle screening tools (like ACLM’s Epic integration) to prime patients for behavior change
🔹 What really happens when therapy “didn’t work” — and why that phrase should always prompt follow-up questions
🔹 Why physicians need to vet fitness pros — and how most clinicians don’t know how
🔹 What true collaboration across specialties should look like — not just in theory, but in practice

Physicians: if you’ve ever felt like you’re sending patients into a black hole after discharge... this one’s for you.
Fitness professionals: if you want to earn the trust of clinicians... listen closely to how Sarae evaluates potential collaborators.

The field is changing. We need more doctors like Sarae — who speak the language of strength, who understand dosing, and who aren’t afraid to teach, question, and collaborate.

Connect with Dr. Jandreau: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarae-sager-jandreau-do-cscs/

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🚨 NEW EPISODE DROP! 🚨

How is digital health reshaping cardiac care—especially for women and underserved populations?

🎙️ On the latest episode of the Medical Fitness Podcast, we team up with the American Heart Association to bring you an insightful conversation with Dr. Ritu Thamman, cardiologist, digital health leader, and fierce advocate for women's heart health.

We discuss:
✅ Why digital tools are critical to improving access and outcomes
✅ How virtual cardiac rehab can close care gaps
✅ The unique barriers women face—and how asynchronous tech can help
✅ Why certifications like the AHA’s Digital Health in Cardiac Care are becoming essential for fitness pros
✅ The game-changing role of Life’s Essential 8 in prevention

🔓 Limited-time offer: Access the AHA's CPAHA Telehealth Certification FREE through June 30! → medicalfitness.org

💥 Whether you're in-clinic or virtual, your role in prevention just got more powerful.

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.
👊 Keep changing lives. One heartbeat at a time.

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🎙️ NEW EPISODE ALERT: The Medical Fitness Podcast 🔗

This week, we sit down with one of the pioneers in exercise oncology — Dr. Karen Wonders — and if you work in the medical fitness space, this is a must-listen.

Dr. Wonders is a professor at Wright State University, director of both the Exercise Science and Exercise Oncology Certificate Programs, AND founder/CEO of Maple Tree Cancer Alliance. She's been on the front lines of integrating exercise into the cancer care continuum since the early 2000s, long before most of the field even had a name for it.

🔥 In this episode:
✅ What exercise oncology really means — and why it’s now part of standard of care in breast cancer
✅ How fitness professionals should collaborate with oncology teams
✅ Programming considerations during prehab, active treatment, and survivorship
✅ How her certification programs with Maple Tree (now partnered with MFA) are building the workforce we need
✅ Why patient trust and interdisciplinary credibility are everything

💡 If you're a clinician, fitness professional, or educator — this episode gives you the roadmap for getting involved in one of the most important emerging areas in medical fitness.

🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

📣 Learn more about Dr. Karen Wonders:
🌐 Website: MapleTreeCancerAlliance.org
📱 Instagram & TikTok: @MapleTreeEducation

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New Episode Drop! 🎙️
Get ready for one of our most practical and powerful conversations yet on The Medical Fitness Podcast.

We’re joined by Raina Childers-Richmond — registered dietitian, certified health coach, and a true pioneer in integrating nutrition, behavior change, and fitness inside medically integrated centers.

With nearly three decades of experience, Raina brings frontline insights you won't hear anywhere else.

In this episode, we dive deep into:

• Supporting clients on anti-obesity medications (GLP-1s and beyond): What fitness and wellness professionals must know, how to stay in scope, and why empathy matters more than ever.
• Nutrition for active aging and women’s health: Practical strategies to support women through perimenopause, menopause, and beyond — an underserved population that needs better solutions.
• Redefining medical fitness centers: How to transform your facility into a true health home, connecting nutrition, exercise, mental health, and healthcare access.
• Collaboration vs. Scope Creep: How fitness pros and dietitians can work together better — respecting boundaries, enhancing client outcomes, and building stronger communities.
• Building engagement that lasts: Real-world examples of programming that supports year-long member retention, lifestyle change, and patient trust.
• Emerging Trends: Why the future of medical fitness lies in longevity, healthspan optimization, and personalized programming.

Whether you’re a fitness professional, clinician, program director, or health leader, this episode will leave you thinking differently about how to serve your clients and patients more effectively — and humanely.

🎧 Tune in wherever you get your podcasts — this is a conversation the medical fitness industry needs right now.

🗓️ Plus: If you want to connect with Raina in person and dig even deeper into these topics, catch her live at the MFA Central Region Summit in Owensboro, Kentucky this June!

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🚨 NEW EPISODE ALERT — Season 3, Episode 8 🎙️

The Medical Fitness Podcast
Powered by the Medical Fitness Association + the Medicine-Rehab-Fitness Institute

🎧 Guest: Dr. Jessica Matthews
🎓 Tenured Professor, Program Director – M.S. Integrative Wellness, Point Loma Nazarene University
🏥 Clinical + Research Appointment – UC San Diego Health
🏆 Former Board Member – ACLM & National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching

In this powerhouse episode, we sit down with returning guest and long-time friend of the show, Dr. Jessica Matthews — one of the nation’s top voices in integrative health, health behavior change, and lifestyle medicine.

🔊 What you’ll hear:

✅ Why most traditional healthcare education STILL misses the mark on health behavior change – and how Dr. Matthews built a nationally recognized grad program to fix it
✅ How clinicians and fitness professionals can stop “practicing in silos” and start collaborating effectively
✅ What health and wellness coaching really is — and how it can be implemented successfully into clinical care workflows
✅ The exact skill gaps that are holding many health professionals back from effectively guiding patients through sustainable lifestyle change
✅ A raw and personal look at how Dr. Matthews’ family experiences with chronic disease + recovery shape everything she teaches
✅ Behind the scenes of UC San Diego Health’s coaching integration model — plus barriers, reimbursement challenges, and scalable strategies

🧠 Whether you’re a clinician, coach, educator, or fitness pro, this episode will challenge your assumptions, sharpen your perspective, and ignite your sense of what’s possible when we get behavior change right.

🎯 Big themes:
• Communication as clinical competency
• Interdisciplinary training done right
• Coaching mindset > authority mindset
• Dosing lifestyle medicine for real-world results
• Bridging healthcare and fitness through trust + workflow alignment

🗣️ “You can’t expect clinicians to refer unless you understand their pain points—and their workflow.”
🗣️ “Lifestyle medicine DOES work—when it’s dosed appropriately and supported by the right systems.”
🗣️ “We don’t need more buzzwords. We need more collaboration.”
🗣️ “My mom went from an A1C of 13 to under 5.7—and she was given a 1% chance to live.”

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