029 Technology & Medical Fitness

For episode 29, we're talking about medical fitness and its impact on our industry. This is an advanced model of personal training that is yielding an massive opportunity that fitness clubs will be able to capitalize on, and get people more healthy than ever before through referral networks for physicians.

We're learning from the CEO of Rejuv Medical, JR Burgess, about how the entrepreneurial minded fitness facility or studio, that can understand how to partner with doctors, will thrive in this new medical and fitness landscape.

Listen as we explore both the advantages and challenges of trainers becoming medical fitness specialists, and what the next couple of years will mean to our space with the passage of a 2018 Diabetes Prevention Program that will partner with insurance companies to subsidize preventative wellness services through medically supervised fitness and wellness programs.

Whether you're a club owner operator or fitness professional working in a small medium or large facility, this episode will deliver the practical and actionable resources and inspiration to begin thinking outside the box and serving more customers towards better health through technology and specialized training.

Be sure to listen until the end of the show to hear from JR in our "Fit Six Round" about the action steps that leaders in the fitness industry are now taking, as well as what's coming next for the growth of medical fitness.

J.R. Burgess is the CEO of Rejuv Medical and MedFit. 7 years ago, he partnered with Dr. Joel Baumgartner (bam-greener) MD with the purpose to change the direction of the current healthcare crisis. Together they developed a successful medical practice that utilizes medical fitness as medicine to restore health and vitality to their patients.

J.R. Burgess joined the Rejuv Medical Team in September of 2009 to assist with the development of the Weight Loss and Performance Center. Born and raised in Keewatin, Minnesota, J.R. started his career in the medical fitness industry after his successful career as an athlete led him to a passion for personal training. I help get people started on their journey of a healthier lifestyle.

Listen To Episode 029 As JR Uncovers

• What is Medical fitness
• How does medical fitness address our currently broken sick care system
• Exercise as medicine and the future of healthcare: How does this relate to the future of sustainable business models in gyms
• Why almost all disease is a lifestyle problem: What role wellness and fitness technology can play in supporting healthy lifestyles
• Exploring the PHIT Act: What would the PHIT Act passage mean for Rejuv and Medical Fitness
• Understanding the Medical Fitness Network and the impact on the fitness industry
• Bridging the gap between medical and fitness: what roadblocks and opportunities exist in the fitness industry when we look at combining patient or client data with actionable coaching
• MedFit and its core mission: Expanding the field of medical fitness and regenerative medicine
• What holds fitness professionals and club operators back from being early adopters and succeeding in change management
• Understanding the CFAN model: Cell Health, Functionality, Articulation, Neuro-kinetic Training

Top 3 Takeaways From The Show

• JR believes that the best is yet to come when we look at how medical fitness will create new income streams and greater health applications. With healthcare costs going up, the only answer is fitness and exercise. Industry professionals must begin to take a serious look at learning how medical fitness will yield better opportunities for revenues in clubs and service to customers.
• JR believes that changes in healthcare policy from a governmental level do not have to negatively impact specialized trainers or medical fitness. Because at the end of the day, it's having the right mindset around using wearable devices and the integration of tracking through club software that aggregates fitness and health data, to be combined with electronic health records, that will really provide the right solutions to a rising obesity and health epidemic.
• The major opportunities to fix our broken sick care system are looming on the horizon. With an open mind and a tech-focused approach, using smart data along with integrating medicine and fitness, we now can provide a new era of impact that our industry space will create for humanity.

Power Quotes From JR

"We must create the standards for trainers to begin integrating their services into medical facilities. What does a medical fitness specialist or certification really entail? What are the qualifications they need to work with people that have chronic disease? In personal training, there is no standard across the board, and anybody can get a weekend certification. There is no governance, so when were dealing with having to really be the best and try to take care of people with progressive injuries, there must be a training or certification the trainers will have to go through." - JR Burgess on the Fitness + Technology Podcast

"MEDFIT's goal and aim is to help doctors and preventative lifestyle medicine to reverse chronic disease and degeneration while building their bottom line. Most doctors don't know how to make this business model work, and a lot of the hospitals don't know how to do what we've created. Our model is profitable, and grows our clinic while having amazing community impact." - JR Burgess on the Fitness + Technology Podcast

Resources Mentioned From JR

• Rejuv Medical
• HSA - Flex Dollars
• Medical Fitness Specialist
• ACE Fitness: The Power of A Referral Network
• 2018 Diabetes Prevention Program
• MyMedFit.com
• Receive a free copy of JR's book: The Medical Fitness Impact Plan: How To Reverse Chronic Disease & Degeneration While Building Your Bottom Line
• The Biggest Loser
• Maxwell Maltz - psycho cybernetics
• Functional Medicine
• HRV Testing
• MYZONE
• JR Burgess LinkedIn
• Medical Fitness Association
• Medical Fitness Network
• The 2017 FIT-C Tech Trends Report

Thanks To Our Outstanding Sponsors

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• Bryan O'Rourke and his family of companies including Vedere Ventures, Integerus Advisors, and many more. If you are looking for unmatched guidance, capital, insights or a great speaker or facilitator, Bryan and his partners are the go to resource for your organization. To learn more visit bryankorourke.com
• The Fitness Industry Technology Council, your non-profit resource for reliable technology information supported by forward looking brands who are seeking to drive increased technology adoption in the fitness industry. Make a difference and join FIT-C at fittechcouncil.org today
• Check out Bryan and his partner Robert Dyer's recent book "9 Partnership Principles: A Story of Life Lessons" which is available now on Amazon.com