A History of PFP: How a Consultation Benefits Your Members

In 2013, Pro Fitness Program began to explore ways of improving the fitness consultation and assessment process.

We wanted to produce the most current and relevant assessment data, giving club members the education and knowledge to improve their health. Fitness club memberships only give access to space, time and equipment. It was key to upgrade our assessment standards to remain on the cutting edge as the leaders in results based fitness.

After a lengthy search in both the U.S. and Canada for the leading authority in exercise physiology and research, we were fortunate to acquire the services of James Manson, Epidemiologist and Exercise Physiologist. James has extensive experience as a Fitness Consultant and Fitness Director assessing fitness club members and prescribing evidence based solutions and programs.

In 2014, James began the process of developing a new assessment software tool for The Pro Fitness Program. Previously, our consultation data was based on performance standards that rated clients in comparison to normative data. We wanted to move away from performance-based ratings and towards how the screens related to health benefits and risk.

This was a major step in our mission towards the medical fitness model. As the leaders in this approach back in 1998 when we were founded, we were the first organization to require a paid-for fitness consultation with the purchase of a membership.

A shift in thinking.

This new concept of relating the various assessment screens to low or high health risks speaks more to our demographic of clients who seek out help and information, and want to educate themselves in terms of solutions for a better quality life that extends far beyond esthetics.

Exercise is medicine, and in an age where insurance companies are looking at areas like body composition and cardio vascular health to reduce insurance premiums, the PFP assessment software and protocols are a gold standard for providing evidence-based data that will determine the ideal prescription to improved health benefits and reduced premiums.

Most individuals are very familiar with investing in and tracking the performance of the Retirement Savings Plans, be it their 401(k) in the States or the RRSP in Canada. Yet how many have considered, making an investment in or tracking their RFP – Retirement Fitness Plan?

Encourage your members to book an appointment with your Fitness Consultants.

There is no pass or fail, and the initial assessment is simply a benchmark to determine the best possible plan to improved and optimal health over a realistic period of time.

A consultation is the best investment your members can make in your facility.