🚨 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.”

Support the show

🚨 NEW EPISODE – Season 3, Episode 7 of the Medical Fitness Podcast
🎙️ “Muscle as Medicine: Strength Training for Health & Longevity”

.
Featuring Dr. Rachele Pojednic
Powered by the Medical Fitness Association and the MRF Institute

.

What happens when an Ivy League scientist, Harvard educator, Stanford faculty member, and lifelong fitness advocate steps into the medical fitness conversation? You get an unforgettable episode with Dr. Rachele Pojednic—who brings the receipts and the passion.

.

This episode is a deep dive into why skeletal muscle is one of the most powerful, underrated tools we have to combat chronic disease, improve metabolic health, and extend healthspan. Rachele breaks it down in a way both clinicians and fitness professionals can use immediately in practice.

.

🔬 Topics we cover:

• Why muscle is a critical organ, not just tissue for movement
• The role of resistance training in metabolism, glucose regulation, and insulin sensitivity
• Landmark studies on high-intensity training in the oldest old—and what they prove about aging and adaptation
• The massive gap in female-specific research on strength training and performance, and how that’s finally changing
• Common myths that still dominate the fitness industry around women and lifting
• Why postmenopausal women CAN build muscle (despite outdated claims to the contrary)
• Training strategies for special populations, including women with MS, older adults, and post-surgical clients
• Why there’s no single perfect protocol—and how to find what works across life stages
• How protein intake, carbohydrate balance, and nutritional literacy impact strength, performance, and body composition
• The damaging effects of “optimization” culture and one-size-fits-all thinking in fitness and health

.

Rachele also shares personal insights from working in both academia and the wellness industry, and how bridging those silos is essential for real impact. She gets blunt (and refreshingly honest) about the social conditioning that keeps women away from strength training—and what we can all do to change that narrative.

This is one of those episodes you’ll want to share with your clients, patients, students, and colleagues. If you're a clinician, strength coach, trainer, or anyone working at the intersection of medicine and movement, this conversation is mandatory listening.

📍 Listen now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts
🔗 Full episode + show notes linked in bio
👥 Follow Dr. Pojednic at @rachelepojednic and rachelepojednic.com
🧠 Learn more about the MRF Institute and the work we're doing to connect medicine, rehab, and fitness

Support the show

🔥 NEW EPISODE ALERT! 🔥

.

Season 3, Episode 6 of the Medical Fitness Podcast just dropped, and we’re bringing back a powerhouse guest—Dr. Rick Howard! 🎙️💪

.

Rick is a leader in applied sports science, strength & conditioning, and long-term athletic development—and when he talks, people listen! 👏

.

This episode dives into game-changing strategies for increasing physical activity at every stage of life, from childhood through older adulthood. We cover:

.

🚀 The National Physical Activity Plan—How the Physical Activity Alliance is working to make physical activity a national priority, and what you can do at the local level to help.
📍 State-Level Action in Motion—How initiatives like New York Moves and Play Move Thrive are creating real change by tailoring fitness strategies to local communities.
🏋️‍♂️ Strength & Conditioning for ALL—Why it’s not just for athletes, and how coaches, clinicians, and fitness pros can integrate evidence-based training for lifelong health.
🤝 Breaking Down Silos—Why collaboration and collective impact are essential to getting people moving and shifting public health trends.
🏅 The Role of Qualified Professionals—How NSCA, ACSM, SHAPE America, and other leading organizations are stepping up to improve fitness education and programming.

.

💡 This episode is packed with insights for:
✔️ Clinicians looking to integrate fitness into healthcare
✔️ Strength coaches & trainers who want to bridge the gap between sports performance and public health
✔️ Educators & policymakers working to improve youth and adult fitness
✔️ Anyone who cares about making movement a priority across the lifespan

.

🔥 Don’t miss this powerful conversation with Dr. Rick Howard!

.
📢 Tag a colleague who needs to hear this!

Support the show

🚨 NEW EPISODE ALERT! 🚨

🔥 Season 3, Episode 5 of The Medical Fitness Podcast is LIVE!

In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. John Farrell, Assistant Professor and Human Performance Consultant at Texas State University. John’s expertise spans exercise training for adaptive athletes, individuals with chronic conditions, and elite performers—giving him a unique perspective on bridging the gap between rehabilitation and long-term fitness.

🏀 Why is this conversation so important?
For too many people, the transition from inpatient rehab to real-world physical activity is a dead end. Patients leave structured care but lose access to resources, support, and exercise guidance. John is tackling this issue head-on by exploring adaptive sports as a sustainable pathway—where fitness, function, and community come together to keep people moving for life.

👀 What you’ll learn in this episode:
✅ The missing link between rehab and lifelong exercise
✅ Why adaptive sports aren’t just for elite Paralympians—they’re for anyone needing a fitness outlet
✅ The critical role of strength training in neuroplasticity and nervous system health
✅ How fitness professionals can step up and fill the gap in adaptive training
✅ What’s holding back medical fitness from scaling—and how we fix it

🎧 Tune in NOW and let’s reimagine fitness as healthcare beyond the clinic. Available on all major platforms!

Support the show

🚨 NEW EPISODE ALERT! 🚨

🔥 Season 3, Episode 4 of The Medical Fitness Podcast is live, and this one is a must-listen! We’re sitting down with Ken Gorman, CEO of Power Wellness, to talk about the future of medical fitness, increasing physician referrals, and scaling fitness centers within healthcare systems. With nearly 30 years of experience leading the largest medical fitness management company in the U.S., Ken shares how Power Wellness is bridging the gap between fitness and healthcare—bringing evidence-based exercise programs to those who need them most.

🏥 Why does this matter? Because 75% of Americans don’t regularly engage in exercise, and 50% have at least one chronic condition. Traditional gyms aren’t designed to serve these populations, but medical fitness centers are changing the game by providing safe, structured programs designed by degreed and credentialed professionals. Power Wellness operates over 50 centers across the country, helping hospitals, academic institutions, and municipalities implement the medical fitness model to improve health outcomes on a massive scale.

👀 What you’ll learn in this episode:
✅ Why commercial gyms fail most people—and how medical fitness is the missing link
✅ How integrating fitness centers with healthcare systems is driving more patient referrals
✅ The role of technology and data tracking in improving patient engagement and long-term success
✅ How Power Wellness has built scalable, sustainable medical fitness solutions that work in hospitals, community centers, and beyond
✅ What the future holds for insurance reimbursement, virtual medical fitness, and value-based care

🎧 Tune in NOW and join us in redefining fitness as healthcare! Available on all major platforms.

Power Wellness Website: https://www.powerwellness.com/

Support the show

🎙️ Next Episode Alert: The Medical Fitness Podcast 🎙️

Are you ready to uncover the life-changing power of exercise as medicine?

Join us as we welcome Dr. Rob Newton, a world-renowned exercise oncology pioneer and the 2019 Western Australia Scientist of the Year, to the podcast! Dr. Newton shares groundbreaking insights from his decades of research at Edith Cowan University, where he leads the Exercise Medicine Research Institute.

💡 What You’ll Learn:

• The science behind exercise creating a cancer-suppressive environment.
• How skeletal muscle acts as your body’s personal pharmacy against cancer.
• Why precision exercise medicine is transforming cancer care.
• Real-world applications of high-intensity resistance training and interval work for patients—even those with advanced cancers.

🚨 Exclusive: Dr. Newton reveals findings from the groundbreaking Movember-funded Interval GAP4 study and discusses his upcoming book, Exercise Medicine for Cancer!

This episode is a must-listen for anyone passionate about bridging the gap between medicine and fitness, and especially for clinicians and patients looking to revolutionize cancer treatment.

Empower yourself with knowledge. Demand exercise medicine. Your journey starts here.

#MedicalFitnessPodcast #ExerciseOncology #CancerCare #PrecisionMedicine #ExerciseIsMedicine

Support the show

🚨 Part 2 is Here! 🎙️ Ready for the next chapter in the evolution of medical fitness? The latest episode of The Medical Fitness Podcast is live!

In Part 2, Jeff Young, Dr. Thomas Hammett, and David Flinch go beyond the “why” of medical fitness and dive into the "how"—breaking down the tools, technology, and strategies revolutionizing exercise as a medical intervention.

💡 Highlights include:

• Tech & Tools: Explore how advanced equipment and virtual solutions are transforming patient outcomes.
• Programming Excellence: Discover how tailored, periodized exercise programs elevate care for patients and clients alike.
• Case Studies in Action: Real-world examples of medical fitness programs leading the charge in health innovation.

🎧 If you're a fitness professional, clinician, or health enthusiast, this is the gold standard in patient-centered care. Tune in now to learn how medical fitness is bridging the gap between healthcare and fitness—one program at a time.

👉 Listen to Episode 2 now! Links below 🔗

🎙️ Join the conversation—what stood out most to you in this episode? Drop your thoughts below!

Support the show

🚨 New Year, New Episode!

🎙️ Start 2025 with a thought-provoking dive into the evolving world of medical fitness! In the latest episode of The Medical Fitness Podcast, Jeff Young, Dr. Thomas Hammett, and David Fletch tackle the why behind the medical fitness movement and its critical role in bridging the gap between fitness and healthcare. From its early origins to its growing relevance in today’s healthcare landscape, this episode explores how medical fitness is uniquely positioned to combat chronic disease, improve population health, and revolutionize exercise as a true medical intervention.

💡 With a $112 billion health and fitness industry projected to nearly double by 2030, why do chronic disease rates continue to climb? The hosts break down the key challenges and opportunities in ensuring exercise becomes an essential part of the healthcare continuum. Discover why traditional fitness models fall short for many populations and how medical fitness provides a higher standard of care through tailored exercise programs, clinical oversight, and outcome tracking.

🌟 But this is just the beginning! This is Part 1 of an exciting two-part series. In two weeks, we’ll return to delve deeper into the how of medical fitness, covering the tools, technology, and program designs that are setting the gold standard in patient-centered care. Plus, hear case studies and insights on what it takes to make medical fitness accessible, scalable, and impactful.

🎧 Whether you're a fitness professional, clinician, or simply passionate about health, this is the episode you won’t want to miss. Tune in now on your favorite podcast platform, and let us know what topics you’d love to hear more about in Part 2! 👇

Support the show