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FAQS

Lots of people are still discovering what exercise physiology can do for their health and fitness. Here are answers to some of the most asked questions.

What’s the difference between exercise physiology and personal training?

There are two major differences: What training your trainer or coach has, and whether you can claim rebates on your sessions through Medicare and/or private health.

An exercise physiologist is university trained and accredited by Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA), while personal trainers may have a university degree, or may be certified through shorter courses. ESSA accreditation allows Medicare and private health rebates to be claimed for exercise physiology sessions; personal training does not have this option.

What’s involved in an exercise physiology session?

During an initial session, we’ll have a conversation about your movement history (if you’ve never been super active, that’s fine), your current complains or injuries, what your expectations are of the coaching, and what results you would like to get. We’ll do some movement based assessment to let your body show us where it’s having trouble, and from there we’ll start building the program that will give you the best results. 

What will happen during my first session?

Whatever you need to get fit and healthy! During your initial session, you and your coach will go through:

This establishes your physical starting point and what kind of exercise will benefit you the most. You’ll wrap up the initial session with some starter exercises, and you’ll received a more in-depth program at your second session. Further program updates taking place as often as are needed or desired to maintain progress.

Please note: We want your program to be exactly right for you, so if you have significant health concerns, you and your coach may discuss bringing your doctor into the loop. You’ll definitely still be able to start a safe and effective exercise program!

What kind of exercise will I do in my sessions?

In your second and subsequent sessions, your coach will guide you through your program, making sure you feel comfortable and confident. Your program will contain exercises to help you:

Loosen – Self-massage work can be done at home to help loosen tight muscles, decreasing stiffness, tension, pain, and injury risk. Muscles and connective tissues with the optimal amount of tension work efficiently, keep you pain-free, and help prevent overuse injuries.

Lengthen – Many of our muscles are held in shortened positions for hours (or even days) at a time. Lengthening out means increasing flexibility and joint mobility, which in turn can help you improve posture, decrease stiffness, and move through life more easily.

Strengthen – Keep your muscles ready and able to support your body.  Strong muscles help maintain optimal joint alignment and function, help you carry the shopping in from the car, and make sure you can take the dog for a long walk. Muscle strength supports you in everything you do!

The actual exercises you’ll be given will depend on your physical starting point and goals. Your coach can make each exercise harder or easier as needed, ensuring that your program will have you feeling comfortable and confident, while still being suitably challenged.

How does this approach help me in the long term?

HealthFit programs use a “Big Picture” approach that follows these three steps:

Get Moving – Our bodies are built to move, and you might be surprised at how good a little movement can make you feel! Ease into adding movement to your life safely, easily, and enjoyably (or at least in a way that is a bit more palatable).

Move Better – Your coach can show you how to use your body in a more efficient manner. This means decreasing and preventing the aches and pains we often associate with aging, improving numerous health indicators, and helping you tackle the demands of daily life more easily.

Move More – If you’re feeling good and want to take the next step, you and your coach will work as a team to figure out how to get stronger, fitter, more flexible, or train for a specific goal or event. Your program will follow the same rules: keep you safe and pain-free, fit into your lifestyle, and still be enjoyable (or at least not awful!).

How long will it take it get results?

This is actually one of the hardest questions to answer!

We know that muscle adaptation and change can start to be seen in 6-8 weeks, but “getting results” can take a lot longer than that. Your timeframe will depend on a lot of factors, including how frequently you can training and what kind of training program you end up with, what other time and energy demands you have, quality of sleep and food intake, and a whole bunch of other lifestyle factors. We discuss this during your first session, if you feel like things aren’t going as expected, or anytime we need to update a program

What’s involved in a healthy habits coaching session?

Prior to meeting for the first time, you’ll fill out a questionnaire asking about current lifestyle and habits, your goals, what you’re already doing well and what you’re finding challenging.

During our initial session, we work together to help prioritise your goals and brainstorm different actions you could take to make better choices – which develop into healthy habits. From there, we look at how you can put these actions to work for you in real life, which often means looking at an average day or week and figuring out what specifically you want to do, and when specifically you want to do it.

You go away and try it out for a fortnight, touching base about success or challenges, and at our next session, we build and make changes from there. 

Do I need to buy a package of sessions or sign a contract?

No contracts are required. Most clients start with our Starter Pack, which offers you significant savings on a month’s worth of weekly or fortnightly sessions as well as rolling your initial consult into the pack. After completing your Starter Pack, if you wish to continue your sessions, you can sign up for weekly, fortnightly, or monthly sessions that are automatically billed for your convenience. You can stop these at any time.

Depending on your session goal, you may also be eligible for a Medicare Chronic Disease Management plan through your GP. A CDM plan can provide up to five allied health sessions per year, and can be scheduled as you desire. These CDM plans are designed to help manage chronic disease or conditions by providing you with an exercise program for things like diabetes and heart disease. Painful muscle and joint conditions are also often eligible.

What are the session fees?

Starter Pack pricing is as low as $205, and ongoing sessions start from $100 per session for in-home exercise physiology. Some private health funds will provide rebates for exercise physiology sessions. Additional pricing information is available here.

As sessions covered by Medicare or private health?

Exercise physiology and behaviour change support, which falls under it, may be eligible for rebates based on your level of private health cover. Additionally, Medicare rebates may be available if you have received a referral from your GP for treatment of a specific chronic health condition. 

Where do exercise physiology sessions take place?

Our main areas of service include inner city Brisbane and the western suburbs, including Spring Hill, Paddington, Bardon, Rosalie, Milton, Auchenflower, Toowong, Taringa, St Lucia, Indooroopilly, Chapel Hill, Kenmore, Graceville, and Chelmer. In-home exercise physiology and healthy eating support programs can be arranged outside these areas by request.

Do I need prior exercise experience to benefit from coaching?

Not at all. Many of our clients have minimal or no exercise history. We meet you where you are on your fitness journey, ensuring that our programs are suitable for your current abilities and circumstances.

What makes HealthFit Coaching different from other exercise physiology services?

At HealthFit Coaching, our approach is personal, collaborative, and friendly. We take as much time as is needed to understand your own unique needs and concerns.

It’s super important that you feel comfortable and confident that this program will be achievable for you, so we work together to create a customised plan that aligns with your goals and lifestyle. And while you are always at the centre of the program, you can rest assured that it will be based in research-based best practices, so you get the best of personal and science together.

Best of all, programming is super flexible. If it’s not working with your body or lifestyle, we change it – simple as that.