Medical Information for Health Professionals

Dear Health Professional,
It is important that we communicate with other medical/health/wellness professionals responsible for our client's health and wellbeing. We may need to be in contact with you to educate you on the details of our program and specifically, the S.P.A.R.T.A. Training™ methodology. This way, we can work closer together to fully obtain the best health and fitness possible for our clients. S.P.A.R.T.A.'s scope of practice does NOT involve the prescription of drugs, diagnosis of conditions or injuries, manual manipulation of skeletal structures, or application of therapeutic modalities. S.P.A.R.T.A. leaves those techniques to those respective specialists. Likewise, the S.P.A.R.T.A. staff is responsible for prescribing the correct, safest, most effective, and most efficient exercise program possible. Our methodology embodies those four points. S.P.A.R.T.A. only uses techniques that are evidence based and have been shown to be safe, logical, and scientifically sound. We maintain clear records on each client's session to monitor progress. It is important that you as professionals communicate with the S.P.A.R.T.A. staff so that we can continue to work together on an ongoing basis to meet the client's needs and progressing toward their goals. Sometimes, problems arise for clients in which case, they will be referred to the proper professionals. Small problems can usually be worked around and a client can still exercise and condition 90% or more of their body and systems working around the problem while not causing pain or exacerbating symptoms.

S.P.A.R.T.A. does not ask any other health or wellness professional to assume any liability for a client's action while under our instruction and observation. As a company, we are properly insured and it cannot be expected that another medical professional would be responsible for the client's actions while outside of their scope of practice, under someone else's supervision, and far removed from the situation. The S.P.A.R.T.A. Training™ methodology is one of the safest forms of general exercise in existence. There is a plethora of empirical published evidence across a broad range of peer-reviewed scientific journals based on the method we employ.  The S.P.A.R.T.A. staff has had advanced education well beyond industry standards. Other professionals should feel comfortable in the care that we give our clients and in sharing referrals between organizations. We have had much success with many clients who fall into special populations and/or are temporarily or permanently disabled. We encourage you to browse our website for more information or contact us directly if you have questions or comments. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Supporting Information

S.P.A.R.T.A. Training™ is safe and effective for clients who fall into the following special populations:

• Osteoporosis
• Rheumatoid/Osteoarthritis
• Post-rehabilitation
• Orthopedic problems
• Paralysis
• Lower back pain
• Neck pain
• Hypertension
• Obesity
• Cardiovascular/heart disease
• COPD
• Parkinson's
• Fibromyalgia
• Thyroid and other Metabolic conditions
• Pre/post natal women
• Seniors
• Military, law, fire, and EMS personnel
• Adolescents (6 years and older)
• Athletes of all ages
• Diabetes/Pre-diabetic
• Orthopedic problems

General Studies:

Prescription of resistance training for health and disease.
"When prescribed appropriately, resistance training is effective for developing fitness, health, and for the prevention and rehabilitation of orthopedic injuries. Because resistance training is an integral component in the comprehensive health program promoted by the major health organizations (e.g., American College of Sports Medicine, American Heart Association, American Association of Cardiovascular and Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation, Surgeon General's Office), population-specific guidelines have recently been published. The current research indicates that, for healthy persons of all ages and many patients with chronic diseases, single set programs of up to 15 repetitions performed a minimum of 2 d/wk are recommended."

Physiological alterations consequent to circuit weight training.
"It was concluded that circuit weight training is a good general conditioning activity, i.e., attends to more than one component of fitness."

Cardiovascular Studies:

A comparison of combined running and weight training with circuit weight training.
"The purpose of this study was to compare the physiologic effects of a program of combined running and weight training (RUN-CWT) with a program of circuit weight training (CWT)." "Statistically, one training program was not shown to be superior to the other; thus, both programs of RUN-CWT and CWT were effective in improving measures of physical fitness."

Circulatory response to single circuit weight and walking training sessions of similar energy cost in middle-aged overweight females.
"It was concluded that both CWT and walking training sessions were acceptable forms of physical activity to increase cardiovascular fitness in middle-aged overweight and normal body weight females."

Weight training and strength, cardiorespiratory functioning and body composition of men.
"Due to a high drop out rate (55%) and injury related problems, the Explosive technique is not recommended. The Endurance and Strength 2 programs were most effective for improving physiologic functioning, as assessed in this study."

A Comparison of the Cardiovascular Effects of Running and Weight Training.
"After training, both runners and weight trainers decreased their percent body fat. O2 peak was increased among runners, while only the weight trainers increased strength. These effects are comparable to aerobic exercise during isometric and mixed isometric and dynamic activities, and can occur without enhancement of peak oxygen uptake."

Strength training and hemodynamic responses to exercise.
"Resistance exercise prolongs the onset of peak cardiovascular responses, decreases the cardiovascular response to exertion, and improves recovery from maximal exertion."

Improved cardiorespiratory endurance following 6 months of resistance exercise in elderly men and women.
"Significant improvements in aerobic capacity and treadmill time to exhaustion can be obtained in older adults as a consequence of either high- or low-intensity resistance exercise. These findings suggest that increased strength, as a consequence of resistance exercise training, may allow older adults to reach and/or improve their aerobic capacity."

The Surprising History Of The 'HRmax= 220-age' Equation'. (PDF)
Target and max heart rate training zones are not scientifically established.

Diabetes Studies:

High-intensity resistance training improves glycemic control in older patients with type 2 diabetes.
"High-intensity progressive resistance training, in combination with moderate weight loss, was effective in improving glycemic control in older patients with type 2 diabetes. Additional benefits of improved muscular strength and LBM identify high-intensity resistance training as a feasible and effective component in the management program for older patients with type 2 diabetes."

Osteoporosis Studies:

Effects of high-intensity strength training on multiple risk factors for osteoporotic fractures: A randomized controlled trial. (PDF)
"Conclusions. - High-intensity strength training exercises are an effective and feasible means to preserve bone density while improving muscle mass, strength, and balance in postmenopausal women."

Rheumatoid/Osteoarthritis Studies:

Effects of strength training on the incidence and progression of knee osteoarthritis.
"Quadriceps weakness is a risk factor for incident knee osteoarthritis (OA). We describe a randomized controlled trial of effects of lower-extremity strength training on incidence and progression of knee OA."

Physical activity programs for chronic arthritis.
"The purpose of this review is to evaluate recent trials and studies of different types of physical activity programs for individuals with chronic arthritis and to discuss recommendations and findings from systematic reviews of physical activity interventions. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent randomized control trials of different multicomponent land-based, aquatic, Tai Chi, and strength training programs report moderate benefits after intervention and at 6 and 12 months for individuals with various types of chronic arthritis."

Effectiveness and safety of strength training in rheumatoid arthritis.
"Moderate or high-intensity strength training has been effective and well-tolerated method to increase or maintain muscle strength in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. No deleterious effects on disease activity and pain were observed. More information is needed regarding long-term effects of strength training on functional capacity, bone mineral density, and radiologic progression."

Flexibility Studies:

Effects of Resistance Training on the Sit-and-Reach Test in Elderly Women.
"We conclude that weight training without performance stretching exercises does increase flexibility in elderly women."

Back Pain Studies:

Low back strengthening for the prevention and treatment of low back pain.
"These improvements occur with a low training volume of 1 set of 8 to 15 repetitions performed to volitional fatigue one time per week. Chronic low back pain patients participating in isolated lumbar extension PRE programs demonstrate significant reductions in pain and symptoms associated with improved muscle strength, endurance, and joint mobility. Improvements occur independent of diagnosis, are long-lasting, and appear to result in less re-utilization of the health care system than other more passive treatments. Low back strengthening shows promise for the reduction of industrial back injuries and associated costs."

Neck Pain Studies:

Active neck muscle training in the treatment of chronic neck pain in women: a randomized controlled trial.
"Both strength and endurance training for 12 months were effective methods for decreasing pain and disability in women with chronic, nonspecific neck pain. Stretching and fitness training are commonly advised for patients with chronic neck pain, but stretching and aerobic exercising alone proved to be a much less effective form of training than strength training."

S.P.A.R.T.A. Training™ and Metabolism:

Effect of strength training on resting metabolic rate and physical activity: age and gender comparisons.
"Changes in absolute and relative RMR in response to ST are influenced by gender but not age. In contrast to what has been suggested previously, changes in body composition in response to ST are not due to changes in physical activity outside of training."

Circuit weight training and its effects on excess postexercise oxygen consumption.
"Data demonstrate that shortening the rest interval duration will increase the magnitude of 1 h EPOC from CWT; however, the exercise + recovery caloric costs from CWT are slightly greater for a longer rest interval duration protocol. These data suggest that total caloric cost be taken into account for CWT."

Effects of High-Intensity Resistance Training on Untrained Older Men. I. Strength, Cardiovascular, and Metabolic Responses.
"The results show that skeletal muscle in older, untrained men will respond with significant strength gains accompanied by considerable increases in fiber size and capillary density. Maximal working capacity, V.O2max, and serum lipid profiles also benefited from high-intensity resistance training, but no changes were observed for HR max, or maximal responses of arterial blood pressure. Older men may not only tolerate very high intensity work loads but will exhibit intramuscular, cardiovascular, and metabolic changes similar to younger subjects."

Role of muscle loss in the age-associated reduction in VO2 max.
"We conclude that in both sexes, a large portion of the age-associated decline in VO2max in non-endurance-trained individuals is explicable by the loss of muscle mass, which is observed with advancing age."