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Exercise is the best medicine at Live Well

Tsawwassen clinic combines fun, motivational routines with supervised tracking of medical progress
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Sarah Macey operates Live Well Exercise Clinic in Tsawwassen Commons

Sarah Macey knows how tough it can be for some people to find the motivation to take better care of themselves. That’s especially true if they have chronic health issues or worry they won’t feel at home in a gym potentially packed with intimidatingly young and buff bodies.

So the longtime South Delta resident, who has run a popular Tsawwassen physiotherapy clinic with her husband Ryan for more than a decade, wanted to offer something new for those who want to make healthier life choices but need a professional helping hand to take that first step.

After her sister-in-law saw serious health problems improve dramatically through membership at a Live Well Exercise Clinic in White Rock, she decided to look into opening a local outlet of the growing health franchise that now has more than 20 clinics across Canada.

“We try to reduce the ‘gymtimidation’ factor by being really supportive and inclusive so people can just feel they’re allowed to be where they’re at and start there,” said Macey of her Tsawwassen Commons facility, which celebrated its one-year anniversary in August. “It’s kind of a new philosophy in healthcare. It’s not a typical gym but it does have gym equipment in it.”

Most people know eating better and getting more exercise is important to our long-term health, but the hard part can be finding the time or making it a habit. Rather than being a drop-in workout facility where members can come (or skip) if they feel like it, Live Well members have scheduled one-hour appointments with licensed professionals who tailor workouts to meet their specific needs.

“You have an appointment to exercise with a group of other people who soon feel like a little family at the gym, and they make it fun and they make it encouraging and everyone is doing the exercises that were prescribed based on their medical history. We want people to at the end of the day think, ‘I really do want to do this,’ rather than just for a holiday or to lose a few pounds. They might instead want to do it so they can hold their grandkids or simply get on and off an airplane.”

One of her first customers was an overweight 65-year-old man who had never even stepped foot inside a gym before.

“It was my wife who signed me up after becoming very concerned about my health,” said David Williams, who had been diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes and atrial fibrillation. “When we mentioned the program to my cardiologist, she was thrilled. In fact, she had already planned to recommend the program for me as well.”

Williams said he probably “horrified” clinical exercise physiologist Rajveena Jagpal when he showed up to an early appointment carrying a bottle of Dr. Pepper, but becoming a regular Live Well visitor has changed his life.

“Since then I have improved my diet and learned a lot about using the fitness equipment,” he said. “I have lost 15 pounds, reduced my blood pressure from 150/90 to 110/70 and built up my strength and cardiovascular fitness. Raj has continually upgraded and intensified my program as I have progressed (even when I complain), but when I achieve the new goals, I feel good about myself and secretly I think she does too.”

Approximately 1.6 million Canadians are living with heart disease or the effects of a stroke, and most premature cases could’ve been prevented if people had healthy lifestyles, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. While doctors can guide patients with heart problems into subsidized exercise programs, they often aren’t open to people with the chronic conditions that eventually lead to heart disease, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and/or obesity.

For now, membership at Live Well isn’t something that is covered by MSP or even all extended health plans, but Macey hopes this will eventually change and is looking ahead to the day when doctors prescribe exercise as easily as they do medications.

“We’re hoping to get there. Because it is so new in health care, it’s not recognized yet. Some plans cover kinesiology but as a whole exercise for medicine purposes is not unfortunately covered yet in most people’s extended health plans but we’re hoping that’s the direction it goes because obviously it reduces so much other disability and disease.”

Call 604-359-8875 or visit southdelta.livewellclinic.ca to take the first step.