Like many retirees in Northern Virginia, Alice enjoys spending time exercising her dog and performing neighborhood volunteer activities.

“Last March I set a goal to do 50 hours of volunteer service going door to door in my community. By the end of the month, my back was making it impossible for me to progress toward my goal and I was devastated.”

A diagnosis of arthritis in the lower spine necessitated a stint in physical therapy. Upon her release from therapy, Alice’s Orthopaedic specialist advised her that fitness training to improve core strength would be his long term recommendation.

“I had maintained fitness programs most of my life but now I feared the discomfort I had experienced before my physical therapy. A friend of mine told me about this trainer with Russell Fitness, Kari. She sat down with me and did a complimentary assessment of my nutrition and encouraged me to move forward with my fitness program.”

Dr. Andrew Parker of Commonwealth Orthopaedics had advised Alice that despite the arthritis in her knee and lower back, her best course would be strength training with a competent trainer.

“My physical therapist at Commonwealth Orthopaedics told me not to give up my fitness program entirely. Just be sure to concentrate on the key areas for core strengthening and let the trainer know when something hurts. Don’t think that you can just work through it and not do additional damage.”

Dr. Parker has significant experience in the area of sports medicine having cared for athletes from the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cubs.
Kari observed Alice carefully and designed a program to work with the deficits that could have caused any complications. Over the summer and fall, core strengthening and upper body weight training gave Alice the opportunity to create the improvements that are helping her to remain active while minimizing the recurrence of knee or back pain.

“I am sure that I could not have moved back into a fitness program without Kari’s support and skillful leadership. When I say, ‘Kari, that doesn’t feel right, ‘she doesn’t just give me a pass…she says, ‘Well try this...is that better?’ And I can move into a more comfortable position.”

“My dog, Rainy day, is happy that I have found a way to remain active. We look forward to many walks together and I have a new goal: With all of the economic uncertainty, I think I’ll go back to work and beef up my retirement fund. Besides, I feel too good to stay in retirement. There are still lots of things I feel like doing.”
 

Like many retirees in Northern Virginia, Alice enjoys spending time exercising her dog and performing neighborhood volunteer activities.

“Last March I set a goal to do 50 hours of volunteer service going door to door in my community. By the end of the month, my back was making it impossible for me to progress toward my goal and I was devastated.”

A diagnosis of arthritis in the lower spine necessitated a stint in physical therapy. Upon her release from therapy, Alice’s Orthopaedic specialist advised her that fitness training to improve core strength would be his long term recommendation.

“I had maintained fitness programs most of my life but now I feared the discomfort I had experienced before my physical therapy. A friend of mine told me about this trainer with Russell Fitness, Kari. She sat down with me and did a complimentary assessment of my nutrition and encouraged me to move forward with my fitness program.”

Dr. Andrew Parker of Commonwealth Orthopaedics had advised Alice that despite the arthritis in her knee and lower back, her best course would be strength training with a competent trainer.

“My physical therapist at Commonwealth Orthopaedics told me not to give up my fitness program entirely. Just be sure to concentrate on the key areas for core strengthening and let the trainer know when something hurts. Don’t think that you can just work through it and not do additional damage.”

Dr. Parker has significant experience in the area of sports medicine having cared for athletes from the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cubs.
Kari observed Alice carefully and designed a program to work with the deficits that could have caused any complications. Over the summer and fall, core strengthening and upper body weight training gave Alice the opportunity to create the improvements that are helping her to remain active while minimizing the recurrence of knee or back pain.

“I am sure that I could not have moved back into a fitness program without Kari’s support and skillful leadership. When I say, ‘Kari, that doesn’t feel right, ‘she doesn’t just give me a pass…she says, ‘Well try this...is that better?’ And I can move into a more comfortable position.”

“My dog, Rainy day, is happy that I have found a way to remain active. We look forward to many walks together and I have a new goal: With all of the economic uncertainty, I think I’ll go back to work and beef up my retirement fund. Besides, I feel too good to stay in retirement. There are still lots of things I feel like doing.”