PREP(ping) for wellness

Messiah launched the Preventative and Rehabilitative Exercise Program (PREP) on campus to serve the community’s wellness needs

By Anna Seip

You’re scrolling on your phone looking for a way to exercise and get fit, but TikTok is offering up a lot of conflicting info. You want to take control of your health, but it’s overwhelming and confusing. Once a year at your annual physical, your doctor tells you to exercise. Sure, there’s a gym on every corner, but — after you finally walk in and sign up — what machines are you supposed to use? And who’s going to help you figure it out?

Through Messiah’s recently launched Preventative and Rehabilitative Exercise Program (PREP), there’s a more holistic way to think of wellness: a personalized journey crafted by exercise physiologists and certified strength and conditioning specialists in a culture that feels a lot different than a typical box gym.

History

With the rebuild of Messiah’s Fitness Center in 2017, the original commitment was to serve internal stakeholders such as students and employees. After tracking the center’s usage data, the administration realized the facility had the bandwidth to allow external use without impeding its internal stakeholders. In 2021, Kevin Ogden ’14, MBA ’21 pitched the idea of PREP as his MBA capstone project. In keeping with the University plan of creating partnerships, non-tuition revenue and experiential learning for students, PREP became a reality.

Getting started and going forward

PREP’s fitness program prioritizes the well-being of the whole person, crafting personalized holistic programs. It begins with Getting Started, which is where individuals can visit Messiah’s state-ofthe-art Human Performance Lab for a comprehensive wellness assessment by certified exercise physiologists.

“They get an extensive physiology work-up. We’ve got some of the most top-grade equipment you can put in a performance lab,” said Scott Kieffer, professor of exercise physiology. “We have students help with the testing, so they get a lot of clinical experience.”

In the Human Performance Lab, Messiah’s experts assess MaxV02; muscular strength and power; body composition; balance; and mobility. This data can be important for maximizing athletic performance as well as assessing health.

In addition to what the science of the assessment shows, clients are asked about their lives whether the person is taking care of aging parents, juggling work-life balance, etc.

After the holistic assessment, the client then can by Going Forward and purchasing a PREP membership have unrestricted access to Messiah’s Fitness Center, join unlimited group exercise sessions, use an individualized app that refreshes with a new exercise program with guided orientation every 8-10 weeks, a comprehensive assessment every six months and scheduled supervised sessions for added support.

“There’s a particular area of the fitness center reserved for [PREP members] to help that intimidation factor of going to a gym,” explained Kris Hansen-Kieffer, executive director of community wellness, who will have interns helping with the programming.

“They’re really just coming into a space that has been created for them. So if they really hate the gym scene, they could come to those times during the week and not have to deal with that.”

This kind of holistic care is ideal for bridging the gap between a typical box gym vs. insurance-based occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT) or cardiac care. PREP attempts to help those who have “graduated” from insurance-covered care but still need to continue exercising in a holistic way.

“When Messiah built the facility, they did it right. It’s really inviting. You’re not walking past all the weight machines. You’re exposed to a multifunctional environment that invites people to come in. They can see it’s different right off the bat,” said Kieffer. “Everybody feels welcome. The community members don’t feel intimated there are college students working with them. It’s very hospitable to everyone coming in.”

Memberships are also available for those who simply want to come in and use the gym without assistance or assessment.

PREP’s fitness program prioritizes the well-being of the whole person, crafting personalized holistic programs.

Experiential learning, serving the community

PREP also offers clinical and specialized classes for those who would like to continue the comprehensive medical care they recently received, as well as those who have received encouragement from their health providers to incorporate more physical activity and wellness habits into their lives.

Krystal Robinson-Bert, associate professor of occupational therapy, says she was used to partnering with other facilities such as Mechanicsburg Senior Center and Messiah Lifeways as part of the experiential learning for Messiah’s OT curriculum. When PREP was in its infancy, Robinson-Bert saw the potential for a partnership that could keep students on campus.

Last summer, she launched an eight-week class called PWR! Moves, which targets bradykinesia, rigidity and dyskinesia through targeted functional movements that address the four core movement difficulties weight shift, reactive step, sitting and standing up, and the ability to twist the trunk of the body of people with Parkinson’s disease. The goal is to overtrain the brain and the nervous system.

The clinical class included 14 students who worked with 14 clients with various forms of Parkinson’s most of them in their 70s. Some had walkers and canes. Others had cognitive issues on top of Parkinson’s. The students conducted a needs assessment, learning to focus on the whole person and considering cognitive and motor factors.

“We ask them, ‘What do you want to keep doing? And what are things that you don’t feel like you can do since you have Parkinson’s but we might be able to work on?” asked Robinson-Bert.

Focusing on the clients’ habits and routines, Robinson-Bert and the students helped tailor “power moves” to help one person continue riding a bike and another continue gardening.

“The exciting part about it is, I love OT and I love doing the work I do, but my favorite part is when we can do that with students and see them learn with real people and not just a textbook while we’re also serving people well,” said Robinson-Bert.

PWR! Moves is not the only Parkinson’srelated class that is offered. Functional Life Exercise (FLEX) class focuses on gait training, cognitive training and cardiovascular exercise. Robinson-Bert says she also hopes to start an Adaptango class as a summer pilot program.

Through PREP at Messiah, wellness is not pass-fail. By changing the culture around what it means to have a healthy life and sharing Messiah’s mission with the greater community, the University is helping to break down barriers.

So, what's it really like to join PREP?

A community member walks us through the program

Prior to signing up for PREP, Scott Edwards had no affiliation with Messiah University other than enjoying the campus fitness nature trails with his dog, Phineas. Then, his friend who is a doctor told him about the program.

“He heard about the program and thought I could benefit from the structure,” Edwards said. “I struggle with chronic back pain due to a previous back surgery but try to stay ahead of my back issues by remaining physically active.”

While he had remained active over the years even during the COVID-19 years he says he felt his workout regimen could benefit from qualified personnel who could show him ways to avoid injuring his back. In December of 2023, he signed up.

“The plan built for me includes three workouts in Messiah’s Fitness Center per week,” he explained. “I requested a workout regimen that ensures I work out all muscle groups each week, with a fair amount of core work built in due to my physical vulnerabilities.”

Through the program, Edwards receives:

Strategy: The PREP Team creates a long-term strategy based on his fitness goals, providing 6- to 8-week workout programs.

Structure: He accesses his workout plans through the PREP app.

Guidance: He has access to trained professionals who know how to craft workout plans to help him achieve his goals, while also avoiding moves that could put him at risk.

“I feel stronger, healthier, and have been able to stay ahead of my back pain for the most part. I also find myself having a more positive outlook since having started the PREP program due to increased movement, following the game plan and pushing myself to live a healthier lifestyle,” he said.

He says each session gets easier.

“I am definitely not someone who loves going to the gym. In fact, I usually do not want to go. However, I can say that there has never been a time where I have regretted going. Instead, I feel a sense of accomplishment, more energetic and more positive after my workout,” said Edwards. “At 45, I also realize I need to remain physically active, including strength training, if I want to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle.”

New director = great fit for the fitness center

Athletic training alumnus joins PREP staff

Nate Nester ’14 is no stranger to athletic training or Messiah University. Although he began working as the director of the fitness center in March, the new job was merely a hop, skip and a jump from his previous one on campus.

Messiah journey

After majoring in athletic training at Messiah, he continued his education by earning a master’s in exercise science at California University of Pennsylvania. He worked in athletic training at Dickinson College for several years then returned to Messiah in 2022 to help with sports ministry AROMA in strength and conditioning of Messiah’s athletes.

When the fitness center director position opened up, he realized he could have a broader influence on wellness in the community at large while still helping Messiah’s athletes. He manages programming for 18 of Messiah’s varsity sports, working with two to three teams at a time, depending on the season. Whereas his impact was limited to working with student athletes before, now he can impact a breadth of people of varying abilities and ages, all with different goals.

“I decided this was something I very much wanted to pursue,” Nester said.

While 75 percent of his new position involves the day-to-day operations as “gym owner” of the fitness center, 25 percent of his role includes PREP and its three pillars of care:

Individualized wellness: This is PREP’s flagship service. Our certified strength and conditioning coaches and certified exercise physiologists use their expertise combined with the results of your holistic wellness assessment to design an individualized program for you.

Human Performance Lab: Filled with state-of-the-art equipment, the lab measures and analyzes a range of physiological metrics, removing any guesswork and generic predictive algorithms.

Clinical and specialized classes: A significant benefit can be found when individuals with similar goals or diagnosed medical conditions train together under expert care and supervision. PREP classes are designed and facilitated by licensed therapists, registered dietitians and certified exercise physiologists.

“My specific expertise is orthopedics and high performance,” Nester said. “As an athletic trainer, I’ve worked with athletes from the day they get out of surgery up through competition. You’re in a knee brace and can’t bend anything. What does it take to get back on the field and compete at a high level?”

Building relationships across the community

Nester says the clients, students, faculty and staff at Messiah are overwhelmingly positive and go out of their way to help each other.

“It’s what drew me back to Messiah and made me make the switch to the fitness center, so I could have a slightly larger reach across campus,” he said. “Seeing the greater community and building those relationships with PT clinics and doctors’ offices, we have a great focus on wellness across the health span. I truly enjoy working at Messiah.”

To learn more about PREP visit the website at fitness.messiah.edu/prep