Recoveryfit is a customized fitness & wellness program created specifically for primary substance abuse, mental health, and dual diagnosis clients, within the structure of an adult or adolescent treatment facility. Quite simply it is a physical experience of 12 spiritual principles. Our program centers on the often-neglected PHYSICAL COMPONENT, which can provide extremely beneficial advantages to people struggling through the early months of the recovery process.

Our primary mission is to provide a PHYSICAL EXPERIENCE of the 12 steps & principles through exercise & activities in order to help addicts achieve long-term recovery. Rick Hagaman - recoveryfit founder

We provide professional fitness services to rehabilitation & recovery centers that recognize the remarkable benefits that a structured fitness program can have on the recovery outcomes of its clients. This alone carries some incredible weight but the uniquely original aspect of recoveryfit's program lies in our ability to mesh the physical with the spiritual & vice versa. Our training services are customized for the facility, the group, & the individual according to the needs, goals, & participation ability of each.

Group Classes

Physical activity is especially beneficial to those individuals recovering from addiction, depression, trauma, or other conditions, which may leave them without solution. Taking physical activity can not only increase self-esteem & well-being but can also help battle depression, insomnia, anxiety, & withdrawal symptoms.

Our group fitness classes combine aerobic, strength, & endurance activities. Each week's class varies in method & modality but is always inclusive for all fitness levels. Recoveryfit offers multiple difficulty variations for every exercise so that each person may choose their level of participation according to their ability. The recovery process is experienced in a physical manner both through the exercises programming & pre-workout activities so that the client's learning is mental, physical & hopefully spiritual.

Although many clients will be eager & excited about the recoveryfit program, there will be others who may be hesitant, having never experienced the amazing feeling that comes after a good workout. We chalk this up to a few factors: fear of the unknown, contempt prior to investigation, or simple resistance to all things new & different. These limiting beliefs may not only diminish their growth & recovery relative to this program, they may prove to be major barriers to their overall success in treatment. Therefore, we will not make this program available to your facility unless participation is made mandatory for those clients capable & released for physical activity. We cannot help people if they don't' show up & we lose the valuable group dynamic when clients have the option of nonparticipation.

Anyone who is searching for new tools to stay clean and sober can use fitness as a beginning. Recoveryfit is a true reflection of the connection between activity & the benefits that come from physical movement. The program presents a new beginning and a renewed relationship with self for those in need. The pace is set as safe and the results are proven effective. Vinsent Franke, Director of Operations Restore Health and Wellness Center, LLC

During addiction our brain stops producing many critical neurotransmitters and these receptor sites start to shut down. This makes early recovery very difficult due to patients having low energy, depression, and anhedonia. Recoveryfit accelerates returning the brain to its natural levels by addressing these obstacles through guided movement, activities, & exercise Matthew Polacheck, Psy.D, Director Outpatient Services Betty Ford Center, Part of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Primary Substance Abuse

Programs focused on a client base, which is Primary Substance Abuse, will have the option of a recoveryfit program based upon the 12 steps & the 12 principles behind those steps or just the 12 principles alone. The application of these universal principles will provide vital tools for clients regardless of whether or not they all following a 12-step program of recovery. However, if you feel that implementing the recoveryfit steps & principles system aligns itself more closely with your program's treatment protocol, then this is what we strongly recommend.

For example, the Step 1 group is about Powerlessness & Unmanageability with the principle being Honesty. So the clients are asked to take an HONEST ASSESSMENT of where they are at mentally & physically. It's only through an HONEST EVALUATION that we can examine the damaging effect that addiction has had on our mind & body. We then look at how the powerlessness & unmanageability regarding their disease may have contributed to their current physical condition. All focus is then placed on accepting those facts without judgment and committing to progress & growth through the recoveryfit program.

This client population may or may not have substance abuse problems & therefore could feel like a group focused on the 12 Steps may not have direct application to their lives. For this reason, we have created a recoveryfit group focused solely on the 12 principles & just how valuable the understanding & integration of these spiritual principles can be. Although these universal principles are the basis for the 12 Steps, we explore just how groundbreaking a true understanding of them can be in addressing the challenges we face in our "recovery." We are all "recovering" at some level & need to develop "tools" to do so. Our PRIMARY MENTAL HEALTH groups offer a mental, spiritual, & then physical experience of these principles increasing the positive impact that they can have on client's lives.

In our group on INTEGRITY we present the definition of the principle, what it can mean to their life in "recovery" & what it might mean to their physical growth & recovery. Clients are then asked to share areas in their lives where they feel integrity is essential, as we discuss functional ideas on how to get there. We then align Integrity with Accountability as we uncover ways in which accountability measures can actually help us stay in Integrity. Communication of our goals is key to accountability & clients are each asked to share an attainable health & fitness goal that they will be accountable for at the next week's group. Groups learn valuable tools that they are then asked to put into action, within the activity portion of the group & then their daily lives.

Recoveryfit has really contributed to the enhancement of our programs. Rick & his team have been amazing while working with both adults & adolescents. The benefits go beyond the physical gains & provide clients with spiritual, mental, & emotional tools to maintain their wellbeing. Gali Gill, Ph.D., Clinical Director Balance Treatment Center

Our program for adolescents runs very similarly to our primary mental health groups in that our focus is the implementation of the aforementioned spiritual principles in order to impact the client's mental & physical progress & recovery. For many adolescents, these principles may be entirely new concepts. So a simplified approach is taken & the application of the principles is geared towards our younger audience to include, parents, siblings, physical maturation, home life, school life & other challenges facing this population. The group activities are scaled down to an appropriate level considering the intellectual & motor function of adolescents & many of the movements are game based to increase participation & enjoyment.

Recoveryfit’s program has been created according to the following principles:

1. Honesty
2. Hope
3. Surrender
4. Courage
5. Integrity
6. Willingness
7. Humility
8. Brotherhood
9. Discipline
10. Perseverance
11. Awareness
12. Service

Personal Training

We stand committed to bringing the same elite level of personal training we have provided to the private sector into your facility. Our expert team of trainers will evaluate the needs of each client & will create specific fitness programming to ensure they hit their health & fitness goals. Our trainers are available 7 days a week by appointment. Each recoveryfit trainer is certified, insured, & has firsthand personal experience with 12-step programs. They are experts on teaching clients proper form & method so that they can develop new & healthy habits that they can infuse into their lives while residents in your facility & after they have left.

Digital Recovery options

Recoveryfit has the unique ability to offer your company a 100% customized digital fitness, yoga, & aftercare solution. Whether you have 2 or 50 locations, a digital solution will not only provide consistency of the fitness offerings throughout your network but will also allow for access from anywhere that there is an internet connection. This means that access to a personalized, branded, digital workout program can be experienced by onsite clients, client alumni, staff or whoever you’d like to include.

Fitness & Yoga

This is the same cutting-edge digital fitness & yoga platform currently in place at the Four Seasons Hotel, Beverly Hills.

While in the comfort & safety of your facility, your clients can experience the benefit of having a world-class certified fitness trainer dynamically create a personalized workout session right at their fingertips through the use of an iPad or mobile devise. The workout session is instantly delivered via HD video & is individualized to meet the needs of each person.

Through a brief user survey, recoveryfit founder & celebrity fitness trainer Rick Hagaman provides virtual personal training through easy to follow workout videos that are simple to use, highly effective, and specifically designed to meet the needs of addicts in recovery. All exercises use nothing more than the guest’s own body weight or the Fitness Kit (resistance bands & a mat) made available by you.

Exercise programs provide numerous benefits to anyone who is willing to work at them but offers what could be, a life saving tool for those suffering from addiction.

Benefits

• Exercise produces endorphins (similar to drugs) & partially replaces those we craved from drugs & alcohol
• Exercise may reduce withdrawal symptoms
• Exercise reverses the detrimental effects of stress & anxiety & may help lift depression
• An exercise program establishes healthy habits to replace those which have been so destructive
• Exercise will increase focus & learning capability
• Exercise increases our self esteem & body image
• Exercise can slow down the alcoholic mind if only for a period of time
• Group workouts can offer a sense of connection & camaraderie amongst participants so that they feel “A Part of” rather then “Apart From” the group

It is easy to see how these benefits can greatly increase recovery rates but the more important understanding might be how the omission of these amazing benefits might possibly lead to relapse.

We have had significantly better outcomes with those who have done Recoveryfit and encourage each and every client of ours to at least try it once.  Our clients have told us that their experience with Recoveryfit has been life changing and transformative.   Reza Nabavi, Ph.D. Executive Director & Founder Resolutions Therapeutic Services

Proven Results

Recoveryfit monitors & tracks the results of their programs through use of confidential surveys & assessments. The results have proven remarkable & here are actual survey result calculations:

How did you feel about the Step ___ week? Results

1. I learned something I did not previously know about Step ___. 66%
2. I am glad that I have the opportunity to participate in this group. 70%
3. I feel that I am developing tools for recovery. 86%

I feel better after I participate in this group in the following way(s) Results

1. Physically 80%
2. Mentally 84%
3. Spiritually (recovery) 88%

* Results were gathered over a 6-month period

Exercise Leads to Positive results in Recovery
Excerpt: In Faulkner and Taylor’s 2006 edited collection, Exercise, Health, and Mental Health: Emerging Relationships, Marie Donaghy and Michael Ussher report on several treatment facilities that have been studied for their exercise programs which included aerobics, meditation, cardiovascular workouts, strength training, or traditional sports such as baseball/softball, biking, or running/jogging. Although Donaghy and Ussher note that limited research was available on the subject of exercise in conjunction with alcohol and drug addiction rehabilitation at the time of their study, they found “unequivocal support that physical exercise regimens have a positive effect on aerobic fitness and strength if administered as an adjunct in alcohol rehabilitation” for recovering addicts, and that exercise regimens may potentially reduce depression and anxiety (which are believed to provoke relapse), suppress alcohol cravings, and improve abstinence from alcohol when combined with addiction rehabilitation.

In the 2009 edition of Principles of Addiction Medicine, Dr. James O. Prochaska, states that “physical activity helps manage moods, stress, and distress. Also, 60 minutes per week of exercise can provide a recovering person with more than 50 health and mental health benefits. Exercise thus should be prescribed to all sedentary patients with addiction.”
Full Article

Aerobic Exercise for Alcohol Recovery: Rationale, Program Description, and Preliminary Findings Brown RA1, Abrantes AM2, Minami H2, Read JP3, Marcus BH4, Jakicic JM5, Strong DR4, Dubreuil ME2, Gordon AA2, Ramsey SE6, Kahler CW7, Stuart GL8.

Abstract

Interventions targeting physical activity may be valuable as an adjunct to alcohol treatment, but have been relatively untested. In the current study, alcohol dependent, physically sedentary patients were randomized to: a 12-week moderate-intensity, group aerobic exercise intervention (AE; n=25) or a brief advice to exercise intervention (BA-E; n=23). Results showed that individuals in AE reported significantly fewer drinking and heavy drinking days, relative to BA-E during treatment. Furthermore adherence to AE strengthened the beneficial effect of intervention on alcohol use outcomes. While high levels of moderate- intensity exercise appeared to facilitate alcohol recovery regardless of intervention arm, attending the group-based AE intervention seemed to further enhance the positive effects of exercise on alcohol use. Study findings indicate that a moderate intensity, group aerobic exercise intervention is an efficacious adjunct to alcohol treatment. Improving adherence to the intervention may enhance its beneficial effects on alcohol use.
PDF of the full study