Zaid Hamid/Special to The Gazette Valerie Merriweather (right) trains Terry Strand of Wheaton in Fitness First in Silver Spring. These lateral shoulder raises work the middle of the deltoid muscles.

Five years ago in Northern California, after her first child was born, she went to the gym in search of a way to help her body recover from pregnancy. A trainer told her to use the hyperextension machine.

Fortunately, good sense kicked in, and the former ballet dancer and health care professional knew such exercise would be unwise for a woman who recently had undergone a Cesarean section.

But the situation made her consider what happens to the person with little or no prior experience with exercise who does follow the suggestion of someone perceived as an expert?

The consequences could range anywhere from ineffective to risky to dire.

That's when Merriweather decided to add fitness qualifications to her credentials: a bachelor of science degree in radiation therapy from Howard University, a master's in health administration from Ohio State University and work experience in both her areas of concentration. She holds National Association of Sports Medicine (NASM) and American Council on Exercise (ACE) personal training certifications as well as an ACE lifestyle and weight management consultant certification.

In conjunction with jobs as a health care management consultant for DeLoitte & Touche, then as a developer and manager of health education programs for Kaiser Permanente, Merriweather worked with the whole gamut of health care professionals. What began to emerge was her vision for an optimal system in which physicians, physical and massage therapists and chiropractors would interact with certified personal trainers to create, institute, manage and evaluate individual fitness plans. She describes the integrated approach as "a partnership" and sees physical fitness as part of "a continuum of health care" that focuses on wellness and prevention.

Relocating to Silver Spring for her husband's job with AOL two years ago provided impetus for Merriweather to consider her options for work that would incorporate her areas of expertise and allow her to parent two young children, now 5 and 3.

Thus was Fitwell Training Solutions conceived.

Merriweather says her company's "goal is to equip individuals and families with [the] sound wellness and fitness principles required to obtain, maintain and pass on a legacy of good health ... to enable our clients to enjoy the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle through activities they enjoy."

To achieve these ends, the Fitwell program recommends an exercise prescription, written by a participating physician, then implemented one-on-one by a certified trainer.

Merriweather and Rena Marie Johnson M.D., the "prevention and wellness oriented" physician with whom she often collaborates, offer this example: "Begin a low to moderate intensity program along with basic strength training for the next six to eight weeks. Check in periodically to ensure the program is effective. Re-evaluate in six months."

"Exercise prescriptions are extremely useful in helping people incorporate better movements to improve overall health," they explain. "This enables your doctor and fitness professional to collaborate to reduce risk of injury while improving your quality of life."

They contend that the "increased accountability provides incentive to 'stick to' [the] program," and that supervised exercise means a reduced risk of injury. Moreover, they point to the "documentation in [the] medical record that can serve as reference to track progress and impact on health."

When the referred individual comes to her, Merriweather takes a medical history, asking about medications, conditions and any injuries or illnesses. A subjective oral interview about recreational preferences and daily activities follows. Merriweather explains that the fitness plan she develops will work on functional movement for activities of choice and necessity, enabling a "transfer of training."

The final piece of preparation for training comes with a NASM-designed movement analysis of the body's five key kinetic checkpoints: head, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles. She begins this assessment of neuromuscular activity by observing the individual walking on the treadmill, then follows with about 10 "functional movements that everyone should be able to do," says Merriweather, who names a few: overhead presses, squats and lunges. As such, she can determine the individual's degree of flexibility, identify tight and weak muscles, and develop a program that will improve any deficiencies or imbalances.

Posture training, Merriweather notes, frequently is the first task. Until the individual's problems in this area are resolved, any movement is contraindicated.

"Stability supports mobility," she points out.

Repetitive repositioning leads to awareness of proper form and the individual learns to self-adjust, she observes.

A typical Fitwell session starts with a 10-minute warm up, consisting of the treadmill and foam rolling, followed by 40 minutes of strength training and a 10-minute cooldown, again with foam rolling as well as both static and dynamic stretching -- all closely monitored by the personal trainer.

The program includes evaluations at three-month intervals. Ideally, supervised training does not continue indefinitely. Merriweather has no intention of fostering "dependency." Instead, her goal is that clients will be "equipped and knowledgeable" enough to exercise independently within a year or so of two or three one-on-one sessions a week. Afterwards, they are welcome to check in periodically, or to change or expand their forms of exercise.

Merriweather, 37, is delighted to be on the East Coast, where most of her family lives, and in Montgomery County, which offers ample opportunities for her business. In addition to training and increasing referrals among physicians and therapists, her near future includes leading a movement analysis seminar for small and mid-level businesses, with hopes of designing corporate wellness programs, as well as a series of wellness seminars for AOL's black employees union.

For information, call 301-476-4580 or visit www.fitwellsolutions.com.