Medical Disclaimer

Effective Date: April 28, 2026

1. Able Years is a Fitness Coaching Studio, Not a Medical Provider

Able Years LLC is a Washington limited liability company (UBI 606 140 951) that operates a coached, small-group fitness studio in Spokane, Washington. We design and deliver structured, supervised exercise programs — primarily strength training, balance training, and mobility work — for adults aged 60 and older.

We are explicitly not:

• A medical provider, physician's office, or licensed clinical practice.
• A physical-therapy practice, occupational-therapy practice, or rehabilitation facility.
• A licensed mental-health practice or counseling service.
• A nutrition or dietetics practice.
• A pharmacy or any other regulated healthcare entity.

We do not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, condition, or injury. We do not write prescriptions. We do not bill insurance. We do not maintain medical records as a healthcare provider would. The information we provide on this website, in our marketing materials, in our classes, and through our services is for general informational and fitness-coaching purposes only.

2. Our Coaches Are Fitness Professionals, Not Medical Professionals

All coaches we hire will be certified through recognized fitness-professional bodies, including the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and the Functional Aging Institute (FAI). Our programming is built on methodology developed in collaboration with experienced specialists in training adults aged 60 and over.

A fitness professional is trained to design and supervise safe and effective exercise programs. A fitness professional is not trained to:

• Diagnose a medical condition.
• Prescribe or recommend medication.
• Interpret medical-imaging results, lab results, or clinical-test results.
• Provide medical advice or clinical opinions about your condition or treatment.
• Substitute for the judgment of your physician, physical therapist, or other licensed healthcare provider.

If at any time a coach gives you the impression that they are providing medical advice, please ask them to clarify, and please consult your physician for any medical question.

3. When You Should Consult Your Physician Before Participating

Exercise is broadly beneficial for adults aged 60 and over. The peer-reviewed research is consistent on this point. But the specific exercises that are appropriate for you depend on your individual health, medication, and history.

You should consult your physician (or another licensed healthcare provider) before beginning any new exercise program, including any program at Able Years. We strongly recommend the conversation. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the American College of Sports Medicine, and most fitness-professional bodies all recommend a physician consultation before adults aged 60 and over begin a new exercise routine, particularly if any of the following apply to you:

• You have been diagnosed with a heart condition, or you are taking medication for a heart condition.
• You have been diagnosed with diabetes (Type 1 or Type 2) or pre-diabetes, or you take insulin or other diabetes medication.
• You have high or low blood pressure that is not well controlled.
• You have a history of falls or have been told by a healthcare provider that you are at risk of falling.
• You have balance problems, vertigo, or a vestibular disorder.
• You have a history of stroke or any neurological condition affecting your movement or balance (including Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, or peripheral neuropathy).
• You have osteoporosis, osteopenia, or a history of fractures.
• You have arthritis or another joint condition that limits your range of motion or causes pain during exertion.
• You are recovering from surgery, including joint replacement, spinal surgery, cardiac surgery, abdominal surgery, or any procedure within the past 12 months.
• You are recovering from cancer treatment (chemotherapy, radiation, surgery) or are currently in treatment.
• You have a chronic respiratory condition (COPD, asthma, pulmonary fibrosis).
• You take medication that affects heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar, balance, or coordination.
• You have any other medical condition that you believe could be affected by physical exertion.

This list is not exhaustive. If you are unsure whether your condition warrants a physician consultation, the safe answer is: consult your physician first. We will accommodate any restriction or modification your physician recommends.

4. The Independence Assessment Is a Fitness Self-Assessment, Not a Clinical Evaluation

The Independence Assessmenton our website is a 10-question self-assessment that produces a numerical score (the “Independence Score”) and a categorical band (Strong, Solid, or Rebuilding). The questions cover age, gender, several measures of physical function (sit-to-stand, stairs, groceries, overhead reach, floor transfer), fall history over the past 12 months, pain locations, and motivations for training.

The Independence Score is:

• A fitness self-assessment. It is designed to give you a starting-point view of your functional capacity in plain language.
• Built from research-backed clinical markers. The questions track patterns from validated tools used by exercise scientists and clinicians.
• Useful as a conversation starter with your physician, family, or coach.

The Independence Score is not:

• A medical assessment, clinical evaluation, or diagnostic instrument.
• A substitute for any standardized clinical test (such as the Short Physical Performance Battery, the Timed Up and Go test, or the Berg Balance Scale).
• A predictor of any specific health outcome for you individually.
• A basis for any medical decision.

If your physician asks for the score, we are happy to send a copy. We do not intend the score to substitute for any clinical instrument they may use.

5. Information on This Website Is Not Medical Advice

The text, images, citations, and other content on the Able Years website (including pages on strength training, fall prevention, sarcopenia, osteopenia, frailty, and related topics) is provided for general educational and fitness-coaching purposes only. None of it is intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment for you individually.

We try to keep our content accurate and well sourced, and where we make claims about training outcomes for older adults, we cite peer-reviewed research. But peer-reviewed research describes population-level patterns, not individual prescriptions. Your specific situation may differ from any pattern described.

If you read something on our site and you are unsure how it applies to you, please consult your physician — and feel free to share the page with them and ask their opinion.

6. What We Do (and Don't Do) During a Medical Event

If a medical event occurs during a class or on our premises, our coaches are trained to act as competent first responders. Specifically, our coaches will:

• Call 911 or otherwise summon emergency medical services.
• Administer first aid within their training.
• Use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) if one is available and the coach is trained and certified to use it.
• Contact your emergency contact on file.
• Provide your relevant emergency information to emergency responders.
• Document the event in writing for our records and for any follow-up.

Our coaches are not physicians, paramedics, EMTs, nurses, or other licensed healthcare providers. They will not:

• Make a clinical diagnosis.
• Administer prescription medication (yours or anyone else's).
• Perform invasive medical procedures.
• Override the advice of a paramedic or other emergency responder.

Costs of emergency medical services (ambulance, hospital, follow-up care) are billed by the providers of those services, not by Able Years. You are responsible for the cost of any emergency medical treatment you receive.

7. Pregnancy, Children, and Other Special Populations

Able Years' services are designed for adults aged 60 and older. We do not currently serve:

• Children (under 18). We do not knowingly enroll anyone under 18.
• Pregnant or postpartum women as a specialized population. While exercise during pregnancy is broadly beneficial under medical supervision, we are not equipped to provide pregnancy-specific programming. If you are pregnant or recently postpartum and wish to participate, please consult your obstetrician first and let us know what they recommend.

If your situation is outside our typical service population, we will tell you honestly whether we are the right fit, and we will refer you to a more appropriate provider if not.

8. Endorsements, Testimonials, and Member Stories

Any testimonial, endorsement, or member story published on our website or in our marketing materials reflects the experience of one specific person. Individual results vary, and the experience of any one member is not a prediction or guarantee of your experience.

Where we publish a testimonial or member story, we identify the person by first name (and last initial, with their consent), and we do not exaggerate or alter the substance of what they said. Members are not paid to provide testimonials, except where we explicitly disclose otherwise.

9. Relationship to Other Documents

This Medical Disclaimer is part of a set of documents that govern your relationship with Able Years. The others include:

• The Terms of Service — your contract with Able Years generally.
• The Privacy Policy — how we handle your personal information.
• The Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy — how we handle consumer health data under Washington's My Health My Data Act.
• The Liability Waiver — assumption of risk and release of liability for physical activity at Able Years (signed at intake).

10. Contact

If you have a question about this Medical Disclaimer, or about whether Able Years is the right fit for your specific health situation, please contact us:

• Email: nick@ableyears.com
• Phone: (509) 309-0946
• Mail: Spokane, Washington (specific address available upon request — studio location to be confirmed)

We're happy to talk through your situation honestly, and to refer you to a more appropriate provider if Able Years is not a fit for you.