Exercise Prescription Essentials

You learnt the science of exercise prescription. Now learn the human skills that make them work.

May 2026 - Melbourne

Get on the course waitlist

Your Patient’s Aren’t Non-Compliant

They’re complex humans.

Learn what drives adherence, master patient coaching, understand collaborative program design and work confidently with complex, real humans. This is the workshop that bridges academic training with confident clinical practice.

What You’ll Learn

    • Understand that poor exercise adherence is normal human behaviour and not clinical failure,

    • Identify common barriers that prevent exercise adherence

    • Recognise fear-avoidance patterns before they derail rehabilitation

    • Conduct adherence-informed assessments that help you gauge patient readiness

    • Use choice architecture to design programs patients actually want to follow

    • Better match your programs with patient capacity

    • Build trust and working relationships using evidence-based communication strategies

    • Navigate difficult conversations with skeptical patients who question every recommendation

    • Support anxious patients using fear—avoidance principles and graded exposure

    • Know when psychological complexity requires referral beyond Physiotherapy.

    • Create exercise programs using the 6-week foundation principle

    • Select exercises that match both physical and behavioural readiness

    • Apply systematic progression frameworks that consider tissue adaptation and patient confidence

    • Integrate patient preferences and barriers into clinically sound program design

    • Manage complex cases using the a problem-solving framework

    • Make confident decisions under time constraints and practice limitations

    • Troubleshoot non-compliant cases systematically rather than through trial and error

    • Balance clinical excellence with practice efficiency and sustainability

    • Integrate all frameworks seamlessly with your next patient

    • Move from technically competent to a psychologically informed practitioner

    • Shift from frustrated by “non-compliant” patients to confident with complex humans

    • Progress from prescription based to collaborative rehabilitation approaches

    • Develop the exercise therapy practice you envisioned when you entered healthcare.

Explore The Human Side Of Rehab

Master practical exercise prescription that works with real patients and real constraints. Integrate systematic assessment, evidence-based progression, and patient engagement strategies for confident clinical practice. Bridge the gap between theory and clinical reality with frameworks designed for complex humans and busy practices.

An essential foundation for building successful exercise-based practice with immediately applicable skills.

Move from competent to confident with practical skills that create patient success.

You understand anatomy, pathology, and evidence-based exercise progression. Your exercise programs are comprehensive and clinically sound.

But something’s still missing.

Do These Patients Sound Familiar?

  • Sarah's Perfectionism

    She has the strength and she’s ready to progress. But fear of re-injury holds her back. Your well designed ACL program sits unused because she’s convinced she’s ‘not ready’ to move forward.

  • Mike's Skepticism

    He questions every exercise choice you make. Your evidence-based rationale doesn’t land. He’s done “everything before” and nothing worked. How do you build trust when he doubts from day one?

  • Emma's Anxiety

    She avoids movements despite your reassurance and education. Fear dominates every session. Your professional communication skills aren’t enough to help her move forward.

Course Content

    • Systematic assessment framework

    • Evidence informed exercise selection hierarchy

    • Clinical reasoning under uncertainty

    • Safety and risk management.

    • A framework for exercise modifications

    • Tissue adaptation timelines

    • Evidence informed dosage parameters

    • Strategic regression approaches

    • Building a working relationship and trust

    • Exercise education that makes sense

    • Coaching fundamentals and managing adherence barriers.

    • Understanding exercise adherence

    • Working with fear-avoidance and self-efficacy

    • Collaborative program design

    • Coaching exercise in rehabilitation and motivation models.

    • Evidence informed program templates

    • Choice architecture,

    • Complex case management

    • 6-week foundation principle

    • Real world integration strategies

    • Working under constraints

    • Advanced problem solving

    • Professional development planning

Who Is This Workshop For?

  • You’re a Physiotherapists or health professional with 0-6 years experience.

  • You’re technically competent but uncertain when patients don’t engage.

  • You’re frustrated when your rehab programs don’t lead to follow through from patients.

  • You’re ready to bridge the gap between theory and real-world practice.

  • You’re aiming to build the exercise therapy caseload you got into healthcare for.

  • You’re seeking systematic frameworks for confident, effective practice.

Your Instructor

John Contreras

APA Sports & Exercise Physiotherapist

B.Physio (Hons) B.Sc M.ExSci (Strength & Conditioning) M.Sports Physio

With 24 years of clinical experience and a passion for bridging the gap between evidence and practice, John has developed comprehensive education programs for physiotherapists across Australia and internationally. His workshops combine technical excellence with real-world application, helping early-career physios, and those looking to refine their practice, develop both exercise therapy competence and confidence.

Learn more

What Makes This Workshop Different

  • Exercise Adherence Focused

    Learn why some patients stay committed, why others quit - and what to do about it.

  • Human Centred

    Understand the human factors that make programs work and your work more fulfilling.

  • Evidence Informed

    Every framework backed by research and clinical experience.

  • Immediately Applicable

    Use these simple and effective frameworks with your very next patient.

  • Bridge The Gap

    You learned the technical skills. Now explore how to make them truely effective.

  • Build Your Ideal Practice

    Develop the expertise and confidence to grow the exercise therapy caseload you envisioned.

What You’ll Take Home

    • Adherence-informed assessment template to help you identify barriers before they become problems

    • Toolkits to assist choice architecture and matching programs to patient capacity

    • 6-week foundation program templates

    • Systematic approach for non-responsive cases

    • Patient scripts to help you navigate challenging conversations with confidence

    • Complete course workbook and reference guides

    • Case study deep-dives

    • Evidence summaries and research references

    • Professional development planning tools

    • CPD certificate

    • 30-day email support for questions to implement frameworks and troubleshoot support during critical integration period

    • Ongoing access to updated resources and frameworks

This isn’t just two days of training. It’s a complete transformation in how you understand and work with exercise patients.

Ready To Step Up Your Practice?

May 2026 - Melbourne

Join the Exercise Prescription Essentials waitlist for early access and early bird pricing.

Get On the course waitlist

Exercise Prescription Essentials FAQ

View Complete FAQ

  • This workshop is designed for physiotherapists and health professionals with 0-6 years of experience who are technically competent but want to develop the patient engagement skills that transform clinical outcomes. It's ideal if you're building an exercise therapy caseload and seeking systematic frameworks for working confidently with complex patients.

  • Not at all. This course bridges the gap between university training and clinical reality, making it especially valuable for new graduates. You've learned the technical skills - this workshop teaches you how to make them work with real patients who don't behave like textbook cases.

  • University programs excel at teaching anatomy, pathology, and exercise science. What's typically missing is the complexity of patient engagement - why some patients commit to programs while others quit, how to work with fear-avoidance, and how to design collaborative programs that patients actually follow. This workshop fills that specific gap.

  • While designed specifically for physiotherapists with 0-8 years of experience, the adherence-focused content and systematic frameworks are valuable for any physio and health professional wanting to improve patient engagement and build their exercise therapy caseload.

  • This is the only workshop that integrates patient coaching with exercise prescription within physiotherapy scope. While other courses focus on exercise technique or advanced pathology, we teach the human skills that make programs actually work - adherence strategies, patient coaching, collaborative program design, and working with complex humans.

  • Nothing immediately! The waitlist is free and requires no payment or commitment. You’re simply expressing interest in the March 2026 workshop but you’ll get early access to registrations and secure early bird pricing. With spots limited, it’s worth it.