5 years ago I took a course called the Wim Hof Method. At the time many professional athletes and biohackers were saying it was the best thing out there. Special breath techniques and ice baths were combined to deliver a full workshop with the science behind it, education on why it is beneficial and an integrated experience that left a lasting imprint on my mind. 

We've all heard that sitting is the new smoking. And as work has shifted to the digital space people do a LOT of sitting these day. Although there may be some truth to it, there are many postures of rest we can utilize to ensure our sedentary lifestyles do not negatively affect our posture. Before getting into our 10 best postures of rest lets first touch on whether sitting is better for you than standing. A common new trend among working professionals is standing at their desk. Breaking free of the seated cubicle lifestyle has changed the design of many workspaces which now include standing desks. Do these standing features negate the negatives of sitting in an office chair? Not entirely, in fact it is remaining in a sedentary position that is the issue regardless of standing or sitting. Keeping your body in one of Rooted in M.V.M.N.T's 10 best postures of rest can help negate the negative effects and help you maintain great posture!

Let's dive in with a quick video...

Here are the TOP 3 Qualities That Make Shooting Athletes Successful at Olympic Trials

Dr. Zanis is off to the Olympic Trials for target shooting and wanted to share his thoughts on the top three qualities that make for successful shooting athletes. 

I get asked this question all the time by many of my clients…and while there are many variables that play into making a great athlete, there seems to be a handful of factors that make a shooting athlete shine out on the range.
These variables makes the difference between making a final and always being one target or one tenth of a point out of the running. These traits leads to a consistent, and that key word there is consistent,
accumulation of medals vs. an occasional win. Consistent, GREAT scores are achieved by those who manage stress the best, and the following attributes are key to being successful.

1) Having a Consistent Movement Practice
I want you to think about the last competition you participated in…what...

Improving Your Shoulder Workouts

We have a pretty big handful of clients and patients that come through our doors that need help with their shoulder issues. Neck and nerve impingements, shoulder blade function, tight traps, rotator cuff pain, tendonitis - there's a lot that can go wrong with your shoulder due to the large of degree of freedom the arms possess, but there's usually a common theme as to why these people haven’t seen any good results from other health practitioners or body workers. We know that where the pain is is NOT where the problem is and it’s why we focus on Root cause solutions. 

It’s why we created a new digital course product just for you. If you have been struggling to get out of pain and are looking to improve your shoulder strength, mobility and stability, then you will want to download this new course. In this latest shoulder course, Dr. Matt will guide you through the anatomy of the shoulder, provide self-assessments and then...

Shin guards used to only be worn by those on mountain bikes or by people playing soccer. Now, they are marketed to crossfit athletes and many powerlifters. Why is that? Because when you are doing box jumps you can have a missed rep and hit your shin on the wood or metal frame. The same is true for when you are using a barbell to do your heavy deadlifts.  A barbell can scrape against your lower leg and sometimes lead to bleeding. OUCH!  I find it interesting that people feel the need to use a sock, sleeve or guard for protection while working out in the gym. The shin guard doesn’t lead to more success in powerlifting and certainly doesn’t mean you will improve at Crossfit. How could someone learn to lift their feet high enough when jumping or realize that their barbell deadlifts are getting sloppy because they are fatigued if they are always protected from the pain of their mistakes?  I see pain as a teacher and I also view our failures as valuable and...

5 Reasons to start exercising after age 55

What are your dreams for aging gracefully? Do you believe that getting older has to hurt? Are you being told to slow down or take it easy by your primary care? Many of the clients I have worked with come to me when they start enjoying more time with Grandkids and want to be able to move and play with them. I don’t think pain should be an association with old age. In fact, I am a firm believer that age is just a number, and we are only as old as we act. Below are 5 reasons to start exercising in your later years.

1. Restore your central nervous system by focusing on your breath. As you age, your brain and nervous system go through natural changes. Your brain and spinal cord lose nerve cells and weight (atrophy). Nerve cells may begin to pass messages more slowly than in the past. Waste products can collect in the brain tissue as nerve cells break down. Breakdown of nerves can affect your senses. You might have reduced...

FOOT HEALTH 101: The Basics to Functional Footwear for Men & Women

Looks can be deceiving, why aesthetics are not the only reason to purchase a shoe.

The short-term comfort of foam and air is having a long-term effect on our health. Most shoes are made to look cool and trendy and demand you get another pair of sneakers to add to your collection. Big shoe companies make claims that their shoes can even enhance your performance by increasing efficiency and reducing injury when you run. They use fun color schemes and fancy sparkles and try to convince you that your foot can't perform well without it.  If these products really did help you run better then why didn't I take first place in my relay race I did a few years back? If your shoes can take away your heel pain then why are we still selling orthotics to people? They try to make you think that their technology in footwear is a necessity for your moving life. But I think the most incredible piece of technology to...

Four Reasons Movement is Crucial to Injury Recovery 

An injury can be the dark storm cloud of any day for anyone. They are painful, imply a long road to recovery, and are severely limiting. At Rooted MVMT, one of our core beliefs is continual movement. Anything from taking the stairs instead of the elevator, to extensive workouts multiple days a week are important to maintaining a healthy, injury prone body. Sometimes though, an injury strikes regardless of our healthy practices and we are left to deal with it. The quickest, safest, and most effective road to injury recovery involves movement. The old adage, “use it or lose it” explains the nature of our claim: if we fail to utilize our ability to move, it slowly fades away. So, when we are injured, when we are incapable of moving as freely as before, we must strengthen and keep our bodies active by moving.

Why is movement so crucial to injury recovery?

Think about how our muscles grow when we work out: we tear them...

How do Olympic Shooting and tactical athletes need to train? The physical, psychological, and emotional demands of these disciplines are high. Therefore, those who want to be successful at these sports and professions for a long time need to have a structured training plan in place to help facilitate the goals of enhanced performance with reduced injury risk. 

Where to Begin? 

All intelligently designed training plans should begin with a thorough assessment that takes the whole body into consideration looking for movement quality, impairments, and potential limiting factors that could lead to pain, injury, discomfort, and result in detriments is shooting performance.  Therefore, I begin all of my evaluations by working with the feet from the ground up. The feet are our only contact with the ground and are intimately connection to the hips, pelvis, and low back. They also communicate necessary, nutritious information and data to our brain that tells our body how to...

Movement is something that we often take for granted…until we can’t do it. The reason

why MOVEMENT is the foundational pillar of MVMNTTM is simple: To move is to be

alive. Every living thing on this earth must move, shift, advance, grow, develop or

evolve. But, before we dive deeper into why movement matters, and its purpose, I

I believe it is important to shed light on the very opposite of movement: stagnation. 

Think of a pond that has algae growing on it. The algae grow as a result of the water

ceasing to move or circulate. Thus, the cessation of moving water develops a growth

of bacteria on its surface that makes it less drinkable and less beneficial for the

wildlife around it. In this example, the stagnant water represents a human body that is

motionless and begins to develop tension and stiffness. In the absence of flowing

energy, we become more susceptible to disease and illness. When we are not

moving often and not circulating the blood,...