Jason Root has worked for 20+ years and helped to develop thousands of people in the fields of athletic performance and medically oriented fitness. Jason was a strength coach with NCAA collegiate strength and conditioning at Arizona State, coached in the powerlifting for paraplegics program at the Rehab Institute of Chicago, and developed spinal cord injury survivors to walk again in Carlsbad, CA.

Jason collaborates with top healthcare specialists including physiatrists, orthopedists, cardiologists, chiropractors, physical therapists, and psychologists.

He has authored the following guides and books:RootHealth-Medically Oriented Physical Conditioning; RootHealth-Nutrition; and RootHealth-Foundational Mobility.

Education/Certification

• Masters of Science, Biomedical Diagnostics
  Arizona State University

• Bachelor of Science, Kinesiology
  Arizona State University

• Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS)
  National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)

• Performance Coach
  USA Weightlifting (USAW)

• Performance Enhancement Specialist (PES)
  National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)

• Exercise is Medicine Specialist (EIM)
  American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)

• Selective Functional Movement Assessment
  Functional Movement Systems (FMS)

• Functional Movement Screen (FMS)

Personal Story

I started training for sports and human performance at 14 years old at my high school in Peoria, AZ. I excelled in the weight room gaining a significant amount of physical mass and strength to push my performance on the field.  My coaches loved my work ethic and gains in this area.  However, two aspects of my physiology were not progressing and were antithetical to both my performance on the field and my general well being. A lack of athleticism and a significant amount of muscular restriction affected these areas greatly.  I didn't move as well as an athlete should.  As well, I was starting to get back spasms that would make me almost completely immobile for a week or more.

These spasms persisted as I trained through my 20's.  Because I was a student in exercise science and was a conditioning coach professionally, I gained a lot of information from my studies and colleagues.  I put together a program of development to eliminate muscular pain for myself. 

I realized the components of mobility were more important to general well being, health, pain, long term strength and performance on the field. Working from this point of view, I started studying those with chronic health conditions that effected their ability to perform 'in life'. This gave me a perspective on 'fitness' that was beyond the body fat measures and 'calories in vs calories out' principle that most of the fitness industry still limits itself to today.  

I had clients, friends, and family members that had chronic conditions, whether by lifestyle, birth, genetics, or an accident. Just getting these people 'skinnier' was not going to be the answer for this population. The athlete was not that much different. They needed to have a special focus on health as to not have impedances to their performance.

Most people in the field of kinesiology want to study those at a very high performing level.  I did that through college and my first coaching jobs.  That study gave me a specialized knowledge of how the body should be able to move (athleticism) and how to develop that movement...for athletes, the general population,  and for those with health issues alike.  But experience with those that were on the ultimate low end of the performance spectrum would give the best opportunity for impact both for those I would work with as well as deep knowledge of special conditions to be able to develop all others.  So, I took a job working with spinal cord injury.  Working with those with this condition and studying the effects of a dysfunctional nervous system gave an immense amount of insight to human health, performance, and development.  

I decided this experience could be applied to all of those with all chronic health conditions.....So, started RootHealth with my sister as the psychological arm (both getting to the root or core of health and our last name.  Get it!).

Medical diagnostics and health informatics are extremely important in knowing the effects on a person's health over time and how our techniques are making an impact on that individual.  So, I attained a master's degree in that field with the intent of bringing together the fields of fitness, education, and medicine for a healthcare system that was optimally effective.

I look forward to hearing from you. Be healthy! Be strong! Be useful!

Jason Root, MS, CSCS, EP-C