Movement Podcast

In this episode of the Movement Podcast, Gray Cook and Lee Burton sit down with Dr. Arianne Missimer, founder of The Movement Paradigm, to talk about movement, resilience, nervous system regulation, airway, sleep, functional medicine, and what it really means to treat the whole person.

Arianne’s story begins with a deep appreciation for movement and health after losing her brother to cancer. That experience helped shape her mission to help people stop taking their health and movement for granted. Later, after her own diagnosis with stage 3 liposarcoma, she adopted the motto “Challenge Accepted” and competed on American Ninja Warrior just months after treatment.

That personal and professional journey led her to build an integrative model of care that brings together movement, nutrition, physical therapy, functional medicine, nervous system regulation, and root cause thinking.

Gray, Lee, and Arianne discuss why health is not a hack, why resilience is not just about calming down, and why so many people need a better framework for understanding stress, recovery, breathing, sleep, pain, and movement.

They also explore the role of the vagus nerve, heart rate variability, chronic inflammation, airway screening, sleep apnea, broken sleep, and why movement professionals should understand when a client or patient may need a bigger team around them.

Topics include:
• Dr. Arianne Missimer’s background and personal health journey
• Why movement and health should never be taken for granted
• Resilience as adaptability, not just relaxation
• Nervous system regulation and chronic burnout
• Functional medicine, holistic physical therapy, and root cause care
• Why “health is not a hack”
• The vagus nerve and the gut-brain connection
• HRV, breathing, tone, and feedback loops
• How airway issues can affect sleep, recovery, pain, and movement
• Simple airway screening concepts
• Why sleep apnea and broken sleep are often overlooked
• The connection between inflammation, recovery, and musculoskeletal pain
• What comes after a reset
• Building capacity from surviving to thriving
• Team-based care and when to refer
• Why movement is freedom
• Health span, walking speed, and independence
• Helping patients build awareness without overwhelming them  

The key takeaway: better health is not about chasing one magic solution. It is about understanding the person in front of you, identifying the biggest opportunity for change, and creating a realistic path that helps them move better, recover better, and live with more freedom.

Join Dr. Arianne Missimer at the FMS Summit
https://www.performbetter.com/2027-FMS-Summit-January-29-30-2027/

Learn more about The Movement Paradigm:
https://themovementparadigm.com/

Learn more about Functional Movement Systems:
https://www.functionalmovement.com/

Functional Movement Systems
YouTube
Facebook
Instagram
X (Twitter)
Subscribe to the FMS Newsletter

In this episode of the Movement Podcast, Gray Cook and Lee Burton sit down with Thomas Dewey to talk about data, wearables, movement health, and the future of human performance.

Thomas is an athletic trainer and strength coach by background, with experience across Functional Movement Systems, Naval Special Warfare, Sparta Science, and ŌURA. His career has focused on helping professionals turn complex human performance information into practical decisions.

The conversation explores one of the biggest challenges in health, fitness, sports medicine, tactical performance, and wearable technology:

We have more data than ever.

But what do we do with it?

Gray, Lee, and Thomas discuss how force plates, wearables, readiness scores, sleep data, balance, movement screens, and performance metrics can all help professionals better understand the person in front of them — but only if that information is organized, interpreted, and applied in a meaningful way.

They also explore why movement quality is still one of the missing pieces in the wearable technology conversation. Wearables can track a lot of movement quantity, recovery, sleep, heart rate variability, and physiological stress, but understanding how someone moves — their balance, symmetry, mobility, stability, and readiness to move — is still a major opportunity.
Topics include:

• Thomas Dewey’s background in athletic training, strength and conditioning, military human performance, Sparta Science, and ŌURA  
• Why data needs to become actionable, not overwhelming  
• How Sparta Science helped make force-plate data more useful  
• Load, explode, and drive as simplified movement metrics  
• Fast responders versus slow responders  
• Movement quality versus movement quantity  
• Why balance may become a future vital sign  
• How wearables can support better sleep, recovery, and readiness decisions  
• Why movement health still needs to be part of the data conversation  
• How data can help create better feedback loops  
• Why professionals need data literacy  
• How AI, large language models, and integrated platforms may shape the future  
• Why the best data should lead to better questions, better trials, and better decisions  

The key takeaway: data alone is not the answer. The real opportunity is learning how to filter it, simplify it, and use it to help people move better, recover better, and make more informed decisions about their health and performance.
Learn more about Functional Movement Systems:  
https://www.functionalmovement.com/

https://ouraring.com/

Symmio: https://www.symmio.com/whats-your-wellness-score
FMS Courses: https://www.functionalmovement.com/store?category=online_courses
Functional Movement Systems
YouTube
Facebook
Instagram
X (Twitter)
Subscribe to the FMS Newsletter

What are the best exercises for low back pain?

Gray Cook says that may be the wrong first question.

In this episode of the Movement Podcast, Gray is joined by Dr. Kyle Kiesel, one of the leading researchers in rehabilitation and low back pain, for a deeper conversation about why low back pain is not always a simple weakness problem — and why “strengthen your core” does not always solve the issue.

Gray and Kyle discuss inhibition, the multifidus, high-threshold strategies, pain, inflammation, movement patterns, breathing, rolling, and the importance of individualizing care instead of handing every person the same low back pain exercise list.

The conversation starts with a common question: what are your three favorite exercises for low back pain?

But instead of giving a generic answer, Gray and Kyle explain why professionals need to ask better questions first:

What movement patterns are painful?
What movement patterns are dysfunctional?
Is this a mobility problem?
Is this a stability problem?
Is the person weak — or is something being inhibited?
Can the body roll, breathe, squat, touch the toes, and balance?
What needs to be protected before it can be corrected?

They also explore how the multifidus can be affected by pain, inflammation, trauma, compensation, and long-standing movement issues — and why restoring better movement is often about more than simply adding exercises.
This episode covers:

• Why low back pain is not always a weakness problem
• The difference between weakness and inhibition
• Why the multifidus matters
• How pain and inflammation can change muscle function
• High-threshold strategies and “planking your way through life”
• Why toe touch, squat, and single-leg stance matter in low back pain
• Breathing and rolling as key awareness tools
• Why movement patterns can reveal whether the back is ready
• How tape, touch, and position can provide useful feedback
• Why awareness and protection come before correction
• The difference between generic protocols and individualized care
• Why evidence-based care still needs to be personalized

The key takeaway: low back pain deserves more than a generic exercise list. The goal is to understand the person, identify the movement pattern, protect what needs protection, and build the right path back to better function.

Learn more about Functional Movement Systems:
https://www.functionalmovement.com/

Clinical Integration: The LBP Solutions Online Masterclass
https://www.functionalmovement.com/Store/1271/clinical_integration_the_lbp_solutions_online_masterclass

FMS Quick Screen Course
https://www.functionalmovement.com/Store/1275/quick_screen_movement_readiness_screen
Functional Movement Systems
YouTube
Facebook
Instagram
X (Twitter)
Subscribe to the FMS Newsletter

In this episode of the Movement Podcast, Gray Cook and Lee Burton explore what it really takes to become more than an exercise professional, clinician, coach, or practitioner who simply applies protocols.

The conversation begins with a question Gray has been reflecting on for years: what separates someone who works with movement from someone who has developed true movement expertise?

Gray and Lee discuss imposter syndrome, professional growth, mentorship, confirmation bias, movement screening, self-screening, corrective trials, protection, retesting, and the importance of building systems that help professionals check their own work.

They also outline a practical process for developing movement expertise:

Start with the big picture
Use filters before going specific
Look at lifestyle, recovery, breathing, pain, and previous injury history
Screen movement before prescribing exercise
Use trials to determine whether change happens quickly or slowly
Create awareness through experience
Clarify what needs protection
Vet the correction instead of simply issuing exercises
Build a development path that supports the person’s goals

The key message: movement expertise is not about knowing more exercises.

It is about knowing how to observe, filter, test, retest, protect, correct, and develop the person in front of you without missing the bigger picture.

Learn more about Functional Movement Systems:
https://www.functionalmovement.com/
Functional Movement Systems
YouTube
Facebook
Instagram
X (Twitter)
Subscribe to the FMS Newsletter

In this episode of the Movement Podcast, Gray Cook and Lee Burton answer some of the most common questions they have received about Functional Movement Systems, the Functional Movement Screen, movement assessment, research criticism, SFMA, corrective exercise, and where the future of movement screening is headed.

The conversation starts with a simple question:

What is the FMS?

Gray and Lee explain that the FMS is more than a set of movements. It is part of a systematic way of looking at movement so professionals can make better decisions. Like an eye chart for movement, the screen helps determine what a person can do, what they cannot do, and whether movement creates pain.

From there, they address some of the biggest misconceptions around the Functional Movement Screen, including the idea that it is only about finding problems, that it is too conservative, or that the research says it does not matter.

They also discuss why screening is not the same as assessment, how the SFMA helps professionals go deeper when pain is present, and why the goal is not to explain every test on the front end, but to create awareness and communicate the findings in a way that is personal and actionable.

This episode also looks ahead to the future of movement screening, including AI, computer vision, insurance reimbursement, wearable data, decision trees, and the need to avoid turning movement analysis into another generic exercise prescription.
Topics include:

What the FMS is and how to explain it
The “eye chart for movement” analogy
Screening, testing, and assessment
What the FMS can and cannot tell you
Common criticisms and misconceptions
Why the FMS is not just about red flags
How to communicate findings to clients and athletes
Why pain changes the decision tree
When to use the SFMA
How breakouts help identify the root of the problem
Why test/retest matters
How to build confidence using the system
The future of FMS, AI, computer vision, and decision support

The key takeaway: movement screening is not about labeling someone as broken. It is about identifying the most important movement information so the next recommendation is safer, smarter, and more specific to the person in front of you.

Learn more about Functional Movement Systems:
https://www.functionalmovement.com/

Functional Movement Systems
YouTube
Facebook
Instagram
X (Twitter)
Subscribe to the FMS Newsletter