Fitness Champions: Why & How Dr Matt Tanneberg Is Helping To Champion Fitness
An Interview With Wanda Malhotra
Be consistent. You will not see change if you’re inconsistent, there is no getting around that. The old adage, “if you don’t lose it, you will lose it”, is truly real in the fitness world. If you fall off of your routine, you will lose your progress quickly, so be sure to keep consistent.
Physical fitness is not just about lifting weights or running marathons; it’s about discipline, resilience, and continuous self-improvement. Fitness champions help coach and inspire others to achieve their fitness goals. As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Dr. Matt Tanneberg DC, CSCS.
Dr. Matt Tanneberg is a Chiropractor and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), owning and operating Body Check Chiropractic & Sports Rehabilitation in Scottsdale, AZ. Dr. Matt has worked with elite athletes across all sports from the NFL, MLB, NHL, golfers on the PGA tour, tennis players on the ATP tour, NCAA D1 All-Americans and National champions, Olympians in numerous sports and CrossFit Games individual and team qualifiers. He has been featured in, written articles for or quoted in: Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Men’s Journal, Shape, CBS Sports, NBC News, Fox News, Yahoo News, USA Today, People, Forbes, Nike, Livestrong, Runner’s World, Bicycling, USA Football, as well as five published books.
Thank you so much for joining us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?
I grew up in Washington playing hockey, baseball, football and golf. I did my undergrad in Wisconsin where I played NCAA hockey and baseball. I then went to Chiropractic school in Northern California and have been down here in beautiful Scottsdale, AZ for the past ten years. My wife is my high school sweetheart and the love of my life, we have been married for just about eight years and together for almost eighteen years. Healthy living is a huge part of our lives as we enjoy exercising together in any form, whether we are lifting together in our garage gym, going for a walk around our neighborhood park with our dogs, swimming in our pool or going to a pilates classes. Health, wellness, fitness, exercise and longevity are some of our many common interests. Other hobbies of mine include playing pick up hockey and golfing.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
This is probably my favorite ‘success’ story of my chiropractic career. I had a 60 year old male patient come see me for excruciating lower back pain to the point of being in a wheel chair, along with shooting pain down his leg. This patient had done all of the right things so far; he saw everyone conservative that he could think of first: chiropractors, physical therapists, acupuncturist and massage therapist, without any sustained relief of his symptoms. He was then referred to an orthopedic surgeon who ended up scheduling him for surgery in six weeks.
When I met this patient, he had already gotten an MRI, showing a massive disc bulge in his lower back. This was putting pressure on his nerve, causing him the pain down his leg and in his lower back. He had already been scheduled for his surgery in six weeks and had ‘tried everything’ and ‘seen everyone’. We agreed that our goal was not necessarily to fix the problem but simply attack the symptoms to alleviate some of his pain until his impending surgery. After two weeks of extensive soft tissue work, joint mobilizations and manipulations along with spinal decompression, he was already getting sustained relief of his symptoms for hours to days at a time. After four weeks he was completely pain free and during week five he canceled his surgery. The patient ended up getting a second MRI to check on his disc bulge, which showed that it had shrunk by about a fifth.
This case affirmed to me the power of healing. Sometimes our bodies are able to do the unthinkable with the right tools and the right care.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Passion. Love what you do and care about what you do. Lacking passion will show in your work whether you think so or not. I am in the business of making people feel better and I have to bring a certain level of passion to my patients everyday. I would be doing my patients a disservice by not being passionate about my work, passionate about my training and passionate about my education enough to give them the care that they deserve.
Determination. If you want something, go out and get it. I believe that we can manifest or bring anything into fruition that we desire but it takes determination and grit to work towards accomplishing those goals. I have wanted to own my own business since Chiropractic school and after several years of practice, some trials and tribulations, determination has led me to the past two years of owing my own successful business.
Resilience. Things rarely go the way the way you plan them out. I am very much a planner and always have been. Learning how to be resilient when the path looks different than expected, or when life throws you a curveball, has been an instrumental aspect of my success. Life would be unbelievably boring if everything went as planned. Learning to ‘go with the flow’ and ditch the plans is where the fun in life lies, just being able to enjoy the present.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that might help people?
I am getting involved in leadership roles in different local organizations. I believe in giving back and doing work behind the scenes for causes that are important to you can go a long ways.
Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of our interview. What inspired you to pursue a career in fitness?
Sports, fitness and exercise have always been a major part of my life. Growing up and then all the way through college I was in the fitness world as an athlete. After my playing career ended, I coached a high school summer baseball team and a competitive travel hockey team, and am still a level 4 Certified USA Hockey coach.
I then started the ‘health’ aspect of my fitness career at Palmer College of Chiropractic in San Jose, CA, where I also got my CSCS. I now get to utilize my training in Chiropractic, soft tissue therapy, rehabilitation and strength and performance with my patients everyday. I always knew that I wanted to do something in sports, healthcare or fitness and I feel fortunate to be able to help people change their lives.
What unique strategies do you use to keep your clients motivated and engaged in their fitness journeys?
Tracking progress is the best tool that I have found to motivate my patients and keep them engaged; motivation is boosted drastically once you see some progress. We have all of the technology to be able to track with objective data; whether it be: weight, body fat percentage, visceral fat, rep maximums, journaling, pain scales or movement screens. Choose to track whatever data is important to you and your goals but regardless it is crucial in keeping long term motivation. I also always make sure to re-assess, this ensures that our work always matches with our updated goals.
Can you share a particularly memorable success story of a client transformation that you’ve helped achieve?
The first one that comes to mind was a retired baseball player whose whole life was baseball and family. He was essentially forced to retire from pitching in his mid 30s due to injuries and multiple surgeries on both his shoulder and elbow. His two boys were starting to play baseball and he simply wanted to be able to coach them. Throwing batting practice or even playing catch was pretty much out of the question with the damage done to his arm.
A few months of passive mobility work, scar tissue release and beginning to work on strength and stability, he was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Once we were able to get him out of the pain cycle and into a strength building program, he was able to have the full range of motion that he needed to throw. With ongoing therapy and diligence from the patient, he has been able to coach his kids for the past five years, throwing batting practice, playing catch, doing things that he didn’t think were possible.
How do you stay updated with the latest fitness trends and incorporate them into your coaching?
I read articles online, I listen to podcasts, I read health and fitness related books, I attend seminars. The fitness world is constantly changing and evolving everyday and it takes a lot of time and effort to keep up with the latest trends.
Based on your research or experience, can you please share your “5 Things Anyone Can Do To Improve Their Fitness Routine”?
1 . Make it easily accessible. This can be something as simple as leaving your gym bag in your car or leaving out your gym clothes on the counter over night to make sure you get to the gym in the morning. Just like any other habit development, the easier accessible it is…the much more likely you will be in accomplishing it.
2 . Be consistent. You will not see change if you’re inconsistent, there is no getting around that. The old adage, “if you don’t lose it, you will lose it”, is truly real in the fitness world. If you fall off of your routine, you will lose your progress quickly, so be sure to keep consistent.
3 . Track your progress. Whatever your goal is, make sure to have objective data that you’re able to keep track of in order to assess your progress. Whether that is by starting an exercise journal, tracking your nutrition, your sleep schedule, taking progress photos, etc. Having objective data keeps you focused and motivated.
4 . Constantly reassess and re-evaluate. What are your goals? Where do you want to be physically in a month, 6 months? A goal without a plan is simply a dream. If you are serious about your fitness and health, set realistic and attainable goals, as well as a game plan in order to achieve those goals. The target will be (and should be) an ever-changing one so always come back to your goals to check on your progress and set new ones, as needed.
5 . Reward yourself. When you reach your short term goals, reward yourself with a massage, a dinner at a nice restaurant or new workout attire. When you reach your long term goals, reward yourself with a trip or some time off from work. Make sure to take time to recognize and truly express gratitude for yourself and your efforts. This will go a long way in sticking to your routine by giving yourself rewards for working hard and putting in that time and effort.
What role do you believe mental health plays in physical fitness, and how do you address this with your clients?
I believe that mental health plays an enormous role in physical fitness. When we get ‘stuck’ mentally that translates to getting ‘stuck’ physically, as well. There are always going to be mental hurdles to get through, especially when starting an exercise regimen. Our bodies love routine, whether the routine is good or bad. For example, if you have never worked out in your life and you begin an exercise program, your body is not going to like it initially. You will feel the aches and pains, you will get sore and it will test your mental ability to continue to push through. On the other hand, if you have worked out everyday for the past several years and take a month long break…your body is not going to like that either. You will feel the same aches and pains.
The other mental hurdle that I see in fitness comes from feelings of overwhelm; whether that comes from not knowing where to start with an exercise program, what machines to use at the gym or what to eat. When we feel overwhelmed, we tend to end up in a freeze mode where we chose to do nothing instead.
I work with my clients in addressing old injuries, breaking old habits and changing old thought patterns in order to change their present and future. All of these things can keep us ‘stuck’ in the past in many ways.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Healthy, real food that is affordable and available for all people regardless of age, demographics or background. Our food that we consume everyday has become one of the biggest hinderances to our health. We are eating chemicals, preservatives and ingredients that are quite literally banned in other countries. This is making healthy people sick and keeping sick people sick. I would love to be a part of a movement to get healthy, real food in everyone’s hands.
What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?
Sign up for my newsletter on my website, azbodycheck.com.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent on this. We wish you only continued success.
About the Interviewer: Wanda Malhotra is a wellness entrepreneur, lifestyle journalist, and the CEO of Crunchy Mama Box, a mission-driven platform promoting conscious living. CMB empowers individuals with educational resources and vetted products to help them make informed choices. Passionate about social causes like environmental preservation and animal welfare, Wanda writes about clean beauty, wellness, nutrition, social impact and sustainability, simplifying wellness with curated resources. Join Wanda and the Crunchy Mama Box community in embracing a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle at CrunchyMamaBox.com .
