When clients come to us for Muscle Activation Techniques®, they typically fall into one of three categories. The first group is what we call the Progressors, which is made up of clients who have a health, function, or fitness goal that we get to help progress them towards. Another group is call the Optimizers. These are clients whose body is already working pretty well but they are wanting to optimize their health and function for that last little edge. The third group is called the Maintainers. This group is made up of clients who are able to do the things they want to do and they want to make sure they are able to continue to do those activities for the foreseeable future.
Which group would you fall into? You can take this short quiz here to find out.
Now, if you fit into the Maintainer group, there are three different ways in which Muscle Activation Techniques® will help you maintain your health and function. First, MAT® is going to help your muscles stay stronger for longer. Second, MAT® is going to help you maintain your joint range of motion. And third, MAT® is going to help you recover.
1) MAT® is going to help your muscles stay stronger for longer
One of the definitive signs of aging is a loss of strength resulting in the loss of ability to do various activities. With Muscle Activation Techniques®, the goal is simple – assess your body to figure out where your muscles are not working well and address those muscles to get them working better. When your muscles work better, they are stronger. And when your muscles are stronger, you are able to do more of the things you love to do and keep doing the things you enjoy doing. If you are wanting to maintain your health and function, MAT® can help you do that by helping your muscles stay stronger for longer.
2) MAT® is going to help you maintain your joint mobility
In addition to muscles being weak, joints can start to lose their mobility with aging. With MAT®, we see that time and again by helping muscles contract better and get stronger, joints are able to move better. You might think that we need to focus on getting muscles to relax in order to help your joints move better. And while this may be a piece of the puzzle, MAT® is actually going to focus on getting the muscles that are too relaxed back up and working again. This can have a tremendous influence on how well your joints move. As a result, we see that our clients are not only stronger, but they are often able to move better, as well. If you are wanting to maintain your health and function, MAT® can help you do that by helping you maintain your joint mobility.
3) MAT® is going to help you recover
One of the unique aspects of MAT® is having the ability to check in with a client’s body to see if what they are doing in their life is too much for their current state. Often times, we try so hard to shoulder all of the tasks and responsibilities that are thrown our way. Not only that, but then we are trying to balance family and social obligations as well as try to squeeze in a little time for ourselves here and there.
If this sounds like you, your body may not be recovering from everything you are asking it to do on a daily basis. You may find yourself feeling chronically achy, sore, or having tight muscles. If this is the case, MAT® may be able to help. Remember, the goal of MAT® is to figure out which muscles are underactive or weak and get those muscles working better. By getting more of your muscular system working the way it is supposed to work, you can often tolerate more of life’s stresses and, as such, recover better from the stresses, as well. If you are wanting to maintain your health and function, MAT® can help you do that by helping you recover from the stresses of daily life.
So there you have it, three ways MAT® can help you maintain your health and function. Not all of us are training for a competition or are trying to maximize our abilities. Sometimes all we want to do is maintain exactly where we are at. In order to do so, your muscles and joints will need to stay working well. MAT® can be a wonderful tool to help you maintain the health and function of your muscles and joints so you can continue to do the things you want to do for the foreseeable future.
If you are interested in finding out more about MAT®, make sure to subscribe to our blog as we will be releasing content on a weekly basis about exactly that. And, if you are wanting to connect with an MAT® practitioner in your area, you can find one here.
