Muscle Activation Techniques® (MAT®) is one of the most powerful things you can do to help improve your overall health and function. The goal of MAT® is to assess your body to figure out where you have muscles that aren’t contracting well and then address those muscles to get them working better. When this happens, we see our clients’ strength improve, their joint motion and flexibility improve, their ability to recover from activity to improve, and often times negative sensations such as muscle tightness or achiness start to diminish, as well. But, there are also some common yet unexpected responses that we often hear from clients immediately after they finish their MAT® session with us at Muscle Activation Schaumburg.
Unexpected Response #1 After An MAT® Session – “I feel lighter!”
It is not uncommon for clients to get up off the MAT® table and, after taking a few steps, proclaim that they feel noticeably lighter than before they got on the table. While this can be pleasantly shocking to the client the first time they experience this feeling, the reasoning behind the change is straight forward.
No, it’s not because you burned thousands of calories during your MAT® session and now weigh less. It’s actually because your muscles are working better and are able to do their job better (i.e. hold up your skeleton). Imagine you and three friends were going to carry a couch. If two of the friends decided not to help, you would now be responsible for lifting 50% of the weight of the couch. This is going to feel heavier than if all of your friends helped and you only had to lift 25% of the weight of the couch.
With MAT®, we are getting your “friends” (i.e. your muscles) all lifting their fair share of your skeleton. As such, when we get more muscles working better, it feels like each respective muscle has to do less. The end result? You feel lighter getting off the table.
Related: Looking to optimize your health and function? MAT® may be the answer!
Unexpected Response #2 After An MAT® Session – “I feel taller!”
Another common yet unexpected response from MAT® clients immediately after their session is that they feel taller. While MAT® won’t make your bones grow during the session, there is a very reasonable explanation for this.
One of the biggest jobs your muscles have is to control the position of your bones. A lot of times we might think of the positions of our bones as our posture. Our posture is constantly changing throughout the day as we change positions from lying down to sitting to standing and everything in between. It is our muscles that move our bones and control the position of our bones, thereby controlling our posture.
Often times, muscles around our trunk, spine, hips, and shoulders can become fatigued from doing the same activities day in and day out. Combining that with overusing, underusing, or misusing our muscles, and it is no wonder why some people are constantly complaining about their posture. However, when your muscles start working better during an MAT® session, your posture may be able to start to change, too.
Specifically, when muscles on the backside of your body, like your spinal erectors, start get tuned up with MAT®, they can help keep your spine upright. The end result? You feel taller after your session!
But the cool thing about this is that often times it’s not just a feeling of being taller – you may ACTUALLY get taller because you aren’t as slouched or hunched over. Take it from one of our clients who was training for the NBA draft this past summer:
Related: Greg Roskopf featured on the Muscle Expert Podcast
Unexpected Response #3 After An MAT® Session – “I feel like I’m walking on clouds!”
One of the most common responses we hear from clients immediately after working on their feet with MAT® is they feel like they are walking on clouds. While we would love to say that MAT® will help you levitate, there is actually a more plausible response that is happening.
There are 50 muscles in your lower leg and foot that will help to control your foot. Double that to account for both your right and left sides, and you are looking at 100 muscles that control the things you stick in your shoes every day. That’s nearly 20% of the muscles in your entire body!
These muscles are designed to help offload the stress and forces that go through your feet on a step by step basis. They are there to act as an “internal orthotic” of sorts, allowing your foot to move very strategically and absorb your body weight while you walk, run, etc. Often times, these muscles are completely neglected when we think of the areas of our body we need to keep strong. Unfortunately, as their function starts to decrease, a variety of symptoms such as plantar fasciitis, patella-femoral syndrome, SI joint dysfunction, and piriformis syndrome can start to develop.
Most of the remedies out there for supporting the feet include utilizing external supports – thick and rigid shoes, orthotics, gel insoles, and compression socks, just to name a few. But, all of these are simply covering up the symptom of the muscles not working well.
As the muscles of your feet get stronger and more functional through Muscle Activation Techniques®, the stresses that were previously creating issues in your feet and lower body can start to be less detrimental. In fact, most people’s feet are so neglected, that getting their foot muscles working well is one of the most impactful things they can do for their entire body.
When clients get up off the MAT® table after having their feet worked on, the tired, achy muscles that were once there are now supported by other muscles that are well rested and ready to get to work. The end result? You feel like you are walking on clouds!
Which of these unexpected yet common responses will you experience after your MAT® session? There’s only one way to find out, so if you are interested in experiencing what so many clients already have, you can find a certified MAT® specialist in your area here. And, if you are in Schaumburg, Chicago, or any of the neighboring communities, we would love to serve all of your muscle system needs with Muscle Activation Techniques® here at Muscle Activation Schaumburg.