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What makes a Muscle Activation Techniques™ practitioner unique?

When people think of muscles, they usually don’t immediately think of a Muscle Activation Techniques™ (MAT™) practitioner, but they should.  Similar to how somebody might think of a dentist after hearing “teeth”, or a chiropractor after hearing “back” or “spine”, Muscle Activation Techniques™ may one day have that same relationship when somebody hears “muscle”.  For the time being, though, that typically isn’t the case, and here’s why — many people aren’t sure of 1) what MAT™ is, and 2) what makes MAT™ unique.  In that case, let’s discuss both of these. 

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By Charlie Cates, ago

Are you a first-time exerciser? Read this.

Welcome back to this week’s edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays where we are bringing you one exercise topic, talking about it for two minutes, and giving you three reasons why you should follow our advice.  This week we are giving you three tips if you have never worked out before.  If you are a first-time exerciser or have never been to the gym, how should you start?  Follow this advice.

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By Team MAS, ago

Considering Adding MAT™ To Your Professional Toolbox? Read This.

As a personal trainer or fitness professional, adding the Muscle Activation Techniques™ (MAT™) skillset to your professional toolbox can be one of the best decisions you make.  Not only can it serve as a differentiator from your competitors, but it can allow you to help your clients in ways you did not think were possible, both as a result of the MAT™ process as well as because of the information the MAT™ process provides you.

When I first started personal training, I was completely unsure how to assess my clients.  Coming from a sports performance background, assessments had always involved some kind of one-rep-max bench press and squat.  But what kind of information would that really provide me about my clients?

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By Charlie Cates, ago

3 Considerations When Doing Cardio

Welcome back to this week’s edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays where we are bringing you one exercise topic, talking about it for two minutes, and giving you three reasons why you should follow our advice.  This week we are talking about cardio.  Cardio is something a lot of people who exercise love to do, but here are three considerations for you if you are going to engage in a cardiovascular activity.


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By Team MAS, ago

How To Integrate MAT™ Into Personal Training

As personal trainers in Schaumburg, we strive to provide our clients with the most up to date exercise approaches to health, strength, and mobility.  This, undoubtedly, involves an integration of Muscle Activation Techniques™ with more traditional exercise.  We are often asked how we are able to blend the two–MAT™ and regular exercise–within a single personal training session and what information we are able to gather from the MAT™ assessment to help us make exercise decisions.  Well, MAT™ Headquarters just released a post giving a nice overview of how the two can blend.  And if you watch the associated videos below, you may or may not recognize the face on screen 😉

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By Team MAS, ago

The Gold Standard Of Exercise

When my personal training clients start working with me on exercise related tasks, they quickly realize that I am always preaching about moving slowly, moving with control, using as much support as possible, and lifting with significant weight. There almost always becomes a time when a client will ask, “Will we always train like this?”.  This is such a legitimate question for two main reasons.  1) I don’t know of any other fitness professionals (except my colleagues from my path of study) or gyms that endorse this, and 2) people always want to know that they are doing the best thing for their body to help with their goals.

Here is my answer: We will always have a significant portion of your training be like this (slow, controlled, lots of support, and significant weight).  Why?  This is the Gold Standard of exercise, in my opinion.  Let me tell you why. (more…)

By Julie Cates, ago

Doing The “Right Things” When You Exercise

“I don’t know how my body got like this.  My entire life I’ve done the right things.  I have eaten a healthy diet. I have exercised regularly.  I have been doing the right things for as long as I can remember.”

As a personal trainer and MAT™ specialist in Schaumburg, this kind of statement is one that I hear every now and then.  People are in disbelief that, despite their best efforts, their bodies are not feeling and functioning as they would expect.  Their joints are achy, their muscles are stiff, and their once-youthful energy seems to be just a memory.  And the most frustrating part for them is that they have always tried to do what others told them would be good for them.  They always tried to do the right things for their body.

However, the unfortunate truth is that the information they were given and the activities they were doing have likely contributed significantly to what they are now experiencing.

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By Charlie Cates, ago

3 Exercise Myths That Are Holding You Back

Welcome back to this week’s edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays where we are talking about one exercise topic for two minutes and giving you three reasons why you should follow our advice.  This week we are talking about three commonly-accepted myths of exercise; things that people typically throw out there thinking that they are true but are actually false.  As personal trainers, these are myths that we have to combat on a regular basis.

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By Team MAS, ago