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MAT™ Jumpstart Courses – Schaumburg, IL

The Greg Roskopf’s Muscle Activation Techniques™ Jumpstart Program is coming to Muscle Activation Schaumburg!  The Chicago area’s first series of MAT™ Jumpstart courses in 2017 will be hosted at Schaumburg, IL’s premier destination for Muscle Activation Techniques™ and personal training. Enter the code MAS before checking out to receive 5% off the cost of the course! Who:  Personal trainers, chiropractors, physical therapists, massage therapists, MAT™ specialists, or anybody else who is wanting to explore Muscle Activation Techniques™. What:  Muscle Activation Techniques™ Jumpstart Program Read more…

By Team MAS, ago

3 Reasons To Move Slowly When You Lift Weights

Welcome back to this edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays.  This is our third video where we are talking about an exercise topic for two minutes and expanding upon it later. Today we are talking about three reasons why we suggest you move slowly when you are doing resistance training. You will detect issues sooner. The first reason is that you are going to feel and detect issues that are going on in your body right away. Read more…

By Team MAS, ago

Supercharge Your Stretching With This One Simple Change

I used to stretch all the time growing up.  I would stretch before I worked out.  I would stretch after I worked out.  I would stretch in the mornings.  I would stretch in the evenings.  I would stretch all the time because I wanted to improve my joint mobility and make sure that my body was prepared for my workouts.  For over a decade, stretching was a staple in my workout routine.

Despite all of that stretching, I never got to the point where I felt really flexible.  I would always feel stiff and achy.  My muscles felt chronically tight.  This persisted until I made one change to how I was doing my “stretching”. (more…)

By Charlie Cates, ago

The #1 Thing To Think About When Resistance Training

Welcome back to 2-Minute Tuesdays!  This is the second edition of our weekly show.  Today we are going to be talking about the number one thing you need to be thinking about when you are resistance training.  And that is …. squeezing the muscles you are working.  So, if you are doing a biceps curl, you aren’t thinking about moving the dumbbells up and down.  You are actually thinking about squeezing the muscles you are working, which are your biceps.  As personal trainers in Schaumburg, this is a HUGE focus for us when we are working with our training clients. (more…)

By Team MAS, ago

Can’t feel the exercises you are doing? Read this.

Check out a snippet from Charlie’s most recent article on FitnessProfessionalOnline.com, titled “Why Your Clients May Not Be Able To Feel The Exercises You Are Doing With Them“!

“Have you ever had a client that just couldn’t feel the exercise where you wanted them to?  Every time you would do a chest press, all they could feel were their deltoids.  Or if you did deadlifts, they only felt their hamstrings, never their glutes.  You tried cueing them differently or changing how they would do the exercise, but still, they just couldn’t feel the muscles you were trying to work.

(more…)

By Charlie Cates, ago

Client Testimonial – Dave Wilson

Check out this wonderful testimonial from Julie’s personal training and Muscle Activation Techniques™ (MAT™) client, Dave, about his experience working with Julie at Muscle Activation Schaumburg!  Dave describes the changes he has noticed over the past few months of regularly exercising with Julie, as well as his progression with strengthening the muscles of his legs and feet using MAT™.  He talks about how regular daily activities became easier as his body started functioning better with MAT™ and personal training, as well as the many benefits he experienced by making sure the exercises he was doing were appropriate for his body. (more…)

By Julie Cates, ago

7 Exercise Tips If Your Body Has Been Getting Achier For No Apparent Reason

Many prospective clients tell me that their body seems to be getting achier for no apparent reason.  They weren’t in any accident.  They don’t have any surgeries to speak of.  In fact, they have been relatively healthy their entire lives and cannot pinpoint a single injury or trauma.  Yet, it seems that their bodies continue to get achier with each passing year.  Activities they once loved to do now take a toll on them.  Playing with grandkids, chores around the house, and exercising as they once did leave them feeling beat up.  And the number one scapegoat seems to be the aging process.

As a certified personal trainer and Muscle Activation Techniques™ specialist in Schaumburg, I run across these scenarios a lot with prospective clients.  After they have been cleared by their medical professional for regular exercise, there are seven tips I suggest they incorporate into their exercise plans. (more…)

By Charlie Cates, ago

5 Non-Medical Tips to Help Improve Plantar Fasciitis

I remember when I started taping and wrapping my feet.  I would wrap the tape so tightly that I either had to sit or, if I stood, I had to deal with the fact that my toes would be blue. This all started before the age of ten.  I remember my feet hurting so badly that I told my mother that I was scared that the bottom arch of my foot was going to literally rip and snap.   

I remember my mother putting each of my feet into hard plastic boots before tucking me into my youthful, flower-power pink sheets at night.  I remember having to wear the ugliest and clunkiest “pronator” shoes in 3rd grade when all my friends wore pink light-up shoes.  I remember hating the 1-mile run day at school because it meant that I wouldn’t be able to participate in dance class later that night. (more…)

By Julie Cates, ago