Muscle Activation Techniques

Are you a candidate for MAT®? Answer these three questions to find out!

At Muscle Activation Schaumburg, we often receive the question of, “How do I know if Muscle Activation Techniques® is something I should be doing?”.  This is a very valid question because MAT® is something that helps a wide variety of people, from professional athletes to professional parents, from elementary school kids to executives, and from the most active among us to those who are far more sedentary.  All of these populations seem to benefit from MAT®, so how can you know if MAT® is something that you are a candidate for?

When it comes to the “who” of MAT®, we generally see that our clients fall into one of three categories here at Muscle Activation Schaumburg.  But, the category that you fall into depends on how you answer the following three questions.  If you want to know if you are a candidate for MAT®, ask yourself these three questions: (more…)

By Charlie Cates, ago

4 Early Warning Signs That You Need MAT®

As a Muscle Activation Techniques® practitioner, I often get asked the question, “What is MAT®?”.  This is then usually followed up by, “How do I know if I need it?”.  Fortunately, there are many signs that you may benefit from MAT®.  While some signs and symptoms may appear after needing MAT® for years, I want to discuss four early warning signs that may present themselves before you experience any bigger issues.  If you notice any of these warning signs within yourself, that can be a clear indicator that your body is in need of Muscle Activation Techniques®.

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By Charlie Cates, ago

What is MAT®? A brief history and overview.

This week, I want to dive headfirst into this discussion of, “What is Muscle Activation Techniques®?”.  Specifically, I want to discuss what the number one goal of MAT® is and why achieving that goal is important.

But, in order to understand what MAT® is, we need to first understand how it began.  MAT® was developed by Greg Roskopf and has been taught since the early 2000’s.  Greg has his world corporate headquarters south of Denver where he is a consultant to many of professional sports teams in the area as well as many high-level individual athletes.

Early on in Greg’s career, he recognized that many people have asymmetrical motion between the right and left sides of their body.  For example, somebody may be able to lift their left arm all the way up but only lift their right arm part of the way.  Now, his original training had him focusing on stretching the side that didn’t move as well.  This is a concept that I am sure many people are familiar with, where if your muscles feel really tight you try to stretch them to help get your joints moving better and loosen the muscles up.

However, Greg soon became introduced to this idea of muscle testing where a practitioner pushes on a client’s limb to see how much force they can generate.  And it was from there that he started to correlate that if somebody’s shoulder or hip couldn’t move as well on one side as it could on the other, there were often muscle weaknesses that were associated with the limited side, too.  Furthermore, when those weak muscles were addressed and their output improved, joint motion would improve as well.

This correlation became the basis for what is now known as the Roskopf Principle, which states that muscle tightness is secondary to muscle weakness.

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By Charlie Cates, ago

Personal Training and MAT® – What’s the difference?

A question we often get at Muscle Activation Schaumburg is, “What’s the difference between Muscle Activation Techniques® (MAT®) and personal training?”.  As personal trainers and MAT® practitioners, this is an important clarification for us to help our clients and prospective clients with.

For us at Muscle Activation Schaumburg, personal training and MAT® go hand in hand.  While there are distinct differences between the two, there are a lot of similarities, as well.

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By Charlie Cates, ago

Client Testimonial – Laurie Dring

Check out this awesome testimonial from Charlie and Julie’s client, Laurie!  Laurie has been coming to Muscle Activation Schaumburg since the beginning of 2017 and has been participating in both Muscle Activation Techniques™ (MAT™) and customized personal training sessions.  While her initial concern was improving the function and strength of her shoulder, she has now progressed to maintaining her strength and mobility through infrequent but consistent muscle tune ups.  Laurie is now a consistent exerciser on her own and continues to utilize Muscle Activation Techniques™ to make sure her body is firing on all cylinders.  This ensures that she is able to get the most out of her workouts and progressively improve her health and physical function.

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By Team MAS, ago

Client Testimonial – Sue Koril

Check out this fantastic testimonial below from one of Julie’s rock star MAT™ clients, Sue!  Sue had been suffering from leg and knee issues when her friend reccomended she look into Muscle Activation Techniques™ at Muscle Activation Schaumburg.

As an avid tennis player, Sue wanted to get back to playing the game she loves on a regular basis.  Julie started working with her to improve her muscular system through the Muscle Activation Techniques™ process in addition to specific resistance training for her hips and knees.

After seeing Julie consistently for a number of months, she has been able to not only return to the tennis court, but keep her body tuned up and feeling great with homework exercises to compliment her maintenance MAT™ sessions at Muscle Activation Schaumburg.

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By Julie Cates, ago

Voyage Chicago Features MAS!

If you are a Voyage Chicago reader, you may have recognized a couple of faces featured on their website this past week.  Voyage Chicago did an interview with Charlie and Julie about building Muscle Activation Schaumburg.  Charlie discussed the process of first conceiving of the idea of MAS, bringing it to reality, and the struggles along the way.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlie Cates and Julie Errington.

Charlie and Julie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
The idea of owning my own exercise facility started during my freshman year of college. I was really into sports performance but knew I wanted to explore the business side of things, as well. By the end of my freshman year, I had made the decision that I would one day go into business for myself running my own exercise facility.

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By Team MAS, ago

Client Testimonial – Sadie Stark

Check out this awesome testimonial from one of Julie’s amazing MAT™ clients, Sadie!  Sadie had been suffering from an IT band issue as well as a knee issue for a year and a half before she found Julie.  She had tried everything she could find to help with her issue, but it wasn’t until she tried MAT™ that she noticed significant improvement.  Now she is back to running over three miles and is running faster than ever!


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By Julie Cates, ago

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

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