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8 Things You Should Know About Muscle Activation Techniques™

As personal trainers and Muscle Activation Techniques™ (MAT™) specialists in Schaumburg, IL, we are constantly trying to spread the good word about what MAT™ can do for others.  If you have not heard of MAT™ before, or if you are interested in finding out more information about it, check out this post below from MAT™ Headquarters regarding eight things you NEED to know about MAT™.

“8 Things You Should Know About Muscle Activation Techniques™”

By Muscle Activation Techniques™ Headquarters

Muscle Activation Techniques™ (MAT™) is a revolutionary approach that assesses and corrects a client’s muscular system. It is as simple as that to explain yet it is an amazingly effective and nuanced tool. You may often see and hear about MAT™ in the news because of high profile athletes crediting some degree of their performance or recovery to MAT™, but MAT™ is not limited to professional athletes; Muscle Activation Techniques™ can help everyone!

MAT™ is now a global education company that teaches professionals in the health and wellness industry an enhanced process that can help their clients who have limitations in their muscular system that show up as reductions in range of motion and ease of movement.

IFBB Pro Ben Pakulski and Greg Roskopf working on knee internal rotation

Here are eight things that you should know about MAT™: (more…)

By Team MAS, ago

Client Testimonial: Jim Caiafa

Jim Caiafa, a bodybuilder in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, talks about his experience with Muscle Activation Techniques™ at Muscle Activation Schaumburg.  Jim shares the improvement he has seen in his training after four sessions of MAT™, as well as the progress he has seen with his back after suffering an injury eight months prior (*disclosed in the video*).

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Check out this fantastic testimonial from Jim Caiafa, a bodybuilder in the Chicago area, as he discusses his experience with the MATRx™ process and working with Charlie in preparation for his show:

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By Charlie Cates, ago

Why Do You Exercise?

Why do you exercise?

For health reasons?  For enjoyment?  For stress release?  For YOU time?  For camaraderie/social reasons?  For a mental and physical challenge?  For aesthetic reasons?  For self-confidence?  Because you were told you should?

13528939_1692467311014448_2652992712559966189_nAs a certified personal trainer and Muscle Activation Techniques™ specialist in Schaumburg, IL, this is a question I ponder from time to time.  For myself, I exercise largely for the short-term and long-term health benefits.  This was not always the case, though.  When I was younger, I exercised almost exclusively to improve my athletic performance.  Then, I exercised to increase my strength and build my physique.

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By Charlie Cates, ago

The Struggle Of Exercise

The benefits of exercise are waiting and are too great to be ignored, but the struggle to actually do exercise is REAL.

I am a personal trainer in Schaumburg.  Being a personal trainer does not mean that I love to workout.  Being a personal trainer means that I love learning about the opportunities that exercise can provide when applied appropriately to the body.  I love learning and exploring this opportunity of exercise so much that I made it a profession.

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By Julie Cates, ago

Are you investing intelligently into your exercise account?

A lot of times when we go to the gym we are focused on what we are going to do right then.  “What exercises am I going to do?  How many sets and reps?  What weight will I be using?”  All of these are valid questions to consider.  However, as a personal trainer and Muscle Activation Techniques™ specialist in Schaumburg, IL, I often have to talk with my clients about the value of investing intelligently into their exercise account, which means exercising for tomorrow and not just for today.

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By Charlie Cates, ago

“Should I use more weight?”

“Should I use more weight?”

“That would depend on your goal…”

As a personal trainer in Schaumburg, I realize that a lot of times we get caught up on the idea of more is better.  If we can use more weight, we should.  If we can perform more reps, we should.  If we can eek out a couple more sets, we should.  But here’s the issue:  the value in exercise is not actually found in the doing of the exercise, but rather in your body’s response to doing the exercise.

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By Charlie Cates, ago

What does muscle have to do with it?

As a Muscle Activation Techniques™ (MAT™) specialist and personal trainer in Schaumburg, I know that many people seek out MAT™ because it makes A LOT of people feel better!  This is one reason why I absolutely LOVE MAT™ and why I love being an MAT™ Specialist.

There is one problem with this, though.  MAT™ does not treat pain.  It never has and never will.  In this blog post, I want to discuss what you can expect from an MAT™ session and how you can know you are making progress, even when pain symptoms are not changing.  

Let’s start with the obvious, again.  MAT™ does not treat pain.

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By Julie Cates, ago

‘Tis The (Flip-Flops) Season

Whether you consider Memorial Day to mark the start of summer or you hold off until it officially turns in late June, almost one thing is for certain:  flip-flops season is now in full swing. While this lightweight form of footwear can have you feeling footloose and fancy-free, there are potential repercussions on the horizon by sporting the open-backed staple of summer.

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By Charlie Cates, ago

Is Compensation Actually Bad?

When you hear the word compensation, what do you usually think of?  Is it a word to describe something positive or negative?  Something normal or abnormal?  Something done out of abundance or inadequacy?  As a personal trainer in Schaumburg, this is often a topic of discussion.

A quick Google search brings up two prominent definitions for compensation:

  1. The money provided to an employee for their work, or to a party due to loss, injury or suffering.
  2. Something that counterbalances or makes up for an undesirable or unwelcome state of affairs.

As it relates to exercise and movement, the second definition above is typically how compensation is used.  Compensation usually labels a movement that is done in a manner outside of the parameters that we find to be “normal,” “correct,” or “appropriate.”  Essentially, we use this to describe a movement that is not “perfect.”

I want to challenge you to start thinking about compensation as a description of all movement.

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By Julie Cates, ago