Last weekend i had the pleasure of doing the second part of the Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT ) Jumpstart course.
Ben Davis and myself made the trip to London once again, and we were in good company. There was a great range of personal trainers and physical therapists etc, including some of the top people in the UK.
We were only there for 3 days, but that is all it takes for me gain too much insight into what commuters face everyday travelling from Haywards Heath to London!
Every time i experience MAT i gain a deeper understanding and a deeper respect for it.
If you struggle with certain movements, if you ever feel imbalanced, or certain movements are painful you could well benefit from a session of MAT.
Many people will be functioning sub optimally and not even be aware of this.
If some of your muscles are not working appropriately, other tissues will have to take the strain.
Further, you will be less effective at metabolising glucose and may therefore struggle with weight loss.
I have been using Muscle Activation Techniques with good success with a number of my personal training clients for a while now. However i think i'll be learning and integrating it better for a little while longer.
If you wish to try this out to see if it can help you, i am currently offering discounted sessions over the next 2 months.
After this time this specialised and rare approach (in the uk) will have the price tag it deserves!
Yours in Health and Fitness,
Steve.
Showing posts with label MAT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MAT. Show all posts
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Is Your Exercise Helping or Hurting?
I've returned to Haywards Heath from the Muscle Activation Technique course with my head full to bursting point yet again!
Pretty much all of the 25 or so fitness professionals on the course agreed it was one of the best courses they have done. There was quite a varied bunch, from personal trainers and pilates teachers, to physiotherapists.
So many courses these days are about the personality and the agenda they have to promote. We were lucky to have a fantastic instructor and it's refreshing when there is no ego involved, and it's all about improving understanding with the science that back's up the MAT approach.
What does this mean for me and my personal training clients? Well MAT is all about having a system of checks so that exercises and their effects on the body can be continually assessed. Doing this course again reinforced just how vital this is for truly effective and healthful training to take place.
Without such a system in place - and a way to effectively correct any imbalances found - personal trainers are at best guessing if what they are doing is leading someone in the right direction.
I see far too many people that seem to suffer through their exercise during my week. They are doing things just because they have got into some habits, and these habits don't seem to be producing good results. Many people train through issues rather than getting them addressed effectively.
Don't stand for this anymore! Find a way to get your body properly strong and able to handle what you require of it. Find a way to allow your muscles to do the jobs they are meant to be able to do.
Muscle Activation Techniques are one such way that i would highly recommend after over 10 years as a fitness instructor and personal trainer.
In just the last 3 days i have seen it achieve some amazing results with the other people on the course.
Just how much better could your body be feeling and performing?
Keep an open but questioning mind in your own approach to your training and your health. Every so often you will likely come across information that completely turns what you thought you knew on its head!
If this comes from a reliable source, that is then backed up by evidence and experience, then watch out, you may have just found a tool to radically enhance what you do!
Steve Cork
Pretty much all of the 25 or so fitness professionals on the course agreed it was one of the best courses they have done. There was quite a varied bunch, from personal trainers and pilates teachers, to physiotherapists.
So many courses these days are about the personality and the agenda they have to promote. We were lucky to have a fantastic instructor and it's refreshing when there is no ego involved, and it's all about improving understanding with the science that back's up the MAT approach.
What does this mean for me and my personal training clients? Well MAT is all about having a system of checks so that exercises and their effects on the body can be continually assessed. Doing this course again reinforced just how vital this is for truly effective and healthful training to take place.
Without such a system in place - and a way to effectively correct any imbalances found - personal trainers are at best guessing if what they are doing is leading someone in the right direction.
I see far too many people that seem to suffer through their exercise during my week. They are doing things just because they have got into some habits, and these habits don't seem to be producing good results. Many people train through issues rather than getting them addressed effectively.
Don't stand for this anymore! Find a way to get your body properly strong and able to handle what you require of it. Find a way to allow your muscles to do the jobs they are meant to be able to do.
Muscle Activation Techniques are one such way that i would highly recommend after over 10 years as a fitness instructor and personal trainer.
In just the last 3 days i have seen it achieve some amazing results with the other people on the course.
Just how much better could your body be feeling and performing?
Keep an open but questioning mind in your own approach to your training and your health. Every so often you will likely come across information that completely turns what you thought you knew on its head!
If this comes from a reliable source, that is then backed up by evidence and experience, then watch out, you may have just found a tool to radically enhance what you do!
Steve Cork
Friday, May 30, 2008
Personal Training - Stretching or Strengthening?
I'm off to do a course today - actually re-do a course i took last year. Along with fellow personal trainer and bootcamp trainer, Ben Davis, we are going to be learning - or re-learning in my case MAT.
MAT stands for 'Muscle Activation Techniques' and is particularly useful in a one on one personal training situation. I know it is great for helping my clients and therefore want to get better at using it.
One of the key concepts of MAT is how muscular tension is viewed and worked with. For a long time the approach to a tight muscle is to stretch, stretch, and stretch some more.
However MAT has shown that this is often not an appropriate solution.
Instead, tension is seen as potentially protective of something else that is weak. This is assessed and tested, and if appropriate corrected by allowing the weaker muscle to become activated or strengthened again.
The affect of bringing the weakened muscle back into play can be such that the previously tense muscle can now return to a normal level of activity.
The amazing part is that someone can have this done and be stronger. They can then go back to their normal approach of stretching - and find that they are weak again! That's right for some people stretching (and also possibly regular exercise) will make you worse!
Not to say never to stretch or work on your flexibility, just that it's good to know when and how to best do this and have a way to test. MAT provides this, and if you think you have any imbalances or recurring problems, especially if you feel it is made worse by certain exercises, then you should seek out a MAT trained Personal Trainer.
Have a good weekend,
Steve.
MAT stands for 'Muscle Activation Techniques' and is particularly useful in a one on one personal training situation. I know it is great for helping my clients and therefore want to get better at using it.
One of the key concepts of MAT is how muscular tension is viewed and worked with. For a long time the approach to a tight muscle is to stretch, stretch, and stretch some more.
However MAT has shown that this is often not an appropriate solution.
Instead, tension is seen as potentially protective of something else that is weak. This is assessed and tested, and if appropriate corrected by allowing the weaker muscle to become activated or strengthened again.
The affect of bringing the weakened muscle back into play can be such that the previously tense muscle can now return to a normal level of activity.
The amazing part is that someone can have this done and be stronger. They can then go back to their normal approach of stretching - and find that they are weak again! That's right for some people stretching (and also possibly regular exercise) will make you worse!
Not to say never to stretch or work on your flexibility, just that it's good to know when and how to best do this and have a way to test. MAT provides this, and if you think you have any imbalances or recurring problems, especially if you feel it is made worse by certain exercises, then you should seek out a MAT trained Personal Trainer.
Have a good weekend,
Steve.
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