Having worked with clients for Muscle Activation Techniques® since 2011, we can say with a high level of confidence that there are three important things that all clients can do to help them have more success with MAT.
First, you need to be consistent with your MAT sessions.
Consistency looks different based on where your MAT journey you are. For some clients, they need to consistently be in our studio for a session at least once a week to get all of their issues addressed and help keep them at bay as their foundation of strength and function gets built. For other clients, consistency may look like one to two sessions per month for maintenance.
Regardless of where you are in your MAT journey, being consistent with your MAT sessions is probably the most important thing you can do to maintain your results long-term.
Second, you need to strength train at least twice per week. Strength training will help to build the capacity of your muscles while putting specific stresses through your muscles.
Your strength training sessions don’t have to be long, but you need to make sure you are working all of your muscle groups each week and challenging yourself with a high amount of load relative to what you can handle. This doesn’t mean you need to be maxing out, but you need to be using enough weight that it feels difficult to lift within three to eight reps.
Not only will strength training help you build the overall strength of your entire body, it will also help your MAT work hold longer between sessions, too.
Third, you need to stop stretching.
This ruffles a lot of people’s feathers, but it is the truth. Stretching weakens your muscles by disrupting the signals that are sent to them by your brain. As a result, your muscle function goes down, which is the exact opposite of what we are trying to do with MAT.
Instead, do light isometric exercises where you are focused on making a mind-muscle connection with a specific group of muscles while squeezing that group of muscles very gently.
When clients start following these three steps and implement them on a regular basis, their results and success with Muscle Activation Techniques® go to entirely new levels. These are often the three steps that need to be taken in order to get any last nagging issues completely resolved; and when they can be followed right away, clients do better than they ever imagined.
If you would like to experience Muscle Activation Techniques® for yourself, we would love to see you at our studio, Muscle Activation Schaumburg, in Chicago’s northwest suburbs.
At Muscle Activation Schaumburg, we have been trained in the highest levels of Muscle Activation Techniques®–including MATRx, MATRx2, MATRx Stim, MAT Athlete, and MAT Athlete2–and are the most highly-trained practitioners in the Chicagoland area.
To try out Muscle Activation Techniques® for yourself, click here to schedule your initial consultation and assessment.
We can’t wait to see you on our MAT table soon!
In strength and health,
Julie & Charlie