Legendary NFL quarterback Peyton Manning retired at the pinnacle of professional football, leading the Denver Broncos to win the 2016 Super Bowl. How was a 39-year-old quarterback still recovering from a debilitating neck injury able to end his career as a champion? His secret was a sports medicine discipline called Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT) pioneered by Denver-based trainer Greg Roskopf.
MAT is based on Roskopf’s insight that tight and inflexible muscles are caused by muscular imbalances. When some muscles in the body fail to contract and fire properly, other muscles “pick up the slack,” becoming tight and inflexible.
MAT is an advanced training method, requiring trainers to undergo a rigorous certification process before they are qualified to administer MAT to clients. The Minneapolis Club is proud to have our trainer Kelly Nichols MAT certified.
“MAT is a powerful tool to assess muscular imbalances. With a more efficient and balanced muscular system, you are less likely to be in pain or to injure yourself,” says Kelly. “MAT helps find the cause of pain as well as helping you to recover or heal faster from a hard workout or injury.”
MAT is a powerful diagnostic tool for trainers. Through ongoing education, MAT-certified trainers like Kelly progress from treating the symptoms of injuries to addressing the underlying causes. More importantly, it’s not a “one size fits all” approach – MAT is a system that assesses each client individually to create solutions that fit their body and fitness level. This ensures that you’ll enjoy better performance in other sports or workout activities with less chance of injury.
“I’m always driven to continue my education in Muscle Activation Techniques to bring my best knowledge and service to the members and my clients,” says Kelly. “I love that MAT gives me the tools to assess and treat members in pain or just in need of that fine tuning. It brings a new knowledge and perspective to my personal training and allows me to make better decisions when designing workout plans.”
It’s this proven, customized approach to individual fitness that makes MAT a powerful training technique that delivers results for everyone from professional athletes to first-time fitness clients. If you’d like to learn more about how MAT can help decrease your pain and help you perform better, please contact Kelly Nichols in the Fitness Center.
To learn more about Muscle Activation Techniques visit www.muscleactivation.com
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