Muscle Activation Technique

[erick]

So I just listened to this podcast, www.trainingbeta.com/media/adam-macke/?portfolioID=3838

And they talked a lot about this, muscleactivation.com

So is anyone familiar with this? Has anyone tried it? There seems to be so many "new" training strategies out there its always nice to hear from people that actually have experience with it.

Eric

[Lundy]

Eric - I heard the same podcast, checked out the same website, and noticed there's a ton of master certified MAT folks in my area, so was thinking about checking one out for a free consultation after this performance season. I don't want to mess with the training plan I currently have going, but **IF** this actually works, it could be a good supplement for in between training cycles. Will certainly post here if anything interesting comes of this.

[erk]

I'm very curious about this too. Sadly there are no MAT practitioners in Oregon

And off topic, but the last half of that podcast seemed whack to me. It seemed like Adam was just throwing out a bunch of jargon rather than offering any reasoning behind his training modalities.

[rob]

Aug 25, 2015 23:11:12 GMT -7 erk said:

I'm very curious about this too. Sadly there are no MAT practitioners in Oregon

And off topic, but the last half of that podcast seemed whack to me. It seemed like Adam was just throwing out a bunch of jargon rather than offering any reasoning behind his training modalities.

I'm intrigued with this too having a few recurring injuries, but there are only 4 practitioners in the UK, all around 100 miles away from me.

I agreed with some of what he had to say, I liked the idea of using a pullly system with grips like a HB, (which I think could be useful for pinch training) but his rationale I thought was a bit weak for discrediting HBing: "because you're fighting against bodyweight with a HB" - with a pulley and weights this is not an issue, and I like the idea of shifting the weight around your bodyweight, which is obviously a good indicator of strength. Also with a pulley system, if you're standing you're going to have to fight the forwards pull and use a lot if core, as opposed to isolating the fingers.


Again, this would be a great comparison study: HB vs pulley grips.

[rob]

Also, I imagine the whole set up would be extremely expensive and space consuming compared with a HB. But in terms of results, I would be interested to see which is more effective.

[erick]

Aug 26, 2015 6:05:21 GMT -7 rob said:

Aug 25, 2015 23:11:12 GMT -7 erk said:

I'm very curious about this too. Sadly there are no MAT practitioners in Oregon

And off topic, but the last half of that podcast seemed whack to me. It seemed like Adam was just throwing out a bunch of jargon rather than offering any reasoning behind his training modalities.

I'm intrigued with this too having a few recurring injuries, but there are only 4 practitioners in the UK, all around 100 miles away from me.

I agreed with some of what he had to say, I liked the idea of using a pullly system with grips like a HB, (which I think could be useful for pinch training) but his rationale I thought was a bit weak for discrediting HBing: "because you're fighting against bodyweight with a HB" - with a pulley and weights this is not an issue, and I like the idea of shifting the weight around your bodyweight, which is obviously a good indicator of strength. Also with a pulley system, if you're standing you're going to have to fight the forwards pull and use a lot if core, as opposed to isolating the fingers.


Again, this would be a great comparison study: HB vs pulley grips.

Yes he had a lot of interesting conversation points but there seems to be so many contradicting information out there (just do a google search on the benefits of stretching, rolfing, message, etc.) and everyone has their own justifications for their own practices. I can see how the pulley training he describes for fingers could be really useful, but the need for extra equipment and the time it would take to train each finger separately just make it sound overly complicated to me. That being said I would love to try his setup.

[erk]

But how would regular hangboarding be any different with the pully grips. You're just changing the reference frame i.e. pulling the holds down rather than pulling you're body up. Any risk of swinging would be negated which would be nice I suppose. I don't get his argument about "chasing weights" either. Wouldn't you be chasing weights in the same regard to establish proper resistance with the pulley system?!?

[RichF]

Some discussion about this going on over at Mountain Project

[erk]

Thanks RichF, that was what I was looking for. I don't currently have any muscle tightness or issues with flexibility so what I am most curious about is whether something like this could "unlock" hidden strength...

[tango]

All in all, an interesting podcast. Definitely something to consider but I'm not entirely sure how much use it has for the average climber. I'd be interested to get more developed perspectives on it.

[Lundy]

Hi all,
Also wanted to close the loop on this thread.

A long-term challenge of my climbing (and life in general) was that I have had chronic lower back pain since an injury when I was 18 (I'm now 41), and while it doesn't usually impact my ability to climb or train, it has severely impacted other parts of my life (like sitting at my desk, walking slowly anywhere, or carrying my two kids around (or even picking them up out of their cribs)). So when I sought out an MAT speRCTMkicksAsst, I was interested in learning about what they could do for my climbing, but also how they might be able to help with my back, as well as take a look at my shoulders prophylactically.

My first session he chose to work exclusively on my back (sounded great to me). Once he got going, though, I was sortof shocked by how simple it was. Halfway through I was ready to call it quits thinking it was ridiculous, then just decided to keep going, pay my money, and never come back. It didn't seem to be doing anything. As I left his studio that afternoon, though, I had to admit that my back wasn't sore at all, though this is not surprising, as it's not like it's debilitating-ly painful all the time. However, the next morning I woke up, got out of bed and was shocked at how amazing I felt. This was the first time in probably two years that I could put my pants on standing up without having to stretch my back for 10 minutes first. It was AMAZING. This feeling of absolutely no pain and greatly improved range of motion lasted probably 4-5 days, so obviously I made another appointment for the following week and went back. I've now done probably 4-5 sessions, once per week, and am essentially feeling no back pain at all. On the contrary, I find my back feeling quite strong in situations where it never felt that way before.

My trainer has also now started working on my shoulders, and has found some big weaknesses there, too, so it'll be interesting to see how those work out in the next few weeks.

Anyway, I just wanted to share this in case anyone was still thinking about this. I'm not sure how effective it would be to improve your climbing just yet, as I don't think I'm to the point where that would be noticeable, but certainly for chronic injury my experience has been amazing thus far. I'm proceeding with cautious optimism (and a much smaller bank account...)

[erick]

Thanks for the follow up.

I have had a pop sound coming from deep in my right shoulder blade when rotating my arm in circles. This has been happening since a nasty MTB crash 6 years back. The right should is also the only one I have ever had and problems with while climbing. Many therapists have told me there is nothing that can be done about the pop sound but I wonder if MAT could help in some way.

[ehowell]

Hey guys, I'm the one who started the MP thread, so I'll offer an update here. I've been going once a month, and I'd honestly go at least once a week if money wasn't an issue. I think the reality is that climbers are especially prone to muscle imbalances, and that's basically what this is all about. This treatment will do nothing for climbing specificity, but it can do much for injury rehab/prevention, mobility, etc. If you're in the Denver area and looking to give it a try, I can recommend a guy.

[erk]

Feb 16, 2016 20:03:38 GMT -7 Lundy said:

This was the first time in probably two years that I could put my pants on standing up without having to stretch my back for 10 minutes first. It was AMAZING. This feeling of absolutely no pain and greatly improved range of motion lasted probably 4-5 days, so obviously I made another appointment for the following week and went back. I've now done probably 4-5 sessions, once per week, and am essentially feeling no back pain at all.

That's awesome to hear! Definitely curious to see if it has any impact on your climbing. Maybe I'll try it some day when I have some extra cash to spend.