If you follow golf to any degree, you are probably familiar with Bryson DeChambeau’s unconventional training methods which have attracted significant attention in recent months. It came as no surprise to the golf world when DeChambeau introduced his mission to get “jacked” last October. And within just a few short months, Bryson’s physique was completely transformed with an extra twenty pounds of muscle mass.

Not to mention, his driving game significantly improved. DeChambeau is currently the longest PGA Tour driver, with an average driving distance of 326 yards compared to 302 yards just last year. But how did he improve so much in such a short time? Many believe that his recent improvement is largely due to Muscle Activation Techniques ®. Read on to take a deeper look at Bryson DeChambeau’s unique, yet revolutionary approach to strengthening his golf game.

How MAT® Is Taking the Golf World by Storm

While the media focuses on the results of DeChambeau’s training methods, I am going to walk you through the deeper principles he has used to transform his body and his swing. Muscle Activation Techniques ® has been used in sports like football for some time, but it is still a relatively new idea to the golf world. In the quest for success, many are now following DeChambeau’s lead and, as a result, the technique is rapidly increasing in popularity amongst golfers. Still, out of the endless enhancements he could have added to his training regimen, why did DeChambeau choose Muscle Activation Techniques ®?

Essentially, muscle activation begins with an in-depth range of motion assessment that helps local muscles that require attention based on symptoms of weakness elsewhere. The MAT® process is able to target asymmetries in your range of motion to enhance muscular contraction, coordination, and flexibility without causing the body to overcompensate. Once the target muscles have been identified with an initial assessment, a MAT® Specialist works to effectively re-establish communication between the brain and specific muscles.

The Science Behind MAT®

The human body is a complex system made up of a number of different organs and tissues that all work independently to accomplish unified goals such as movement. That being said, your integrated system is only as good as the function of the parts it’s made of. For golfers like DeChambeau, that means a powerful swing.

The brain serves as the powerhouse that ensures everything is working as it should be by communicating with our muscles through neural pathways. Hence, optimizing muscle function is a two-part process that involves strengthening the actual muscles while also improving the neural pathways. This allows you to not only build muscle mass but also develop muscle memory to help improve performance.

It may help to think of muscle function as a spectrum. Not only do golfers and other athletes need the ability to rapidly contract muscles on demand, but also to generate power in doing so. The assessment procedure enables MAT Specialists to locate the muscles that aren’t contracting properly so that the latter can then be enhanced. Once muscle function has been restored, the next step is to maintain it.

Why Muscle Activation Techniques®

While DeChambeau set out to build strength that would lend him the competitive edge in terms of driving length and speed, he had a deeper motivation. After months of experiencing pain, stiffness, and a lack of muscle strength as a result of a back injury, DeChambeau decided that it was time to make a lifestyle change.

With the help of Greg Roskopf, founder of MAT®, DeChambeau has done just that. Roskopf’s motto is that “you are only as strong as your weakest link” and many golfers happen to share the same one: the obliques. This muscle group helps to generate the rotational force necessary for a powerful swing by turning the torso and hips. That being said, why is it also one of the most commonly overlooked?

Keep this in mind: to effectively improve your performance, you have to optimize every piece of the puzzle. For golfers, this includes the forearm, obliques, gluteus maximus, pectoralis major in the chest, and the latissimus dorsi (the largest muscle in the upper body). Weak muscles can present themselves in a variety of ways, from poor coordination to pain and spasms. Oftentimes, it shows up as the inability to rotate well. Simply put, tight muscles lead to a weak swing and, inevitably, poor performance during the game.

DeChambeau has utilized MAT® to maximize his strength, flexibility, mobility, and balance, all while remaining injury-free over the past few months. MAT® has allowed him to build more symmetric strength in his core through exercises focused on trunk rotation and flexion, side bends, leg flexion, and back extension. More importantly, he has the ability to play without pain coursing through his body.

 

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#Repost @golfchannel ・・・ These trunk rotation exercises are something you can work on at home to help gain power like @brysondechambeau. Bryson shows more exercises that helped him maintain strength on #SwingX with @ChrisComoGolf and @greg.roskopf tonight at 7PM ET.

A post shared by Bryson DeChambeau (@brysondechambeau) on Mar 30, 2020 at 10:38am PDT

The McGuirt Strength Method

With a powerful combination of neurocognitive training exercises and a physical training program that targets muscular asymmetries determined by Muscle Activation Techniques®, you can take your training to the next level just as DeChambeau has.

Whether you are serious about your golf or simply looking to improve your athletic performance, Muscle Activation Techniques® can help you move to the next level. As a MAT® Specialist and experienced fitness professional, I work to create a customized training routine for you, from rotational strength drills to neurocognitive exercises. McGuirt Strength offers a variety of training environments to private and semi-private clients to suit a range of fitness needs.

Contact McGuirt Strength at 843-412-1688 today to learn more about my personal training services or schedule your online fitness session.

To Achieving Greatness,

Mark
MAT® Specialist & Personal Trainer, Charleston SC

The post How MAT® Is Changing Golf One Swing at a Time appeared first on McGuirt Strength.

Senaptec Quad Strobes: Providing Vision of the Future

Like the Senaptec Strobe Glasses, the new Quad lenses use liquid crystal technology to change between transparent and opaque to prevent the brain from processing visual information. By removing excess cues during neurocognitive training exercises, your brain is then able to process sensory input more efficiently. The Senaptec Quad Strobe Glasses allows you to select regions of strobing to strategically improve athletic performance and take your training to the next level.

The curved liquid crystal lenses provide a complete 180-degree field of view with adjustable levels of difficulty for you to enhance your visuomotor skills. The Quad Strobe glasses from Senaptec offer the same capabilities as the original eyewear and much more, with improved precision and control for an even more comprehensive range of applications. Each lens in the new Strobes is segmented into quadrants which can be activated independently from the glasses or the Senaptec Strobe App. This breakthrough enhancement allows the user to alter the occluding patterns to match their personalized fitness goals and routines.

Empowering the Mind and the Body

The Quad Strobe Glasses are an empowering tool that helps you improve brain health and motor function during your fitness training. Scientific research shows that mental skills such as clarity, acuity, perception, and processing can be honed in on and optimized. The Quad Glasses allow you to strengthen your these skills with precision customization and features like:

• Adjustable monocular and binocular modes.
• Comprehensible OLED display that shows adjustable difficulty levels, training modes, and battery life
• Designed to be moisture resistant
• User-friendly operation with just two buttons to adjust settings
• Opaque lenses are great for outdoor use
• Adjustable elastic straps to keep eyewear in place during training
• Aesthetically pleasing design
• Convenient compatibility with free mobile app

Image Credit: Senaptec Strobe

The Ultimate Training Tool For Improved Sport Performance

The Senaptec Quad Strobe Glasses can be specifically programmed to meet the demands of the sport you are training for. For example, you can block the medial visual field while strobing your peripheral vision to simulate keeping your eyes up during a basketball game while dribbling across the court. The new Strobes are made to strengthen the connection between your eyes, brain, and body and can be easily integrated into existing training drills and visual therapy regimens.

The Quad Glasses can be programmed to improve athletic performance, tactical skills, and even health. Programming the eyewear for sports helps athletes achieve an edge with more consistent, high-level performance. Because a split second for game-time decision making can mean the difference between taking home the trophy and missing the mark. For tactical and combat training, every second counts. With much higher stakes, having heightened senses, acute visual processing abilities, and peak physical condition can save lives. Senaptec’s technology helps individuals from law enforcement and military divisions sharpen their minds and train their bodies for rapid response.

Not only can Senaptec Quad Strobe glasses help you train for the game, it can also help you recover after. Brain injuries have become more and more of a concern in high contact sports, as we have learned the damages that can occur to motor skills as a result. When we have an injury, our brains change how it processes information. Incorporating the Quad Glasses into recovery regimens can help divert the brain, allowing it to rewire to its pre-trauma state. With this innovative technology, McGuirt Strength offers proven solutions that help prevent and improve brain health degradation. The Quad Strobe Glasses are also commonly used for physical injury recovery and medical rehabilitation therapies. For those suffering from painful injuries like an ACL tear, the Strobes can be used to help restore neuromuscular pathways for improved motor function.

Comprehensive Neurocognitive Training at McGuirt Strength

As a personal fitness trainer, I help you forge the pathway to success by integrating advanced technologies and techniques to enhance your fitness regimen. The Senaptec Quad Strobes Glasses help improve visualization abilities, hand-eye coordination, stability, depth-perception, and much more. At McGuirt Strength, I offer a variety of training programs, from group exercise classes to corporate solutions in addition to private and online fitness sessions.

If you are interested in training with this technology using the Senaptec Sensory Station, contact McGuirt Strength at 843-412-1688 today to learn more about my Charleston personal training services or schedule your next session online.

To Achieving Greatness,

Mark
MAT® Specialist & Personal Trainer, Charleston SC

The post Train Your Brain With Quad Strobe Glasses appeared first on McGuirt Strength.

Sensory Training with Strobe Glasses

Did you know that vision is our dominant sense, accounting for up to 85% of all sensory input? Vision entails more than just sight; it’s a complex process that involves deriving meaning from the things that you see. This process is both a learned and developed function that relies on a multitude of different skills.

Through years of experience training with the most cutting-edge fitness technologies from Senaptec, I have my visual and sensory routine down to a science. My regimen helps coach your brain to incorporate all of your strength, agility, and range for faster, better, and stronger response times and decision-making.

Benefits of Strobe Glasses

McGuirt Strength is home to one of the only Senaptec Sensory Stations in the state, in addition to being one of the few carriers of the Strobe glasses. After just 2 weeks of using these industry-leading glasses, you can achieve improvements in:

• Reflexes & Reaction Times
• Hand-Eye Coordination
• Accuracy
• Visual Attention
• Mental Clarity
• Contrast Sensitivity
• Central & Peripheral Processing Time
• Near/Far Quickness
• Decision-Making Times
• Balance and Stability
• Visualization Abilities
• Depth Perception
• Target Capture
• Multiple Object Tracking

Whether you are working to get in better shape or train for the PGA Championship, a consistent practice schedule is the best way to ensure results from new technology like Strobe Glasses. After performing an initial Muscle Activation Techniques® assessment, supplementary visual training with the Strobe Glasses at McGuirt Strength will help boost your neuromuscular function to give you the results you want, without added physical stress and trauma.

How Strobe Glasses Work

Senaptec Strobe glasses are designed to strengthen the connection between the eyes, brain, and body – a relationship that is essential to improving reaction times. The key to training the brain to make quicker associations is limiting the presence of available visual information. This way, the brain becomes more efficient with limited sensory cues, gradually decreasing the time it takes to process visual information once it is added back into the activity.

Strobe Glasses accomplish this through the use of liquid-crystal technology in the lenses. The mixture turns clear lenses opaque, removing the visual element for a short period of time to train your brain to process visual cues more adeptly. Flashing or ‘strobing’ back and forth between clear and opaque lenses removes visual data for milliseconds, forcing the brain to perform functions in simulated pressure situations. Over time, the brain will adapt to be less dependent on full visual information in split-second decisions.

Senaptec glasses can be integrated for use with the Senaptec Sensory Station, Tablet, or other smart devices during physical training drills. With Senaptec Strobe App and Bluetooth functionality, you can conveniently control your Strobes from your portable smart device. Senaptec’s Strobe Glasses and Portable Tablet are available for purchase on the McGuirt Strength site so that you can train from home on your time after learning the techniques.

Shop the Senaptec Glasses here to receive a free performance evaluation on the Sensory Station.

Why Pro Athletes Are Training With Strobe Glasses

Once athletes reach peak levels of performance, training to stay on top is of the utmost importance. Athletes like NBA legend Michael Jordan and NBA MVP Steph Curry have used strobe lights in practice to mirror game conditions and improve reaction times. Michael Jordan believed the strobe light effect mimicked cameras flashing on the sidelines of a game, adding to the benefits of the use of strobe lights. Here’s a glimpse into the training methods of elite athletes and how the ‘greats’ stay great with the same technology used at McGuirt Strength.

• How do Kawhi Leonard — and Steph Curry — train their brains? Strobe lights (yes, really)
• The Top Secret Tool That Stephen Curry Uses to Train His Brain
• The lingering question around a bulked-up Bryson: Is he at greater risk of injury?

Bama Sports Science: Episode Seven

Assessment Suite#BamaFactor #RollTide pic.twitter.com/NnfVJRqr9k

— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) August 4, 2020

Implementing new fitness technologies into training routines help propel athletes beyond their performance expectations. We all look up to these sports icons, so why not try out their game plans to reach our own fitness goals?

The McGuirt Strength Method

As a personal trainer in Mt. Pleasant, SC, my role is to help create a personalized pathway to success. What better way to help you achieve your goals than with the use of advanced fitness technologies that enhance your training? Senaptec Strobe glasses aren’t just for professional athletes; they can help anyone improve depth perception, balance, and strength, no matter your goal. I offer a variety of training environments to private and semi-private clients to suit a range of fitness needs

Want to experience the benefits of Strobe Glasses for yourself? Take your training to the next level; contact McGuirt Strength at 843-412-1688 today to learn more about my training services or schedule your training session online.

To Achieving Greatness,

Mark
MAT® Specialist & Personal Trainer, Charleston SC

The post 2020 Vision: Sensory Training with Senaptec Strobe Glasses appeared first on McGuirt Strength.

There are no shortcuts to fitness. Athleticism is more than just sheer strength and speed – being a great athlete takes comprehensive training of the mind and the body. My extensive, full-body exercise regimens are all about helping you achieve your goals, no matter your background. The core tenants of my Charleston, SC fitness programs center around getting lean, getting strong, being safe, and having fun. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, which is why I offer customized training routines through group fitness classes, online fitness classes, and private and semi-private sessions to help you push you to peak performance.

Muscle Activation Techniques®

Strength training starts with laying the right foundation. A big part of my role is taking the confusion and uncertainty out of your fitness and wellness routine so that you can stay accountable and achieve the life-changing results you want. Greg Roskopf’s Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT®) evaluation is the first step in making sure that your body is balanced and ready for exercise.

MAT® starts with a range of motion assessment that helps establish what areas need improvement for optimal muscle performance. This process targets asymmetries in your range of motion so that we can effectively enhance your muscles contractile abilities without compensation in the body. Once the target muscles have been identified with an initial assessment, I work with you to effectively re-establish communication between your brain and specific muscles.

This neuromuscular optimization ensures your muscles fire on demand, providing stability to the body while improving your range of motion and muscle function. MAT® also serves as a great adjunct to a number of other treatments including Chiropractic, Pre-Operation, Post-Operation, and Physical Therapy.

Leave it to me to optimize your body for all of your athletic endeavors and daily activities. In addition to working to complete the Muscle Activation Techniques® RX program, I am certified as a Master Level MAT® Specialist.

To learn more, click here.

Visual & Sensory Training

Did you know that 83% of all sensory input comes in the form of vision? That’s why optimum movement in both everyday life and in sport is key. My revolutionary neurocognitive and visual sensory training program is designed to help you improve how your mind and body take in information. This routine helps train your brain for faster, better, and stronger decision-making abilities.

By incorporating the latest and greatest fitness technology, including Senaptec Strobe Glasses and Sensory Station, my neurocognitive routine has athletic performance down to a science. Whether you want to work on improving reflexes, hand-eye coordination, accuracy, or all-of-the-above, my personalized routine incorporates advanced fitness technologies and will strengthen your sensory capabilities and drive peak motor function.

To learn more about my visual and sensory training programs, click here.

Physical Training

My vision is to help you meet your goals as quickly and safely as possible with a customized fitness plan. If you are stuck in a rut or looking for the motivation you need to get started with your fitness journey, I am here to help push you to accomplish more. I work with clients of all ages and backgrounds, from elite athletes to fitness minimalists with tailored training plans, guided workouts, and healthy nutrition plans.

Whether you want to lose weight safely or perfect your tennis swing with hand-eye coordination training, it’s time for us to make your health and wellness goals a reality.

Give me a call at (843) 412-1688 or fill out an online contact form to see which of my virtual or in-person training sessions is the right fit for your needs with a complimentary consultation.

To Achieving Greatness,

Mark
MAT® Specialist & Charleston Fitness Trainer

The post Revolutionizing Your Routine: Turning Fitness Into a Lifestyle appeared first on McGuirt Strength.

If we haven’t already had the opportunity to train together, welcome to Athletic Endeavors!

I am a Master Level Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT®) Specialist and have been a local Charleston personal trainer for over 25 years. With an extensive background in fitness, I have had the opportunity and pleasure of training top athletes in tennis, golf, baseball, and more.

Prior to earning my Associates Degree in Physical Therapy from Trident Technical College located here in Charleston, South Carolina, I received my Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education with an emphasis in Sports Medicine at The College of Charleston.

Being a fitness trainer, I like to walk the walk. I have been working for the past few months to continue to strengthen my platform for helping you get in your best shape, and am thrilled to finally bring you the new Athletic Endeavors site. Here, you’ll find everything you need to know about my gym, techniques, workouts, and the cutting-edge technology I use to help athletes reach peak performance.

I have worked in the fitness industry for 27 years, I founded Athletic Endeavors back in 2000 so that I could better help my customers achieve real, mind-blowing results by turning their health and wellness into a lifestyle. That being said, I push my clients, no matter the goal, to find athletic greatness with safe, injury-free, and effective training programs.

Whether it be safely losing weight, building and optimizing muscle, or improving hand-eye coordination to perfect your golf swing, I focus on comprehensively exercising and balancing both the mind and body. My routines are designed to integrate industry-leading fitness technology to attain peak physical performance, in addition to mental acuity, clarity, and grit.

No matter your age or fitness background, whether as a professional athlete or an aspiring one, a local team player, or an occasional gym-goer, I am ready to help you achieve proven life-altering results. All you have to do is show up.

So, get ready, get motivated, and I’ll do the rest.

To Achieving Greatness,

Mark McGuirt
MAT® Specialist & Personal Trainer, Charleston SC

Meet Mark McGuirt and his trusted assistant, Sasha the Doberman.

 

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Sasha and I are twins in our puff coats on this cold Charleston morning! #ilovemydoberman

A post shared by Mark McGuirt (@markmcguirt) on Jan 21, 2020 at 5:32am PST

 

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These are some strategies to give you options on equipment along with adding variety to your workouts.

A post shared by Mark McGuirt (@markmcguirt) on Apr 8, 2020 at 3:19am PDT

 

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Working on my eye hand coordination with @senaptec Strobe Glasses! This is way harder than it may look! These dampen the visual field by flickering which force you to focus, anticipate and react quicker! These are a game changer for sports in that it slows the game down when you take them off! Any sport that happens at speed would benefit from this amazing technology! #senaptecstrobes #sportsvisiontraining #tennis #baseball #soccer #basketball #football #hockey

A post shared by Mark McGuirt (@markmcguirt) on Feb 12, 2020 at 4:32am PST

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