Bryson Dechambeau uses Muscle Activation Techniques and isolated workouts for his golf game.  He works with Greg Roskopf in Denver, Colorado.

 He is continually increasing the stability and strength of every single component of his body.

 The entire perception over what Bryson Dechambeau is doing to his body is skeptical. It makes one think of the golfers who have been injured in the past like Tiger Woods.  These men put on quite a bit of weight and then get injured.

 Why is Bryson any different?  Tiger did more of a Crossfit routine, like squats, deadlifts and heavier lifts.  There are reasons why the MAT philosophy is less prone to risk.  It is because it works isolated movements vs compound movements.  Instead of working a squat you work glutes, hamstrings, calves, low back extension individually so that no weaker part is left behind.

 Bryson’s Goal: Improve Swing Mechanics.  His body is the most important piece of equipment. Problems: Tight hips, Trunk rotation, Trunk Flexion, Low Back Soreness

Bryson took 3 years to gain a foundation and get to where he is the farthest driver on the tour.  The last 6 months have been his biggest gains.  It seems like an overnight success but it has been quite a journey. Muscle Activation Fitness is designed to identify and correct muscle imbalances that have led to pain and injury.  Then you can improve your performance.  It starts with correcting the issues then adding strength on top of a solid foundation.  

 If Bryson just does exercises like squats and deadlifts then he would only compound the issues of his muscular instability.  It would be like driving a Ferrari with the alignment off.

But he does no squats, no bench press, no deadlift.  He only focuses on isolated parts like deltoids, right pec or left quad so that the integrative system can be overall stronger as a whole.

The goal was to figure out what he could not do.  It’s about the Antagonist muscles (the hero’s) They are not stable, strong and struggling.  The goal is to make them confident, stable and strong.  If you lack right trunk rotation don’t just stretch to get there but activate the muscles manually to improve motion and stability/responsibility of that motion.

 If you have what we call “Loose battery cables” (low muscular stability around your joint)…through MAT you tighten battery cables (increase the neuromuscular connection) and then add strength to the stability that has been created.  If muscles cannot fire or do their job then in essence your lug nuts are loose and your muscles are not able to create stability for your joints.  AKA Pain, injury and low performance.

 An analogy comes to mind that Squats are like driving the Ferrari.  You aren’t thinking 2 cents about all the parts and everything that has to come together to create the most speed in the Ferrari.  You are getting from point A to point B as best as you can and that’s it.  Working out in isolated parts and really honing in on specific muscles is working on the car itself.  How’s the horsepower?  Spark plugs?  So that when Bryson is ready to drive a golf ball 350 yards he doesn’t have to think about it.  

 His driving the Ferrari is his golf swing.  It is not squatting or deadlifting.  This is all about mitigating risk along with using Muscle Activation Techniques and an isolation workout to keep everything in checks and balances.  

 You are only as strong as your weakest link.  Do you lack dorsiflexion (the ability to bend your ankle) on your right foot?  Your body will have to find a way to compensate for this.  With Muscle Activation Techniques Bryson was able to be assessed through Range of Motion and have corrected his issues prior to working out so he was not able to compensate in a negative way but instead improve his system overall.

 If you loosen the tight muscles, then there is no longer a protective mechanism.  You could get injured.  Bad things could happen like Tiger’s low back.

 

Change your philosophy of muscular imbalance.  Change your life.