Your Personal Trainer – what should they know about you - BEFORE they give you any advice about food or exercise?
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Your Personal Trainer – what should they know about you

Karen continues recalibrating the 8 basic movement lessons in the book Somatics, by Thomas Hanna. In this class she focuses on the third lesson, pp. 112-115, controlling the muscles of the waist. She continues to brilliantly update some of the language, content, and choice of movement examples based on her experience working with clients and teaching classes.  

After some guided assessment in sitting, she had us lie down on the floor. 
Most of this session was done in side-lying. Even though many of us sleep on our side, we often leave out side-lying and lateral movements in our daily practices. Karen is very precise in her instructions which helps us to pay attention to how we are organizing ourselves. Her guidance often leads us to challenge our expectations which may confront our comfort levels. Many of us have habituated side tilts and twists in our daily movements with no awareness that this is happening. Due to the way Karen is able to break down movements, we often begin to pick up these habituations. For example, as she led us through various side bending movements many of us began to notice how much we actually lean backward in our upper body as we side bend. With repetition and moving slowly, many of us experienced how we were able to self correct and not repeat our habitual movements, but move with a new awareness. We worked both sides of our body. When we got up and walked at the end of the session, I personally felt not only more balanced but also more 3 dimensionally aware of my body.

7/5/25: Zoom Class: Recalibration of Lesson 3 from "Somatics" by T. Hanna, Guest Teacher Karen Meyer

Get Started With Muscle Activation Techniques® To Keep Your Muscles Strong &amp; Functioning Well:  One key to long-term success with your workouts is staying consistent with them. While much of the world is focused on constantly switching things up, the truth is you need to keep doing the same things over and over again in order to build lasting strength and health. But, sometimes things do need to change, and that is exactly what has happened with our workouts recently. On this week’s episode of the Exercise Is Health® podcast, we are diving into the changes we have each made to our workouts, why we made those changes, the results we have been seeing since making the changes, and how you can go about implementing them yourself. If you are looking for some keys to take your strength and results to the next level, listen up! The information we share in this discussion will help you do exactly that. Check out all the details in this week’s episode! Ready to schedule your first Muscle Activation Techniques® session with us? Click here to get started:  Looking for custom workout programming that gets designed to your exact specifications to build your strength and athleticism? Sign up for PRO Strength &amp; Performance Programming:  Would you like to have our guidance implementing the 4 Exercise For Life Principles while you workout? Join the Exercise For Life Membership for free for 30 days! Just head to&nbsp; to get started! Did you find this episode helpful? Let us know by leaving us a rating and review on the following platforms: – Apple Podcasts:  – Spotify: &nbsp; Want to grab a free copy of our best-selling book, “The Exercise For Life Method”? Click here to order yours while copies are still available!  Just cover the cost of shipping and handling to have it delivered right to you. Follow us on Instagram for more exercise tips and content about MAT here: – Muscle Activation Schaumburg: &nbsp; – Julie Cates: &nbsp; – Charlie Cates:

E393 - Big Changes We've Made To Our Workouts This Year

Achieve real fitness results with personal training Queens residents choose for effective workouts. From fat loss to strength gains, expert trainers tailor every session to your goals. Experience a supportive, motivating environment built for progress. Start your transformation today with customized coaching and proven programs at Plasse Strength.

Personal Training Queens: Best Trainers for All Fitness Goals

Get Started With Muscle Activation Techniques® To Keep Your Muscles Strong &amp; Functioning Well:  Muscle Activation Techniques®, or MAT, is the most powerful process we have come across for helping people increase their strength and mobility while reducing pain and tightness. But, while the effects of MAT are profound, explaining it to somebody can be challenging. Over the years of practicing MAT, we have seen that there are some key concepts that can be easily explained and help people quickly understand not only what MAT is, but why it is important. On this week’s episode of the Exercise Is Health® podcast, we are breaking down these key concepts to present MAT in a simple, straightforward way that is easy to understand. If you have heard us speak about MAT before but aren’t completely sure what it is or how you would explain it to somebody else, listen up! This conversation will clear that up for you once and for all. Check out all the details in this week’s episode! Ready to schedule your first Muscle Activation Techniques® session with us? Click here to get started:&nbsp; Looking for custom workout programming that gets designed to your exact specifications to build your strength and athleticism? Sign up for PRO Strength &amp; Performance Programming:  Would you like to have our guidance implementing the 4 Exercise For Life Principles while you workout? Join the Exercise For Life Membership for free for 30 days! Just head to  to get started! Did you find this episode helpful? Let us know by leaving us a rating and review on the following platforms: – Apple Podcasts:  – Spotify: &nbsp; Want to grab a free copy of our best-selling book, “The Exercise For Life Method”? Click here to order yours while copies are still available!  Just cover the cost of shipping and handling to have it delivered right to you. Follow us on Instagram for more exercise tips and content about MAT here: – Muscle Activation Schaumburg: &nbsp; – Julie Cates: &nbsp; – Charlie Cates:

E394 - How Do You Explain Muscle Activation Techniques®?

Get Started With Muscle Activation Techniques® To Keep Your Muscles Strong &amp; Functioning Well:  There is a big myth of aging that is constantly told to us from the time we are young. Unfortunately, buying into this myth holds many people back from living the life they want on their terms. And to make matters worse, we can see examples of this myth being true all around us, which makes this myth even easier to believe. What is this big myth of aging? On this week’s episode of the Exercise Is Health® podcast, we are unveiling that answer plus teaching you exactly what you can do to overcome it. We lay out a simple plan to follow that will have you laughing to yourself anytime you hear one of your friends talk about this big myth like it is a fact. And, we share precisely what needs to happen to make sure your body feels and functions great the entire time. If you have been feeling like age–and its effects–are impacting your life, listen up! What we share in this conversation can completely change that for you. Check out all the details in this week’s episode! Ready to schedule your first Muscle Activation Techniques® session with us? Click here to get started:  Looking for custom workout programming that gets designed to your exact specifications to build your strength and athleticism? Sign up for PRO Strength &amp; Performance Programming:  Would you like to have our guidance implementing the 4 Exercise For Life Principles while you workout? Join the Exercise For Life Membership for free for 30 days! Just head to  to get started! Did you find this episode helpful? Let us know by leaving us a rating and review on the following platforms: – Apple Podcasts:  – Spotify: &nbsp; Want to grab a free copy of our best-selling book, “The Exercise For Life Method”? Click here to order yours while copies are still available!  Just cover the cost of shipping and handling to have it delivered right to you. Follow us on Instagram for more exercise tips and content about MAT here: – Muscle Activation Schaumburg: &nbsp; – Julie Cates: &nbsp; – Charlie Cates:

E395 - The Big Myth of Aging

Astrid, herself, described the focus of this class as creating space and control in the hips, pelvis and thoracic spine to enhance stability, mobility, and core connection. Astrid guided us beautifully with great clarity, an  emphasis of both exploration and self sensing at an easy to follow, slow pace. She basically had us explore four movements of the pelvis and lower extremity. Astrid built each movement sequence carefully starting with a basic movement and then guiding us to notice different aspects in the way we were using our body. She often added an additional aspect to the movement such as an oppositional rotation in the upper body with a focus on the thoracic spine. Sometimes she cued us to notice where our stability was coming from, sometimes she cued us to notice our breath or if we were adding an unconscious rotational or lateral flexion aspect. She helped us differentiate between rotating the head of the femur in the hip socket versus  rotating the hip socket around the head of the femur. It was a wonderful class with lots of learning. Thank you Astrid.

8/2/25: Zoom Class: Finding Your Center, Stabilize & Mobilize, Guest Presenter Astrid Cruse

Get Started With Muscle Activation Techniques® To Keep Your Muscles Strong &amp; Functioning Well:  Muscle Activation Techniques®, or MAT, is extremely helpful at helping people recover from a number of tweaks, twinges, and injuries. But, there is an aspect of the recovery process with MAT that is often overlooked, and this can have a HUGE influence on how fast the recovery process goes. Over the last 14 years, we have seen that when this aspect of recovery is accounted for, the recovery process can easily be up to 20 times faster than when it is disregarded. On this week’s episode of the Exercise Is Health® podcast, we are unveiling what this aspect of recovery is, why it is so impactful, and what you need to know to use it to your advantage. There is something very straightforward you can do to help your body recover faster with MAT, and this discussion brings it all to light. Check out all the details in this week’s episode! Ready to schedule your first Muscle Activation Techniques® session with us? Click here to get started:  Looking for custom workout programming that gets designed to your exact specifications to build your strength and athleticism? Sign up for PRO Strength &amp; Performance Programming:  Would you like to have our guidance implementing the 4 Exercise For Life Principles while you workout? Join the Exercise For Life Membership for free for 30 days! Just head to  to get started! Did you find this episode helpful? Let us know by leaving us a rating and review on the following platforms: – Apple Podcasts:  – Spotify: &nbsp; Want to grab a free copy of our best-selling book, “The Exercise For Life Method”? Click here to order yours while copies are still available!  Just cover the cost of shipping and handling to have it delivered right to you. Follow us on Instagram for more exercise tips and content about MAT here: – Muscle Activation Schaumburg: &nbsp; – Julie Cates: &nbsp; – Charlie Cates:

E399 - An Overlooked Aspect Of Recovery With Muscle Activation Techniques®

Get Started With Muscle Activation Techniques® To Keep Your Muscles Strong &amp; Functioning Well:  We have officially released 400 episodes of the Exercise Is Health® podcast! To celebrate, we are looking back on our first 399 episodes to discuss what has changed for us during that time, what we continue to believe to be true from this podcast’s inception, and what has evolved over the course of this podcast to lead us in new directions. If you have enjoyed any of our episodes in the past, you are going to love this conversation as we summarize the biggest things you need to do to continue to build your health, strength, and function without feeling achy, sore, or injured. Check out all the details in this week’s episode! Ready to schedule your first Muscle Activation Techniques® session with us? Click here to get started:  Looking for custom workout programming that gets designed to your exact specifications to build your strength and athleticism? Sign up for PRO Strength &amp; Performance Programming:  Would you like to have our guidance implementing the 4 Exercise For Life Principles while you workout? Join the Exercise For Life Membership for free for 30 days! Just head to  to get started! Did you find this episode helpful? Let us know by leaving us a rating and review on the following platforms: – Apple Podcasts:  – Spotify: &nbsp; Want to grab a free copy of our best-selling book, “The Exercise For Life Method”? Click here to order yours while copies are still available!  Just cover the cost of shipping and handling to have it delivered right to you. Follow us on Instagram for more exercise tips and content about MAT here: – Muscle Activation Schaumburg: &nbsp; – Julie Cates: &nbsp; – Charlie Cates:

E400 - Our Biggest Insights From 400 Episodes Of Podcasting

Get Started With Muscle Activation Techniques® To Keep Your Muscles Strong &amp; Functioning Well:  Achilles issues are one of the most common complaints we help people with at Muscle Activation Schaumburg. Whether it is Achilles tightness in a professional athlete or Achilles pain in a 55 year old runner, the Achilles is a major point of stress for a lot of people. Over the years, however, we have seen three common things come up time and again as contributing factors to Achilles issues. Fortunately, once these are identified within somebody, the steps to address them are relatively straightforward. On this week’s episode of the Exercise Is Health® podcast, we are unveiling what these contributing factors are and what we have seen to be the most effective ways to take care of them. If you have ever experienced Achilles issues only to rely on stretching and icing to help, listen up! There is a much more proactive approach you can take to not only resolve any issues that are present, but ward off future ones from developing, as well.&nbsp; Check out all the details in this week’s episode! Ready to schedule your first Muscle Activation Techniques® session with us? Click here to get started:  Looking for custom workout programming that gets designed to your exact specifications to build your strength and athleticism? Sign up for PRO Strength &amp; Performance Programming:  Would you like to have our guidance implementing the 4 Exercise For Life Principles while you workout? Join the Exercise For Life Membership for free for 30 days! Just head to  to get started! Did you find this episode helpful? Let us know by leaving us a rating and review on the following platforms: – Apple Podcasts:  – Spotify: &nbsp; Want to grab a free copy of our best-selling book, “The Exercise For Life Method”? Click here to order yours while copies are still available!&nbsp; Just cover the cost of shipping and handling to have it delivered right to you. Follow us on Instagram for more exercise tips and content about MAT here: – Muscle Activation Schaumburg:&nbsp;&nbsp; – Julie Cates: &nbsp; – Charlie Cates:

E402 - 3 Common Contributors To Achilles Issues

Plasse Strength is a personal training gym in Flushing, NY, offering private, one-on-one training sessions by appointment. We focus on strength training to improve overall health, including better body composition, heart health, mobility, and athletic performance. Our customized workouts cater to all ages and fitness levels, helping you achieve your goals with personalized attention and expert guidance.

Disclaimer: These recordings are for educational purposes only.  Please do all somatic movements comfortably, slowly, and without pain or force. Please consult appropriate medical or health care providers if you have any concerns about whether the movements are suitable for you, especially if you are dealing with an illness or injury, are pregnant, or have other health, balance or mobility issues.

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