Active Isolated Strengthening

A Solid Foundation for Optimal Functioning

The importance of stability cannot be understated. Flexibility without strength can create an unstable environment in a joint as it moves through new ranges of motion. Without strength and/or neurological connection, muscles and fascia may not be able to support the limb. Muscle spasm and/or injury may occur, compounding the problem.

Active Isolated Strengthening was also developed by Aaron Mattes. By focusing on one area at a time, this exacting system of strengthening creates a solid foundation for complete joint health and muscle stability. Specific weakness is much like being tight in one area. If you don’t attend to a weak area specifically, the underlying dysfunction remains. Often stronger muscles will take up the slack for the weaker ones, which break down and perpetuate the problem.

The addition of specific strengthening protocols, concurrent with the Active Isolated Stretching protocols provides a necessary component for establishing full and lasting recovery from an injury. Strengthening may be the missing link to resolve circulatory, neurological and orthopedic conditions. This specific approach creates fundamental strength and endurance and establishes a foundation for optimal function and the development of more complex strength, stability, proprioceptive and endurance training.

Most functional strengthening exercises utilize non-specific, compound joint movements. This recruits many muscles to accomplish the task instead of the one or two that need more attention. The end result is that the weakest muscles stay weak while the strongest ones do the bulk of the work demanded. The end result is that the underlying cause of weakness remains unresolved. To build optimal strength and endurance, your muscles need to be recruited to do what they were designed to do without the stronger ones compensating for deficiencies.

Specific strengthening protocols utilize free weights as well as manual resistance. Manual resistance is the ideal approach when clients require precise support and assistance or are suffering from a brain injury such as a stroke. Manual resistance quickly establishes neurological reconnection, changes firing patterns, and increases balance and stability.

Example: A client suffers from poor posture due to computer work. Their shoulder blades are pulled up around their ears, their arms rotated inward, their upper back hunched forward. By focusing on the postural muscles that need strengthening, the client can counter-balance the stresses that are pulling heraway from neutral alignment. The exercises use free weights or the client’s own body weight against gravity and are specific to the muscles that have become weak and held in a contracted position. There are few machines or multi-joint exercises that can replicate this specific type of strengthening.