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Pacey Performance Podcast

“Activation” exercises: Are they really improving performance or preparing your athletes? with Gerard McMahon

Aug 1, 2024
Gerard McMahon, an expert challenging conventional beliefs about activation exercises, joins the discussion on their role in sports performance. He argues that these exercises often fall short in enhancing muscle activation for healthy athletes. Instead, he highlights their potential value in rehabilitation. McMahon critiques EMG technology for its inaccuracies in measuring muscle signals, suggesting that traditional activation methods may not prepare athletes effectively for high-intensity activities. He advocates for a shift towards functional training to better mimic actual movement patterns.
48:09

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Activation exercises, often misunderstood in athletic contexts, may not significantly improve muscle activation or performance for healthy athletes.
  • EMG studies, while insightful, possess limitations that can lead practitioners to misapply activation methods without considering functional validation.

Deep dives

Understanding Muscle Activation

Muscle activation refers to the neuromuscular system's ability to recruit motor units and generate muscle force, which fundamentally underpins all movement. Many practitioners display a misunderstanding of this concept, often associating it with complex terminology that can obscure its simplicity. True muscle activation necessitates a combination of motor unit recruitment and the rate at which these units fire, essentially reflecting the muscle's readiness to perform tasks. This confusion can result in practitioners applying misguided methods, mistakenly believing that simply performing low-intensity activation exercises will enhance performance.

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