Week 5: Matador Rehab and Perfomance
Hey guys! Welcome back to my blog. This week was very different because at the end of this week, I officially moved my senior project over to Matador Rehab & Performance. My original advisor couldn’t keep me on due to scheduling stuff, but honestly, this new spot might be an even better fit for what I’m trying to learn.
Matador is set up more like a hybrid between a performance gym and a rehab clinic. The space has turf running through it and a full setup of free weights, cables, kettlebells, dumbbells, and benches. It feels more active and training-focused, which is perfect for someone like me who’s interested in movement, recovery, and strength all in one.
On the rehab side, they’ve got chiropractic benches for adjustments and soft tissue work, plus some tools I hadn’t seen used much before. They use dry needling, which I’m excited to see more of. They also have the Chattanooga Intelect RPW-2 shockwave therapy machine. It’s used for breaking up scar tissue and stimulating healing, something I’ve read about but never seen in action. After treatments, they finish with hot towels, which honestly feels like the most underrated part of the whole process.
For now, I’m just shadowing since it was my first day here, but I already got to watch a full session from start to finish. One guy came in for both rehab and training. His knee had been bothering him the past few weeks, but he said it was already feeling better compared to his last visit. He started with some light stretching, then worked through a solid lift. He did bench press, kettlebell swings, and high cable rows. You could tell everything was programmed with intention, not just random exercises. After the workout, he got dry needling on his quads and finished off with the Chattanooga machine on his knee to help with recovery. Before leaving, he also got adjusted since his alignment was still a bit off from favoring that leg.
It was the first time I’d seen someone do all of that in one session: train, recover, and get treated.
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