About Dan Zeller

EDUCATION:

After switching his major repeatedly, Dan finally decided to research why no one could effectively help him with his injuries.  He enrolled and completed Western Washington University’s Kinesiology program.  Not satisfied with what he had learned he continued to research and enroll in various programs and internships before enrolling in the RTS program, and then MAT in 2009.  By 2020 he had achieved the highest level of certification possible in the Muscle Activation Techniques program.  He continues his schooling and education to this day.

ATHLETIC BACKGROUND:

Dan has been a competitive athlete throughout the majority of his life. Playing at the varsity level in multiple sports through high school as well as continuing on to play football at Golden West College in Huntington Beach CA.  At Golden West College, Dan was an Academic All American, 2nd Team All Conference OLB, Team Captain, and his team’s Defensive Player of the Year.  Following his career he was inducted into the Orange County Football Hall of Fame in 2006 where he holds the highest GPA of any athlete in its history since its creation in the 1970’s. 

In addition, Dan was an accomplished competitive Olympic Weight Lifter.  In 2003 he placed 2nd in the Washington State Championships and in 2004 he placed 1st overall, winning the state title. That same year he qualified for Junior Olympic Nationals.

After college, Dan pursued down hill mountain bike racing completing his 1st season in 2011.  Rising through the classes he became sponsored by several major brands to create and manage a local elite level race team. 

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND:

Dan has been providing his services as a coach and athletic performance specialist since 2005. In 2009, he started his career and education with Muscle Activation Techniques and has since become one of the top practitioners, practicing at the highest level of certification possible.  He has worked with many aspiring high school and collegiate athletes over the years, for rehabilitation and athletic performance gains, with great success.  He has also had the privilege of coaching, training, and rehabilitating many professional and Olympic level athletes during that time.

PERSONAL LIFE:

Dan’s primary focus is leading a healthy lifestyle with his wife Elizabeth, their 3 year old son Dane, and their two large dogs Ruger and Remington. As a family they enjoy dirt biking and UTV riding with friends, working on all the endless projects on their land, enjoying the outdoors, and being physically active as much as possible.

Dan Zeller: My Story

I grew up playing every sport I could all year long.  Jumping from one practice to the next I suffered from all sorts of growing pains and injuries that forced me to miss every other football season from the 7th grade on, but my issues really started around 3rd grade.  From Osgood-Schlatters in both knees, Severs in both heels, chronic ankle rolls, to endlessly tight muscles, dislocations of my left hip and shoulder, ligament damage, as well as broken bones, and all of that I experienced before my freshman year.  It then culminated with a season ending ACL tear my Junior year of high school football.  That injury changed everything for me.  My Orthopedic Doctor was previously the UW Huskies head Doctor so I was confident I could get some help.  But that soon turned to a feeling of loneliness and confusion.  I wasn’t happy with my Physical Therapist, no one could tell me why I tore it, or even how long it would take to be 100% again.  I took matters into my own hands, for better or for worse, I just needed to move forward.  In addition, the mental toll was something I wasn’t ready for, but soon overcame.  I spent all day and night thinking, analyzing, and trying new ideas and ways to conquer this injury. And I did, I came back at 3 months to the day of my surgery to break the high school power cleans all-time record.  I was back, finally.  It didn’t take 12 months like I had been told.  It was then I realized some things about the medical system that still affect my practice today. 

Then at 19 years old, I was a sophomore playing football at Golden West College in California, I tore my hamstring in a DB drill.  This is the injury that made me want to pursue a career in physiology and here’s why...  I tore that hamstring a total of 6 times before the season started, despite passing every single test they could throw at me to prove I was ready.  And each time I pulled it, I was less than 15 minutes into practice, much of the time completely under my own body weight and not during contact.  I started asking questions of the medical staff that challenged their understanding and competency.  Instead of having thoughtful conversations and educating me, I was met with irritation, hostility, or blame towards me for what was happening.  That year I was the leading lifter on the team, no one maxed higher or performed better.  How could someone so ready, in my opinion, be so injured?

I decided to look for more, I wanted to understand what they couldn’t.  I switched majors, I took internships, I researched, I experimented on myself and willing clients, I read, I studied nationally accredited strength certifications, and I slowly started to realize that something was missing.  The information, all of it, was incomplete.  Then while I was frustrated after my 1st year in my major at Western Washington University, I was introduced to the Resistance Training Specialist program, a private certification/education program.  Pleasantly, during that course I found some of what was missing in health and fitness.  Shortly after that I was enrolled in Muscle Activation Techniques Internship and discovered the rest of what was missing in health and fitness.  This started me on a path that I never came close to in all my other forms of education, they are the most comprehensive programs I have ever encountered.

Fast forward to today, and I can effectively say that without these tools my life would not be very pleasant.  The amount of pain I used to suffer daily from a laundry list of orthopedic injuries, that only felt better with rest, would have lead me to a very weak and out of shape state.  As to which, only more injury and pain results.  Today, I feel better now than I ever have.  Looking back, I never experienced a time where everything felt good physically in my life, I was always hurting.  I just had no idea how bad until I got worked on with MAT.  That immediate change in my neuromuscular system provided me with a new perspective on how bad I really was despite my athleticism and accomplishments.  Now, with these tools, I can stay at the top of my performance without injury for the long term.

The system I have today was developed out of eliminating all my previous mistakes in training not only myself but my athletes as well.  With MAT I could evaluate every rep, every amount of resistance, and every type of movement.  Something that was impossible to do without MAT. Now I could finally answer the questions I was asking long ago, for every single one of my clients – and I can do it relative to their specific issue.  That’s the power of MAT and my program, it gives clarity on what an exercise is actually doing to your body immediately.  You don’t have to wait and hope.  Without this system, I wouldn’t be where I am physically today, and neither would many of my clients…