10 Powerful ATG Exercises For People Who Sit A Lot:

1. Pullover

You can use the wall, or load it with a dumbbell or a bench as shown.

Want to improve your athleticism while becoming more resilient to injury in the process?

You need to increase your full range, pound-for-pound strength from the ground up first.

Here’s a simple, full body workout to help you do it:

1. Warmup

Sled or Resisted Treadmill x 5 minutes

Build Strength From The Ground Up With Minimal Equipment

Here’s How:

1. FHL Raise 2 x 25

All you need is a wall for this one!

Step away from the wall as shown to put your calves into a full stretch. Push through your big toes and pause at the top. 

You can also use the one-legged version for more of a challenge.

What’s The Purpose Of A Slant Board?
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1. Poor ankle mobility is a common issue for many people.

The slant board allows you to squat deep in a full range of motion without ankle mobility being a limiting factor.

This is Fernando Lopez.

A former high school quarterback, Fernando dreamed of playing professional football.

But at 23, he was running the 40-yard dash in 5.2 seconds—far too slow to be a pro.

Fast forward four years later, and at 27, Fernando ran back-to-back, laser-timed 4.4 40s at a CFL tryout.

At 215 lbs, he had improved his 40 time by almost a full second; this is virtually unheard of, especially for an athlete in his mid-20s.

Here is his story: A little over 11 years ago, Fern was 23 and working as a handyman and part-time personal trainer in the Tampa Bay area.

A good athlete (his grandfather played baseball in the major leagues for the Washington Senators), he experienced a string of injuries and bad luck that derailed a once promising high school and college football career.

Fern loved lifting weights and enjoyed helping people as a personal trainer, but he wasn’t sure what his next move was.

#1 “Must Own” Piece Of Equipment For: 

1. Strength

2. Mobility

3. Longevity

*The 45 Degree Back Extension*

Read on for why:
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The back extension machine, also sometimes called a Roman chair or hyper bench, is the most versatile and UNDERRATED piece of equipment that I know of for at home training.

There are good ways to train nearly every other major area of the body with minimal or no equipment except for the posterior chain.

But the back extension allows you to SAFELY train hamstrings, glutes, core, lower back, and mid back with one piece that is inexpensive and takes up little space.

My parents are 76 and 75 years old. I bought them two back extension machines, one for when they are in Florida in the winter, and one for their Maryland house.

They both enjoy using it, and it allows them to do a variety of different important strength exercises for longevity and overall fitness.

The bottom line is if you own a TV, I think you should own a back extension machine  in your home too!

Here is a list of my favorite back extension exercises:

“Lifting weights” is not just for bodybuilders and powerlifters. 

Smart strength training is for everyone.

Here’s a full-body ATG circuit designed to help you address commonly weak and tight areas of the body:
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1. Optional Warm Up—5 minutes, BACKWARDS

Use a sled, the ATG Reverse Treadmill, or a regular treadmill turned off for warming up while simultaneously strengthening your knees and feet in reverse.

Walking backwards for 5-10 minutes on flat ground or up a hill works great too!

What My Workouts Used To Look Like

-Versus-

What They Looks Like Now:
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(Scroll to the end for an explanation of why I changed)

Warmup

THEN: 10-15 minutes of foam rolling and massage w/ a lacrosse ball.

NOW: 3-5 minutes backwards walking, sled, or ATG backwards treadmill.

This week my family and I have had a great time visiting my parents.

Yesterday, I took my dad (age 75) through a full-body, ATG stretch-strength workout.

Here is exactly what we did—sets and reps included:
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1. Warmup—Backwards Treadmill, 200 steps

My dad’s gym in his retirement community has a treadmill. We used a pad for him to lean his back against.

Without turning it on, he spun it backwards for about 2 minutes.

The 12 Best Exercises for Strength, Mobility, and Athleticism—At Any Age: 1. Cardio BACKWARDS

I’m not a genetically gifted athlete. Far from it, in fact.

I didn't play sports in college—wasn’t athletic or good enough.

I’m an average guy with a surgically reconstructed knee on one side and a reconstructed achilles on the other. I have a wife and two kids, and a demanding, full time job.

But at age 46, I’ve recently developed some fairly uncommon abilities—including dunking a basketball and doing the splits.

How?

I trained ATG basics consistently for the past 3 years.

My purpose in this thread isn’t to brag, but to show you some of the basics that I use every week.

Because you can do it too!
1. Cardio Basics—Sled, Backwards Treadmill, or Walking Backwards

Backwards treadmilling, sledding, or walking/running is my favorite form of cardio.

Not only is a great way to warmup, but you are putting “money in the bank” for strengthening your knees at the same time!

Dealing with a painful lower back strain?

It might be a weak/tight quadratus lumborum muscle.

Read this thread to learn what to do about it:

1. Have you ever experienced lower back pain on one side, directly above the hip bone?

That is probably your quadratus lumborum—a deep, four-sided core muscle located on either side of the spine.

I used to occasionally strain this area of my lower back very badly.

Every time I did it, I would freak out—convinced that I had “blown out” my back and would never be the same—might even need back surgery, etc… 😀😀

To be clear, I don’t want to diminish a lower back strain. It can be very painful—even debilitating.

I remember once when I did it 5 or 6 years ago, it was so painful that even getting in and out of my car was an ordeal.

At that time, I didn’t know what it was or how to fix it—let alone how to prevent it from happening again.

But now thanks to my ATG training, I believe I do know—follow these steps below.

You don’t have to live with physical pain or a lack of mobility.

You can do MORE than you might think—at any age!

My “ATG Weekend Warrior” stretch-strength program is designed to reverse common weak and tight links so that you can do the activities and play the sports you love.

Here are all the sets, reps, and important details for Day 1 of ATG Weekend Warrior:
Warmup: backwards treadmill, sled, or walking x 5 min

In this thread, I take you through Day 1 of my new ATG Weekend Warrior program—a full body workout program you can use to STRENGTHEN commonly weak and tight areas of the body.

Read on to get started: Warmup: Backwards Walking x 5 min

Use the ATG Backwards Treadmill, a regular treadmill not turned on, a sled, or find an open space where you can walk backwards without running into anything. A hill works great too!

Are you a cyclist? Ride a mountain bike, road bike, trail and/or Peloton?

In this thread, I’m going to show you 7 ATG-style exercises designed to help you protect your mobility blindspots.

Add this routine between riding days once or twice a week to reverse imbalances, strengthen common weak links, and ultimately improve your performance on the bike.
🧵 1. The ATG Split Squat 3 x 5 each (with slow eccentric and 4 second hold at the bottom)

Conventional wisdom would have you weight train in a similar motion to riding the bike. I think you should actually be doing the OPPOSITE.

This is because like any sport, cycling creates large imbalances in the body from repetitive movement. If you’re a serious cyclist, you can bet that your quads and glutes are plenty strong in that range already.

You can also be fairly certain that your hip flexor muscles are tight and likely weak.

The ATG split squat is a POWERFUL exercise for opening up tight hip flexors because the area is under load in a lengthened position.

Most people will have to start with their front foot elevated on something like a box or chair. As your hip flexors lengthen and become stronger from consistent training, the goal is to ultimately move to flat ground.

After that, you can continue to get progressively stronger by holding dumbbells or using a barbell.

Wouldn’t it be cool to do the front splits without ever directly training for them?

Believe it or not, I had pretty average flexibility growing up and throughout most of my adult life.

I never set out to do the splits, and I find static stretching boring (and honestly do very little of it).

Yet nowadays thanks to ATG, I can drop into a pretty solid front split basically whenever I want.

Read on to learn how you can gain this ability too by getting STRONG in a few unusual ATG exercises:
1. ATG Split Squat

I’ve been training split squats on a weekly basis for three years. Like most people, I started with my front foot elevated.

As my hip flexors got stronger, I progressed to flat ground, and then I started adding load by using dumbbells and a barbell.

Eventually, I started to elevate my back foot to continue to expose my hip flexor and groin muscles to new stimuli.

My simple recipe for running faster and jumping higher—at any age:
(I’m 46)

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1. Train your LOWER LEGS like the average gym goer trains bench and biceps.

Tib Raises ✅
Straight leg calf raises ✅
Seated calf machine (or bent leg calf) ✅

Lower leg strength is my number one priority in the gym.

Driving up strength in the rest of the body but ignoring the lower legs and feet is like putting a racecar engine on a pair of bicycle wheels.

How to perform the ATG Split Squat correctly—a comprehensive breakdown: 1. Front Foot Elevation

Proper front foot split squat form requires FULL hamstring coverage of the calf at the bottom.

But most people won’t be able to achieve this at first due to weak and tight hip flexors.

Therefore, it’s necessary to experiment with different front foot levels to regress the stretch as needed.

Use a chair, a stool, or a step to find the optimal front foot height for your level.

The best front foot elevation is one that allows for full hamstring coverage of your front calf at the bottom, while also creating a substantial STRETCH for your back leg hip flexors throughout.

Patiently work to progress to flat ground over time. As your hip flexors lengthen and become stronger, add load by holding dumbbells or a barbell. NEVER work through pain.

Dealing with a cranky lower back?

I’ve had some tightness and fatigue in my lower back recently too.

But I think this thread can help!

Read on for four ATG-style exercises (plus one bonus) for improving lower back ability:
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1. Elephant Walks 1 x 60

Start here. And if this is all you can do for now, that’s ok!

Be patient and do not work through pain.

Excessive sitting causes weakness and tightness in the hamstrings—a commonly undertrained area of the lower body.

This strengthens and stretches your hamstrings and your back in a rounded position.

Elephant walks are also great longterm preparation for more intense ATG posterior chain movements like the Nordic and the Seated Goodmorning!

In this thread, I'm going to show you how to train the soleus muscle if you don't have access to a seated calf raise machine.

In my experience, the soleus is commonly undertrained and WEAK—that was definitely the case for me—and it lead to all kinds of foot, Achilles, and lower leg issues.

I believe the seated calf raise machine is KING for soleus, but the problem is that not every gym has one.

Here are four ways to makeshift a potential solution:
Soleus Solution #1 KOT Calf Raise 20-25 reps

The soleus lies below the larger, more visible gastroc muscle. It is prioritized in a calf raise movement with the knee bent.

For the KOT Calf Raise, stand about a foot from a wall. Bend your knees as far forward over your toes as you can do so comfortably, and try to stack your hips and shoulders vertically over your bent knees.

Perform full range calf raises, pushing through your big toe and pausing at the top for a one count. 

If two legs is too easy, progress to one leg. Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell on your working-side hip for even more challenge. 

However, if the knees-over-toes position bothers your knees, skip this one and read on for more options.

Recently, I've seen a trend of articles and studies (like the one linked below from the NYTimes) affirming what might seem a bit like common sense—people who strength regularly live longer and better lives.

I'll be 47 in May.

So in this thread, I want to outline some strategies and principles I plan to use to maintain my athleticism, mobility, and active lifestyle for the next 40 years and beyond.
nytimes.com/2022/08/24/wel…
1. Sled (and walking daily)

I was first introduced to pulling and pushing a weighted sled by @kneesovertoesguy—it is the most efficient and effective form of low impact cardio I've ever done.

5-10 minutes on the sled is intense aerobic exercise, AND it builds strength and resilience in the muscles, connective tissues, and joints of the lower body in the process.

If you don't have access to a sled, you can try going backwards on a treadmill (turned off).

I also believe walking is still underrated and enjoy walking my dog with my wife daily.