ATG Zero | annotated by Andrew

ATG Zero

This week I found myself in a situation where my goal was to create a well-rounded ATG protocol from which anyone could get big gains.

I created a hybrid between Knee Ability Zero and Back Ability Zero. Let’s call it ATG Zero.

The whole idea is to address 10 things almost any modern human will be deficient in:

1. 5-Minute Backward Walk

This is a tool for life which helps balance out a lifetime of overdoing forward goals (walking, running, jumps, sports, and other forward impacts). It’s a gift that keeps on giving for foot, lower leg, and knee health. You could perform this walking, using a treadmill (not turned on), or dragging a sled.

2. 25 Wall Tibialis Raises

This is one of the most neglected muscles in the body, and it happens to be the first line of defense for the feet, ankles, shins, and knees when doing activities such as going downhill and jumping. In fact, backward plus tibialis form a natural combination which I advise as the opening steps for almost any program.

[Closer stance = easier. One foot at a time = even easier!]

3. 25 Wall Calf Raises

You really can’t be “too strong” from the ground up. Stronger feet and lower legs make everything on up easier to work on. But in modern exercise, the lower legs are almost never trained evenly to the upper muscles. This only takes a minute or so, and it pairs nicely after the tibialis raises. Your ankles have now been addressed on each side. The next step moves on up to the knees and hips.

[Two legs is easier. One leg is tougher.]

4. 30-Second ATG Split Squat

I think of this as the “reverse” of sitting. Almost all modern humans benefit from longer hip flexors and greater pain-free ability in a full range of motion for the knee.

[A stairwell or a chair makes a great split squat station!]

5. 15 ATG-style Seated Goodmornings

Now we “bulletproof” the act of sitting itself. This plus the ATG Split Squat are a powerful combination for hip mobility and lower back health. The inner thigh muscles are the primary muscles felt stretching on this exercise, since many people have stopped fully squatting like we would in nature. The use of chairs almost automatically creates a need for ATG Split Squats and ATG-style seated goodmornings to stay closer to natural levels of mobility.

[Go slow on your progression from bodyweight to dumbbells to barbell. It takes time for those inner thigh muscles to regain flexibility.]

6. 15 Piriformis Push-ups

The piriformis is a pear-shaped (“pear” + “form”) muscle in the outside of the hips. Children spend so much time sitting on the floor in positions similar to this. For people who’ve stopped sitting in those natural floor positions, or perhaps who’ve worked jobs where they’re on their feet all day, this muscle can get particularly tight and weak. This allows you to gradually strengthen the muscle through a stretched position, creating lasting changes.

7. 15 Single-Leg Pikes

Due to modern footwear with lifted heels and general neglect of mobility, a high percentage of people benefit from addressing flexibility behind the knee.

[A great long-term goal is palms to floor, but please work only at the level that FEELS GOOD.]

8. 30-Second Couch Stretch

This is the finishing touch on the lower body because a series of muscles that start in your lower back travel all the way down to the middle of your thigh. The ATG Split Squat PLUS couch stretch seem to give the most stable gains.

[An actual couch is the gentlest way to get into it. A wall is tougher due to the increased stretch angle.]

9. 15 Pullovers

Now we use a wall or dumbbell to stretch the UPPER body in the opposing direction of sitting, looking at our phones, etc. Almost all modern humans have a lot of gains coming by patiently becoming GREAT at these.

10. 15 External Rotations

Due to a lifetime of pursuing upper body goals such as throwing, push-ups and bench pressing, almost everyone I’ve trained has had huge shoulder bulletproofing gains by getting BRUTALLY STRONG in the reverse. When these muscles are trained in modern exercise programs, it’s rarely done to anywhere near the strength that is easily obtainable for controlled, progressive-overload strength training over a few years. You can make a fundamentally different shoulder in terms of how protected it is. Yep, this isn’t “bodyweight” - but it only requires a dumbbell about 10% of your weight to create ability in the upper 1% of people.

[I start most clients at 5-10 pounds, and seek to build to 10-20 pounds. In sports such as football, that number goes much higher.]

Altogether, these 10 steps add up to address the 10 most common deficiencies I’ve seen.

I suggest going through them 3 days per week. That way you have the days in between to address other exercises and forms of activity/sport that you enjoy.

If you’re particularly deficient in an exercise, you can go back through it a second time.

If you’re already familiar with my work, this article may be boring. But for the majority of the world out there, this might be the most important beginner program I’ve written.

I hope you find some use for it.

Yours in Solutions,

Ben

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