ATG Zero > Basics > Pro
Can you create better mobility than the norm with just your body?
ABSOLUTELY!
Can you create upper 1% results for explosiveness, flexibility and resilience, with no more equipment than dumbbells?
ABSOLUTELY!!
And can further equipment provide advantages for world-class athletes and grandparents alike?
ABSOLUTELY!!!
Let’s break down 3 of the most valuable progressions I know…
Here I am, back foot elevated on the ATG Mobility Box, dumbbells in hand, enjoying what is — in my opinion — the greatest lower body mobility exercise of all time.
Here is Alissa, using a chair, working on a 30-second hold per side. For the record, she’s an incredible athlete, but 3 years ago she insisted on showing these “high-low” levels with me, and it’s helped better illustrate ATG ever since.
So in a snapshot we can already see examples of “Zero” and “Pro.”
But the next picture shows how Pro doesn’t just mean more advanced. Here I am again, back foot elevated, but Alissa is using the ATG Mobility box for measurement of front foot elevated, and incredibly stable ASSISTANCE. I think senior centers would benefit from these units!
Not everything is Zero or Pro.
Almost all gyms have bumper plates, which can be used for front foot elevation.
But as you get better and better, you don’t even need ‘em!
I’d call that “Basics.”
It still blows my mind that with just Basics I can maintain upper 1% mobility.
Another example is a stretch-strength deadlift.
Alissa is using our lightest dumbbells. I’m using half my weight in each hand. We’re doing the same motion.
Could you add a bar to this?
Olympic silver medalist Dmitry Klokov did, using a wide grip and standing on a platform so he could use his full flexibility.
I met Dmitry at a Charles Poliquin seminar.
Dmitry was one of the most explosive people on the planet, and I was shocked to find he was WAY MORE FLEXIBLE THAN ME.
Here he is doing the splits with 2-time CrossFit Games champion Annie Thorisdottir.
I was already obsessed with the ATG Split Squat, so I started working on stretch-strength deadlifting. I never looked back.
I now have some uncommon abilities of my own, such as effortlessly dunking a basketball, landing on one leg and stepping right into a front splits, despite being far from all those abilities when I started stretch-strength training.
And as I’ve shown in previous articles, what’s more amazing is that others such as Geoff Reed are experiencing the same abilities. He’s 46, regained the ability to dunk for the first time since he was 23, and has a nasty injury/surgery history that made his life rather fragile before ATG.
ATG may have been sparked by my journey, but it’s relevant because of yours.
Now, could you get progress going, or enhance those results, with zilch?
Yep! The elephant walk + dumbbell stretch-strength deadlift gives me a simple formula I can use for life.
Similarly, a stretch-strength seated goodmorning can be done with a bar… or with just a chair and dumbbells!
90 pounds in each hand gives me the inner thigh explosion and flexibility I need to dunk from a deep squat. And here you can see Alissa using our lightest dumbbells.
Meanwhile, a standing pancake pulse could assist that process, or get gains going with zero gym equipment.
CONCLUSION
I’m convinced stretch-strength is one of the most powerful natural health methods.
My journey now leaves me pleasantly surprised to find how much can be done with zero or basic equipment.
Is Zero > Basics > Pro a finished subject?
Nope!
You’re part of ATG as an evolving subject.
I assure you, I try my best.
But I know it’s not perfect yet, and that’s why I keep going.
The Knee, Back and ATG (balanced knee — back — shoulder) Zero sections in the app now have the Basics and Pro versions within them.
I look forward to continuing to work on this subject for you.
Yours in Solutions,
Ben
