Let’s Talk ATG & Muscle
Sometimes people assume ATG creates only body structures like mine.
I tend to stay around 185 pounds. I’m not very big.
But Fernando is well over 200 pounds despite being shorter than me. And he was the first ATG Coach with me 10 years ago!
As a lifelong basketball player, I was ECSTATIC to find I could change my knees and jumping ability.
I immediately started coaching young players. I even became the basketball coach at a school two blocks from ATG.
I helped over a dozen unrecruited players get college scholarships.
Meanwhile, Fernando was competing in semi-pro football!
And we both strength-coached the local football team, helping dozens of players get college scholarships!
They were the first and only football team I’ve seen use full range of motion for all main exercises.
Those boys got jacked, fast, and man, were they resilient!
Sadly, none were allowed to continue training ATG-style at the college level.
In fact, some were BERATED by strength coaches when they squatted deeper than halfway down.
This is why ATG exists.
- A stand needed to be taken for your right to exercise your body how you want.
- This subject required UNDERSTANDING rather than the FEAR which dominated for the past 4 decades.
You don’t “have” to train ATG-style. It’s not a forced system.
ATG is just DATA.
But you sure shouldn’t be PREVENTED from it if you desire to train this way.
Imagine using ATG to help yourself get a college scholarship, but then not being allowed to use it once you’re there?
My heart goes out to anyone who has been in that situation.
As for Fernando and me, 10 years later…
We can both dunk — something we couldn’t do before ATG.
We can both do the splits and other flexibility feats we had no idea we’d ever be able to do, and without practicing them.
And we both improved our physiques for OUR goals.
But most importantly, we get to ENJOY what we love without our knees or other body problems holding us back.
Example:
This past weekend, Fernando was able to enjoy a squat workout — 405 pounds rock bottom like butter — no knee sleeves or back belt needed, and then join us for hoops, be able to compete with 100% effort, and never have to think about his joints!
Maybe I won’t ever be as strong as Fernando.
Maybe Fernando won’t ever be as skilled at basketball as I am.
And I don’t think my amazing 70-year-old mother will ever dunk a basketball on a 10-foot rim. [SORRY MOM! LOVE YA!]
But we all do the same ATG exercises — at the levels we ENJOY, and this helps us enjoy LIFE more.
Exercise is a stimulus.
But…
How much weight?
How many times?
How many CALORIES are burned vs. consumed?
What are the genetics like to begin with?
Age/hormones also greatly affect the process of building muscle.
Many factors determine how much muscle mass someone will have.
And ATG can be used for a variety of muscle goals.
ATG mostly comes down to an understanding of SLED, and an understanding of full range of motion strengthening for the whole body, from the ground up.
For the knee, full range of motion has been prevented for millions of people.
But other areas were broadly missed as well.
So it’s not that a tibialis raise is “better” than a calf raise.
In ATG we simply do both!
And you’re not forced to. Again, it’s just data for you to think with and use as you see fit.
For the lower body, we do:
Ankles
Knees
Hips
On BOTH sides
With FULL range of motion
And with LEVELS for virtually anyone
Regardless of what else is added, this is a valuable exercise system and a style which never happened to become broadly popular and educated on until ATG arrived.
But all components have had wonderful success throughout the history of exercise!
As with any resistance training, you can build muscle if that’s your goal.
I’ve been gaining more muscle recently.
How?
Simply by eating more and keeping intent on getting stronger in the ATG movements.
Strength intent plus more calories consumed than burned are two simple keynotes of building muscle, regardless of workout style.
Fernando has created a well-built arsenal of ATG-style programs to ensure your training gets sufficient muscle stimulus to grow.
His “ATG Muscle” program has been one of the most-enjoyed programs on the app over the past year!
Regardless of your goals, we hope to be a helpful part of your exercise journey.
Yours in Solutions,
Ben
