The Code of ATG
- We can teach and spread ATG without criticizing anyone.
Morals aside, it’s a math equation: more time spent on helping people = more helping people! Luck may be part of life but I’m a firm believer that we can mathematically make ourselves luckier toward our true goals by literally putting more energy on them. This has been a firm policy for me throughout my growth and it has proven successful. Therefore, it is the bedrock principle I must uphold in myself and in ATG.
2. Everything regresses.
We never work through pain. We relentlessly find the level we can win at and then train from that level. My breakthroughs for exercise science are not in the form of greater complexity or risk, but rather in making things safer, simpler, and more accessible! We have thousands of success stories which prove that we do not have to push through pain to create world-class, long-term results.
[My mom made it out of chronic conditions thanks to REGRESSIONS. Now she’s able to be incredibly active with my kids!]
3. ATG is not a sport.
There are plenty of awesome sports. What was lacking for me was a fitness system intended solely to reduce pain and increase ability. Could ATG be a sport? Sure. But we would be providing the world less help — the exercises would decrease in long-term value because maintaining perfect form is essential to achieving great results. ATG exists to help all sports and all walks of life and must not be turned into a sport itself.
[Example: the ATG Split Squat is my favorite exercise but it would lose so much of its value if treated as a sport. Nor do you “have” to ATG Split Squat. It’s a tool that is quickly becoming regarded as the world’s greatest stretch/strengthen exercise but the best weight is the one that you get the best range with, with zero pain. The moment you break either of those rules, you begin decreasing its results!]
4. There is no “ATG Diet” — but we can lend a helping hand.
Different foods grow in different parts of the world. But we all have knees. I’ve never coached someone who didn’t have something to gain by dragging a sled backward. I’ve seen people experience different results on different diets. And if we go back to point #1 about where I have put my energy… it has been on The ATG Program — not on diet. I just completed all 365 days of 2021 without a cheat meal and I learned that natural food can be very powerful. What you can count on from me is to eat real foods and never take supplements while living the exact schedule of The ATG Program, which I update every Saturday for the week ahead. This way you know exactly where my results are coming from, regardless of how impressive or unimpressive they are!
5. Sled is the human exercise fundamental.
The key difference between lifting weights and sledding is that when you lift weights, you also lower them. This means the weights overcome you. This is where the “damage” occurs — but that damage is a good thing. It does require greater body control and less ego to do it safely, while also taking longer to recover.
With the sled, only you move the sled. It never overcomes you! This makes it fundamentally safer than lifting weights while allowing lightning fast recovery, getting our cardio in, and even training our ankles and feet in the process!
It is the only tool I know where I can put an 82-year-old on it and instantly get an incredible workout, safely, in 5 minutes or less! Here’s an example.
Therefore, The ATG Program uses the sled every session and then uses different weight-lifting exercises each day to address the ankles, knees, hips, spine, shoulders, elbows and wrists.
6. We sled at least as much backward as forward.
I’m so passionate about this subject that I can’t do it justice in a couple paragraphs. I wrote this article just on “why backward?”
Currently, the “Human Exercise Fundamental” is walking forward on a treadmill, where the belt does the pulling for you.
I propose that the Human Exercise Fundamental should be using your strength to pull against resistance backward.
This is the only thing I know of in fitness that would make a real big dent to change society for the better, and I’m in the trenches working to popularize it one day, one sled, at a time.
To be clear, I believe we all need to sled backward. Forward is a bonus with awesome benefits but in The ATG Program this week:
Monday/Thursday = Forward & Backward
Tuesday/Friday = Just Backward
7. Perfect form has no gray area; it is measurably precise.
Every exercise has measurable standards of perfect form. This does not mean you’ll have perfect form in the first session. It does mean we must relentlessly keep coaching toward perfect form rather than stopping short of perfect form in the effort for more weight. Remember point #3: ATG is not a sport.
8. Our role in society is increasing pain-free ability. ATG is not a medical group and does not diagnose or treat conditions. In creating likely the most knee success stories ever, we did not address conditions… only ABILITY.
And ATG is most definitely NOT against medical.
We are merely doing our part within the system to help people in ways that have not traditionally been popularized, even though the real-world results and scientific clues have been present.
For example, here’s an article from Doctor of Physical Therapy Brian Zeigler, covering the same topic of Backward Sledding that I cover [Brian is a member of section 3 below]: https://medium.com/@TheATGClinician/should-backward-walking-be-standard-of-care-for-knee-pain-e658d10e8a40
It’s up to us to make a better future.
But it takes guts to go into a gym and walk backward.
Thank you for your courage and friendship.
Yours in Solutions,
Ben
If you would like to learn more about ATG, I have 3 tiers of knowledge and participation:
- Starting picturebooks: zerobook.co takes you to my starting bodyweight knee formula and atgforlife.com takes you to a gentle twice-per-week longevity formula created by me and longevity expert Derek Williams.
- Online coaching: atgonlinecoaching.com takes you to the world’s lowest price for actual coaching of your form. You can start with the Zero program, or you can do The ATG Program which is my personal program that I update every Saturday for the week ahead. This way you can be anywhere, be my training partner, and get coached through exactly what I believe in, at your level.
- Coaching certification: at atgforcoaches.com over 500 coaches around the world are being mentored and certified in coaching The ATG Program!
