ATG Program: My Personal Experience + Discount Code
Updated: Oct 30
You may have heard of Ben Patrick or the KneesOverToesGuy which he is more commonly referred to as. You may have heard of this miracle injury-curing guru who can also grant untold athletic ability, but you may not have heard his story of how he developed his philosophy and where he started. So, let's get into how Ben Patrick started the ATG program.
Ben was obsessed with basketball but he started to have knee problems at age 12. By 14 things had gotten worse- multiple tears in his knees, and by 18 he had a partially replaced knee cap, a meniscus transplant, and a quadricep tendon repair. He finished high school and was not recruited for college basketball and by 19 he had even more tears in his knees. Doctors said he would not ever have normally working knees again, and he could barely touch the bottom of the basketball net at the time.
Fast forward to Ben being 23 and he was a D1 athlete in college, perfectly able to dunk, with no knee pain. However, he ended up leaving college to become a strength and conditioning coach when his coach wouldn’t let him use his training techniques.
Now, at 33 years of age, he can still dunk and has no pain in his knees. He has helped literally 1000s overcome knee injuries and achieve their fitness dreams with the ATG program.
So, let’s get into his philosophy of training…
The philosophy behind the ATG program
Okay, so to start let's get into how the human race caused all the common knee problems Injuries.
Research was done a long long time ago (shortly before the bad knee pandemic) that stated the most dangerous position you can put your body in is where you have your knees over your toes.
So, natural reaction- WE AVOIDED THAT POSITION!
When the correct reaction was- SLOWLY INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF TIME WE SPEND IN THAT POSITION TO BULLETPROOF OUR KNEES!
(It is also worth noting that this position helps to bulletproof your ankle and your Achilles, and if you have proper ankle mobility you are WAY less susceptible to other injuries)
How the ATG Program improved my running
Disclaimer: I am now an affiliate for the ATG program after having used the program and finally put years of running injuries behind me.
1) Fixed mobility in my right ankle
The lack of mobility had caused numerous Achilles issues which usually had me out of running for 6 weeks. A lack of mobility in the ankle is one of the leading causes of Achilles tendonitis.
Check out this blog from MEND: Ankle Mobility and Achilles Tendon Injury
Also, issues such as my back injuries were caused by a lack of mobility in my ankle as when I planted my foot when running my ankle did not have the mobility to cushion my landing.
This problem can also cause knee issues.
You may also like: Exercises For Achilles Tendonitis: The Ultimate Guide.
2) Fixed the flexibility in my left hip flexor and quad
This means my left glute could now activate properly so I could run faster and with more power. Also, if your glutes do not activate then this causes other muscles to be over-worked which causes injuries.
3) Improved my sprint speed
As a long-distance runner, my sprint speed did matter a lot (more than most people assume). I managed to take 2.5 seconds off my 200m time with this training program. There is research that has shown that Nordic curls help to improve sprint speed.
I put this down to learning Nordic curls (which I still cannot do a full one) check out the video below of me trying Nordics below.
Or check it out on Facebook where I edit out a bit of the struggle: GeorgeLewisHealthFacebook/NordicCurls.
4) Made me less prone to injury
The ATG program improved my overall mobility which helped with my running injuries.
However, it also reduced my risk of injury by strengthening my body through the full range of motion of my joints.
For example, because I was doing exercises that strengthened my calf muscles through the full range of motion of my ankle, I decreased my risk of injury.
Also, the ATG program helped me to focus on strengthening the muscles around my knee joint by having me walk backward on a treadmill and doing reverse sled drags.
Read this article from 'Until': 3 Reasons to focus on Mobility.
Final thoughts
The ATG program has been a lifesaver for me, I initially just followed the videos on his YouTube and I managed to get some progression just by doing that.
However, when I started using his program that is when I started to see real progress. If you want to get to the peak of your sporting potential, permanently put injuries behind you, or are worried about your body breaking down the older you get- then the ATG program is something which I highly recommend.
It is worth noting that he is most famous for his work with bad knees, something I am lucky to not have and now will never have. Touch wood.
Here is a discount code for 10% off everything- GLHDISCOUNT
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Hell yeah