Full Body ATG Twice Per Week
My current and best “lifetime exercise formula”.
WHY 2 DAYS PER WEEK FULL-BODY?
Alissa, the kids and I are back at ATG HQ.
With so much of our amazing staff here, we have a weekend basketball game and dunk session.
Then I’ve been doing my ATG training Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The two workouts in this article could easily be broken up into four workouts: 2 lower and 2 core/upper.
But once I get started, it’s more efficient for me to continue until my whole body is trained.
This gives me Monday-Wednesday-Friday to focus on ATG as a business.
I ADORE exercising, so this schedule has me looking forward to every workout with tremendous gratitude, rather than feeling like it’s a chore.
For example, I’m writing this on Wednesday.
I trained my full body yesterday.
Now my body is resting (plus chasing around two toddlers!).
By tomorrow, I’ll be so fresh and excited to train again!
I do believe that once my kids are older, I’ll want to reformat this into shorter daily workouts, because it feels so good to get the body moving.
But this is working beautifully for this chapter of my life, so I hope it’s useful for some of you out there, too!
THE ROUTINE
1. At ATG HQ, we have turf and sled. I go forward and backward 4 times, which adds up to 100 yards here.
2. Then I do 1 set each to burnout for my lower legs: slant calf raise, then tibialis raise, then seated calf raise. I do up to 20 reps each.
3. Then I do ATG split squat or slant squat. 4 sets of up to 12 reps per side for the split squat, and 4 sets of up to 20 reps for the slant squat.
4. In between the split squats or squats, I sandwich a set for behind my knees with an eccentric (the way down) Nordic or with the hamstring curl machine. 3 sets of up to 5 Nordics or 8 hamstring curls.
5. Then I work farther up my backside with full-stretch Romanian deadlifts or back extensions. 2 sets of up to 20 each.
6. While I rest my back, I sandwich a set of cable reverse squats or QL extensions. 1 set of up to 20.
7. Before I fully move on from the lower body, I do a quick flexibility routine. However, you could also do this on your off days: couch stretch 45 seconds per side, piriformis push-up 20 reps per side, pancake 20 reps, and elephant walk 20 reps per side. I do 1-2 rounds of these.
8. Then I do a pulling motion for the upper body: rows or pull-ups. 2 sets of up to 12 reps.
9. After each set of upper body pulling, I do an upper body press, either ATG-style shoulder or chest presses. 2 sets of up to 12 reps.
10. And after each set of presses, I do a set of up to 12 pullovers or up to 20 face pulls for extra upper body mobility and protection.
CONCLUSION & FULL SCHEDULE
This flow is very efficient for me and allows me to get all the ATG gains I desire right now.
Because it flows from the ground up, I can even film educational content mid-workout and pick back up wherever I left off.
But don’t forget about my “competition day” on the weekend!
Not only do I play basketball, I then do about 20 dunks after playing. Each dunk is with full recovery and near-maximum effort.
This pursuit of my most specific goal (dunking) IS a valuable part of my formula.
So I’m not saying my two full-body, ground-up workouts are “perfect” for all goals, but I am pointing out that if you add one more workout specific to YOU, this program could work for a variety of goals.
Whether you like hiking, lifting heavier weights or running, you might be surprised how well this slow and steady formula works long-term.
ATG
ATG
“Sport”
I used to assume I had to train every day.
But I’m enjoying exercise as much as ever, and I’m more athletic than I’ve been “despite” only 3 total workouts per week.
So at the very least, I hope this article gives some refreshing perspective on how simple your lifetime exercise formula could be.
I am seeking my “lifetime exercise formula” and this is the best I’ve got so far.
I hope this article is useful. For coaching, you can find this program in Ben’s Zone > Ben’s Current Program.
Yours in Solutions,
Ben
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