Knee Ability Zero, Basics & Pro
I've sharpened up Zero, Basics, and Pro w/wo equipment
My birthday was June 24, so I reflected on things and realized I should revamp the work that I’ve been most useful for:
KNEE ABILITY
Since I released Knee Ability Zero four years ago, the equipment scene has changed a LOT.
So don’t worry: I’m not messing up the formula itself.
I’ve just sharpened up Zero, Basics, and Pro so they’re the SAME formula, SAME steps, SAME schedule, with however little or much ATG equipment you have.
First things first: WHY it can work and HOW it can work.
WHY It Can Work
The formula by itself doesn’t “work” or “not work.”
The formula is a step by step progression of ADAPTATION.
The human body adapts in many ways.
So while it sounds obvious, this wasn’t as well known before Knee Ability:
Knees can adapt.
This doesn’t mean every type of material in the knee can adapt, but many can!
Not only surrounding muscles, but things like tendons (tendons connect muscles to bones) and ligaments (ligaments connect bones to bones) in the knee itself can adapt. When I was struggling with my knees, I had no idea this was the case.
NO KNEES OVER TOES
NO DEEP BENDING
Ice
Painkillers
Surgeries
These were the most common methods of “handling” knee problems.
But if we go on the idea that we CAN adapt, we open up a whole different route.
This does NOT discount breakthroughs in the field of medicine!
In fact, doctors now recommend Knee Ability regularly.
Doctors have been some of the best of friends to me along this journey!
Knee Ability is here to be of service as a body of step-by-step DATA that can be used by a runner, a chef, a teacher, ANYBODY.
So I’ll shut up and get to it!
HOW It Can Work
A body needs a certain balance.
Can’t be too hot.
Can’t be too cold.
And this seems to hold true with MOTION, too.
Backward seems to rehab forward.
Slow seems to rehab fast.
And low seems to rehab high.
Let’s look at an example…
Dunking a basketball is an extreme knee task.
It is…
1. Forward
2. Fast!
and 3. HIGH!
It’s a well-known cause of knee problems.
And after 13 years of knee coaching, the most helpful things I’ve found include:
1. Backward
2. Slow!
And 3. LOW!
Just like that, I’ve already shown you the 3 main abilities I’ve worked on over the past 13 years.
Done at random they can produce some great results.
But understood in ORDER and as SCALES, you can create even more consistent results.
STEP-BY-STEP
The general order would be:
SLED (or resisted treadmill, which is simply to make the effects of sled more accessible)
STEP UP
SPLIT SQUAT
SQUAT
1. Backward sled because the load is not bearing down on you! Meaning the sled could be 1,000 pounds and it just wouldn’t budge. It’s fundamentally safe compared to most methods of loading the knees. This makes it a logical starting point.
2. Backward step-up because you can work on as small a range as feels good for you. You can even assist this! It’s a logical next step after the sled.
3. ATG Split Squat because you can work on the bottom part of range with just one knee at a time. You can also assist this and modify the flexibility by elevating the front foot more!
And 4. The deep squat because it is so advantageous for deep strength development. This, too, scales from assisted to loaded!
HOWEVER, let’s rewind to the sled step…
Take a look at the feet and lower legs.
They’re doing a lot, too!
So my 4th realization was…
BUILD FROM THE GROUND UP!
Even if for just a single set, I exercise my lower legs AFTER sled but BEFORE step up, split squat, or squat.
So I push through my TOES (sled), then lower legs, then upper legs. And even the upper leg work emphasizes your ability in positions lower to the ground (deep squat, etc.).
So, “Build from the ground up” is an overarching philosophy of how I exercise my body.
If we look at the effects of gravity, I believe we can all get just a bit more athletic longevity with dedicated training for the muscles lower to the ground.
Common examples I use are seated calf raises and tibialis raises:
If you haven’t studied my lower leg work recently, here are rapid but detailed calf and tibialis how-to videos.
So the Knee Ability flow is:
Sled
Lower legs
Step up
Split squat
Squat
And for a well-rounded program we also have the BACK of the knee, the hips, and the core.
The main breakthrough for the back of the knee is SCALABLE Nordic benches. But you can also train the back of the knee with zero equipment whatsoever. And hamstring curl machines are great!
For good measure, I finish the Knee Ability workout with an active couch stretch, but the hips and core are then their own full subjects, covered on the off days from the Knee Ability routine.
CONCLUSION
The purpose of Knee Ability is logical steps in order of gently creating adaptation, with each step fitting a logical scale of load for almost any level.
And we do so from the ground up.
This is how I’ve gravitated to training over the past 13 years.
Since I’m so well-versed in this, I flow through my entire body in one session. I do this 3 days per week.
It’s probably a good idea for someone new to Knee Ability to finish off the legs in one session, then tackle the hips, core, and upper body in the next one, so that’s how I’ve always laid out the Knee Ability program in the app.
You’ll now see Zero, Basics and Pro versions, with the same exact schedules and flows.
And I upkeep my personal program, too.
You can find all this in Ben’s Zone of the app.
As you can see from this article, my business goal is to teach everything I know for free, then provide affordable SERVICE for those who can afford it.
No secrets.
Just service.
For $50/month we answer you and coach your own form videos in under 24 hours.
Our app isn’t white-labeled - it’s built from scratch by an original ATG member and his brother.
They work full-time on the quality of the app.
Meanwhile our staff is virtually all original ATG members who wanted to do this for a living.
And now we make all sorts of equipment to make ATG training USER-FRIENDLY.
Thank you for making all of this possible for my family and team.
Yours in Solutions,
Ben
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