ATG

I first learned of Ben and the ATG System through a patient who asked me to review him and assess if it was safe for him. As a health professional I have a healthy scepticism of online influencers. At worst their information can be harmful and at best it can be ineffective.

Which is why I was very surprised when I dug a little deeper into the ATG material.

What I loved most about his philosophy is the insistence that all exercises must be pain free, if they are not, the exercise can be regressed to a point that it is pain free, then progressed.

This little fact alone earned my tick of approval. If you follow the system as it is instructed it is safe for most folks to do on their own.

Since learning about Ben’s ATG System and having integrated it with my practice has been transformative for me personally and professionally. I am happy to support anyone on an ATG journey should they choose it.

Over my life I have always been “tight” through my lower back, hips and knees. When I was in my early 20's I used to compete in amature powerlifting. My movement restrictions always made it difficult for me to achieve ‘depth’ on my squat with good form. As a young man I wasn’t interested in range of motion and injury prevention. I just wanted to see big numbers and lift heavy things. During my time powerlifting I acquired 2 disc injuries in my lower back.

Fast forward 10 years to 2021 and queue the arrival of my first son. When you have your first kid it can be alarming. I thought I was much more functional than I was. I have never in my life done so much bending, lifting and getting up off of the ground without using my arms. My lower body was far weaker and less mobile than even I knew.

Turns out I am just really good at avoiding my weaknesses

Managing my back injuries has been predictable for the prior 10 years. Once every 12-18 months it would flare up and take 1-2 weeks to recover. After my first son was born it flared up twice in 4 months!

That was when I realised something needed to change. I tried Chiro and Physio, which all helped but only made small changes. Stumbling into “The Kneesovertoes guy” was a turning point for me.

I hate stretching. I think most people do too. Many of the ATG exercises serve as both a stretch and a strength exercise. The exercises use the full range of motion that can be safely achieved. Overtime the muscles and connective tissue gradually lengthen to a healthy resting length that reduces stiffness and pain.