ATG Spine Ability:
Thread post 🧵
- I don’t do conventional stretching
- I don’t do yoga (nothing against yoga—I think it’s awesome)
- I’m not “naturally flexible”
- I weight 210lbs, bench press 300 lbs, and I’ve squatted 500 lbs.
AND… I can get into a full back bridge (wheel
Unlocking the Power of Split Squats:
A Game-Changer in your Fitness Journey
it's time to give split squats a try. These underrated gems in the world of fitness provide a multitude of benefits that can help you achieve your fitness goals, whether you're aiming to build strength,
Best Method for Handling A Muscle Injury
Unfortunately, no matter how bulletproof you are, injury is always a possibility.
What’s the best way to bounce back as quickly as possible?
Drop the R.I.C.E. and pick up the M.E.A.T.
🧵
Is shoulder pain interfering with your weight training?
What nobody talks about is the importance of BALANCING the muscles in the shoulder relative to one another.
Here are 5 exercises that helped me create musculature balance in my shoulders and get rid of pain for good: 🧵
Discover the Power of Seated Good Mornings! 🌟
✅ Strengthens Lower Back
✅ Enhances Core Stability
✅ Improves Posture
✅ Safe for All Fitness Levels
✅ Ideal for Desk Workers
The Seated Good Morning is particularly an amazing exercise due to its ability to scale for any age
Do you sit a lot for work?
The human body is in a constant state of adaptation.
Daily sitting at a desk or on a computer can gradually lead to major physical imbalances over time.
Here’s how to use ATG training to strengthen the body in REVERSE of a seated position:
🔥🧵
You CAN run faster.
There are many factors to it but these are the 2 exercises specifically, that dramatically improved my speed in just a month’s time.
Maybe they can help you too.
🚀 Maximize Your Calf Muscle Growth with These Proven Strategies! 🚀
First you should know your calf is made up of two main muscles:
1. Gastrocnemius - the outer, upper part, & fastest twitch portion
2. Soleus - the deeper & larger, lower part. One of the slowest twitch muscles
Do you have knee pain?
That doesn’t mean you get to
(or need to) SKIP leg day!
Let me show you an effective ATG-style lower body routine that can help:
🧵
How to train your shoulders 💪🏽
9 exercises to balance, grow and strengthen your shoulders.
These exercises can scale from body weight, bands to the more advanced bars and cable variations. 💥
Share this with anyone who wants some functional strong shoulders 🪨
If you want
Here is a simple RDL guide with key form points.
RDLs are a favorite to grow the glutes, low back, and hamstrings aka “posterior chain”.
For athletes they can help you run faster and jump higher.
For most it helps simply pick things up a bit easier.
For elderly it can help
🏃♂️ Run farther and faster with these exercises:
1. Split Squats: Increase stride length and quad strength.
2. Knee Flexion Exercises: Improve strike absorption.
3. RDLs (Romanian Deadlifts): Boost hip power for longer strides.
4. Back Extensions: Strengthen your lower back to
🦵 The split squat reigns supreme for leg training! Surpassing even the barbell squat in benefits.
It strengthens weak glutes, enhances speed, and builds jumping power. Plus, it's excellent for correcting imbalances and improving hip and knee health. Accessible for all levels,
ATG is for everyone…
All ATG programs scale from beginner with assistance to advanced with heavy loads.
Understanding this allows anyone to start making progress.
So whether you want to fix knee pain, prevent injury, add muscle mass, or simply get stronger and live better..
Shoulders can be complicated issue, with ATG programming you attack the problem with a systematic approach that anyone can start.
Dont be afraid to address the issue - similar to knees I hear people running away from the problem as opposed to tackling it.
So strengthening the
Ankles are one of the most common tightness I have seen in people, this is the way i increased my ankle flexibility and it has worked for countless clients of mine.
It takes consistent work over a long period of time so keep at it.
If you don’t have a seated calf machine that’s
🏃♂️ Shin Splints? Here’ show you can help address the problem:
1. Seated Calf Raise: Strengthens the soleus for better force absorption.
2. Tip Raise: Crucial for sports that involve jumping.
3. Standing Calf Raise: Targets the gastrocnemius for overall calf strength.
4. Peterson
4. In my my twenties, now barely being able to throw a football anymore..
I began a search for answers that eventually led me to legendary Canadian Olympic strength coach, Charles Poliquin.
Poliquin personally showed me the seated external rotation and the Trap-3 raise.
There are 3 hamstring muscles and they have TWO functions. ✌🏽
My secret to growing large hamstrings is to work equally if not more on the knee flexion function of the hamstrings.
Generally very undertrained, these movements can stimulate tremendous growth. 📈
Give it a try
🦵Maximize hamstring growth and knee protection by focusing on knee flexion with exercises like leg curls and Nordics.
Don't forget hip extension movements like RDLs or standing good mornings to engage the upper hamstrings and improve posture.
If you want to dive deeper into
💪 This is how you grow your chest with ATG training — Start with an incline bench press at a 30-degree angle to activate the fast-twitch fibers in the upper chest. This is proven to be most effective for muscle development.
Follow up with a horizontal press like push-ups or a
🏃 After a decade of traditional lifting, integrating ATG split squats boosted my speed and vertical jump significantly.
Starting with five reps and a five-second pause, I progressed from front-foot-elevated with dumbbells to flat ground, alternating between heavy and light
🦵Address Knee Pain with these proven exercises:
Backwards Sledding/Walking: Ideal on the ATG treadmill for gentle yet effective rehab or with a backwards sled drag for more load.
Poliquin Step Ups: Enhance knee stability by strengthening the entire support chain.
Progressive
Elevate your fitness game with heavy forward sled drives! Not only do they ramp up overall strength, but they also:
🔥 Boost calorie burn for effective weight management.
💪 Enhance muscular endurance, making you stronger for longer.
🚀 Develop explosive power, essential for
3 Rules For Strong and Healthy Shoulders:
1. Train in a FULL Range of Motion
Performing your shoulder movements through a full range will not only help you build more muscle, but also protect your shoulders against common injuries.
A lot of knee and back pain originates from weak feet and ankles …
There is a lot to rolling ankles even down to the shoes you wear… but strengthening the feet and ankles is always a good idea.
Ankle flexibility is number one predictor of lower body injury. The tighter the
1. DB Pullover
This is ground zero for STRETCH-STRENGTH in reverse of our modern, hunched-forward posture.
Don’t be surprised if you are very tight at first behind your shoulders and in your upper back.
Especially if you’ve trained bench press and pushups as much I have over
Gaining muscle is not just for athletes and bodybuilders, it’s for YOU! 🫵🏽
#Muscle
mass is indeed considered an important indicator of overall health and can be related to life
#longevity
:
#Exercise
lowers all cause mortality?
🦵Strong "braking" ability in your hamstrings means you are less likely to experience injuries like ACL tears.
A great way to improve this ability is to focus on slow eccentric movements and explosive power. That's why the Nordic curl, is a personal favorite for improving
💪 Want a strong upper back? Focus on training the traps, rhomboids, lats, and teres major—key muscles for shoulder stability and movement.
Start with fast-twitch muscles like the lats and teres major for heavy sets, then move to the traps and rhomboids with exercises like
There are always regressions to get you started..
even as simple as walking backwards.
Don’t be afraid to work on your squat ability and know that improving the ability to squat may, in the process, handle a lot of your pains and physical issues.
Atg coaches are trained to
🥩 Contrary to popular belief, red meat and full-range squats might be more beneficial than you think. Studies show less knee degeneration from deep squats... and in Hong Kong, where red meat consumption is high, people have some of the longest life spans globally.
Let's
💪 Address shoulder pain with these exercises:
1️⃣ Dumbbell External Rotator
2️⃣ Side Lying External Rotation
3️⃣ Trap 3 with Eccentric Overload
4️⃣Dumbbell Pullover
5️⃣Chest Flies
6️⃣Cable Face Pull
These movements will help fix imbalances and weakness in your shoulders and get you
💪🏽 For Perfect RDL Form — you need to keep your knees slightly bent and locked over your heels, with the bar close to your body.
It’s not about how low you go — its about the range of motion, stretch, and muscle engagement. Keep your back posterior chain fully engaged for
Most people do not know what ATG is ..
Simply put, it’s a style of training based on RESULTS and that is for EVERYONE.
Whether you are brand new to exercise or advanced athlete, we can help.
Thousands already have experienced gains, if you’re curious check it out!
🦵 Slow eccentric squats enhance your form and tap into deep muscle fibers. This 10-second descent focuses on maintaining control and building foundational strength, especially from the halfway point to the deepest squat position.
Perfect your technique and tap into more time
So here are my top 5 tools to get that done:
1. ATG Db Shoulder press
2. Seated External Rotation
3. Trap-3 raise
4. Powell raise
5. Cross-bench Pullover
Over time these movements helped me accomplish what once felt impossible—they put an end to my shoulder pain for good.
🦵 Forward sled drives are key for building glute strength and overall leg power. Energy transfers from the ground up, so this is crucial for sports performance
Plus, sled work is safe with a low injury risk—too much weight just stops the sled. You can also try barefoot sled
🚀 Introducing
#ATG30
: Your Fast-Track to Fitness! 🏋️♂️
🌟 Get in shape QUICKLY & SAFELY with our innovative program designed to maximize results while minimizing injury risks.
✅ expert workouts
✅ Expert guidance
✅ Injury prevention focus
🔥 Ready to transform?
Use CODE:
This is Fernando Lopez.
A former high school quarterback, Fernando dreamed of playing professional football.
But at 23, he was running the 40-yard dash in 5.2 seconds—far too slow to be a pro.
Fast forward four years later, and at 27, Fernando ran back-to-back, laser-timed 4.4
Everything I Know About The Lower Back
I think of it like:
BELOW low back
AROUND low back
ABOVE low back
6 exercises to demo, with levels for everyone…
🚀 Struggling to jump higher? The secret is to focus on how you absorb force. Start unlocking your jump ability with these exercises:
Deep ATG Squats: Enhances knee protection and build power.
Peterson Step Up: This mimics the jump position.
Calf Training: Tibialis raises,
🏈 This is the secret to throwing far:
The harder you can decelerate of your arm... the faster you can accelerate your arm — which directly effects your throwing ability.
Incorporating exercises like face pulls, dumbbell external rotations, powell raises, and dumbbell
RDLs aka “Romanian Deadlifts”
Are one of the most effective and scalable exercises for the posterior chain (glutes, hamstrings, and low back)
You can track your progress on the ATG app
My programs are under the “physique” tab.
Let me know if you have
I recently competed in a Savage Race for the first time. This is an obstacle course / endurance competition.
6 miles through countryside with 40 obstacles.
I finished in the top 50 (out of 1100 competitors), At age 34, WITHOUT any direct prep for the race whatsoever.
Let me
4. Conclusion:
Mobility in the thoracic spine isn’t just about flexibility.
It’s about STRENGTH too—flexibility and strength working together in harmony.
Improve your own stretch-strength ability, and you may find yourself doing things (like the back bridge) that you never
🏋️♂️ Your ‘working sets’ should be 80-90% of your maximum for the day.
If your max lift is 300 pounds, then a 200-pound set wouldn’t be considered a working set — since it’s only 66% of your max.
🎯 Use this guideline to ensure that you are optimizing your training and getting
What is MEAT?
Movement, Exercise, Analgesics, Treatment
Movement: Keep moving the affected area as much as possible and find ways to work around the injury at your pain-free level.
💪 ATG programs emphasize strengthening the upper back and rotators to avoid tightness and nerve impingement.
If you want to build athletic muscle, balance your body, and reduce joint pain... the check out our tailored programs on the ATG app under the Physique tab.
#squattalk
I mention a key principle of training to failure or just shy for muscle growth.
I like to above this during a 6-8 rep range as I will stay relatively strong per pound.
Let me know below what other questions you may have and I will try to answer it during my next
💪 Struggling with chin-ups? Star with these 5 essential exercises:
1. Dead Hang: Fundamental for grip strength.
2. One Arm Row: Focus on pulling down to your hip, not too high.
3. One Arm Pull Down: Gradually increase resistance to approach body weight.
4. Banded Assistance:
2. Trap-3 Raise
The lower trapezius or trap-3 muscle might be the most common weak link in the human body
These muscles don’t get trained much in daily life, but here’s how to change that.
Use the 45 degree back extension or an incline bench.
Start by retracting your
Want bigger arms?
Incline curls help balance out Chins and years of Scott curls for a full bicep development.
Build athletic muscle with my programs on
Find them under the “physique” tab and start tracking your progress.
Ext rotation — 10% of bench press max for 8 reps
Powell Raise — 10% of bench press max for 8 reps
Trap-3 Raise — 10% of bench press max for 8 reps
Bench Pullovers — 25% of bench press max for 8
ATG shoulder press — 25% (each) of bench press for 8 reps
Start chasing these
🏋️♂️ From back pain to heavy squats... This is how to start fixing the problem:
Rebuild your squatting confidence with this step-by-step guide:
1. Back Extensions: Start with assistance to build lower back strength.
2. Good Mornings: Begin with a dumbbell, then progress to a
🏋️ If you can't do front squats - this is the solution:
Attach straps to the bar, loop them around your hands, and lift with your shoulders. This will allow you to maintain proper posture in your squats, without compromising your upper back. 💪
#Squat
#LegDay
#GymTips
Key to imposing enough demand for muscle growth:
Lift weights in a manner where you could not do the same the next day...
if you can, you didn’t train hard enough!!!
Train hard - Recover hard
rinse & repeat.
Simple.
Having a knee injury should NOT be the end of your squatting journey and athletic career - in some ways in could be the beginning!
Time for you to fix imbalances, train your weakest links while strengthening your strengths.
Everyone at:
is here to help.
I want to show you that you can simultaneously get stronger AND more flexible.
This is because of a little-known fact: full-range of motion ATG strength training is an effective form of mobility training in and of itself.
🏌️♂️ Golfers, eliminate your back pain with these key exercises!
1️⃣ Back Extension: Start with assistance if needed.
2️⃣ Hip Stretches: The couch and pigeon stretches are some of my favorite.
3️⃣ Garhammer Raise: Strengthens your lower abs.
4️⃣ QL Raise: Improves the stretch and
3. Couch Stretch
The couch stretch is a dynamic movement to open up tight hip flexors and quads.
It is also underrated for the lower back.
Use an active contraction in the glute on your working side leg.
Top 4 Things I’ve Learned About Exercise For Longevity
I’ve been training my mom for 6+ years.
She’s 70, but has the mobility of a much younger person.
Here’s what she does…
Stop dropping your weights!
Unless you are specifically training for a powerlifting meet or testing one rep max, stop dropping your deadlifts!
Use your muscles to lower the weight.
Most people should be controlling the eccentric portion of deadlift type movements - this
If you’re not competing in the sport of powerlifting, your reasons to use the standard deadlift in your training are very limited - MOST people shouldn’t.
RDLs, seated good mornings, 45 degree back extensions, load more safely, allow for a fuller range of motion, and are just
5. Trap 3 Raise
This is my personal favorite—also known as the Y raise.
The standard to work towards is 10% of your bodyweight in each hand for at least 8 reps or 10% of bench press for 8 reps.
(Try the eccentric version!)
Treatment—My favorite treatment option is A.R.T., which stands for active release technique.
When using ART, apply moderate to high pressure and work through the full range of motion.
This can be a bit painful at first, but it’s an excellent finishing touch.
I’ve never seen
🏋️♂️ The golden rule for RDLs — Never round your lower back.
While exercises like Jefferson curls and back extensions allow for controlled rounding with lighter weights, RDLs require strict form and a neutral spine to safely build strength without risk.
#RDL
#LegDay
#LegWorkout
🏋️♂️ Get better results from your cuts with these tips:
👉🏽Start with a high rep and low rest training program.
👉🏽As calories decrease and protein increases, reduce reps and volume but extend rest periods.
👉🏽Avoid aiming for muscle mass and endurance when deeply calorie-deficient;
There is a 75% chance you are dehydrated…
According to the Lay Press, 75% of Americans suffer from low-grade chronic dehydration.
I have trained over 1000 clients and all suffered from dehydration to some degree.
🏋️♂️ Achieve 3D shoulders with this workout!
👉🏽Cable Pull Apart: Aim for failure between 8-12 reps, then increase resistance.
👉🏽Cable Face Pull: Go slow on the eccentrics, again to failure within 8-12 reps.
👉🏽High Row: Maintain wrist alignment with elbows, target 12-20 reps to
So remember: MEAT not RICE!
And bookmark and share this thread for the next time that you or someone you know experiences an injury.
To follow my strength programs on the ATG Online Coaching App, sign up at
Don’t forget to hit the “track progress”
🌟 Embrace Simplicity in Fitness! 🏋️🥩
Remember, achieving health doesn't require extremes! It's all about the basics:
High Protein Balanced Diet 🥩🍉
Regular Exercise 🏋️🏃♀️
Adequate Sleep 😴✨
Positive Mindset 🧘♂️😊
Start small, stay consistent, and watch the magic happen!
Conventional wisdom for soft tissue injuries is rest, ice, compress, and elevate—otherwise known as the R.I.C.E. protocol.
The idea with R.I.C.E. is to reduce the inflammation to the injured area.
However, inflammation causes an increase in BLOOD FLOW—this is the mechanism that
🏋️ It’s never too late to improve your knees and overall health!
With the help of ATG training, my 70-year-old father (with no meniscus or ACL) has been able to achieve full range of motion squats.
Healthier knees means a better quality of life. Follow for more tips 💪
🧏♂️ A weak neck can impact your lower back. Try this simple strengthening exercise: lean your neck against a padded wall, hold for five seconds, and gradually increase difficulty by stepping your feet forward. Effective for all ages!
#NeckStrength
#LowerBackHealth
#BackHealth
Success leaves clues 🕵️
Yet I still see most people squatting half way down and experiencing injury after injury even in their 30s.
This guy was jumping in his 80!?
George Hackenschmidt is the greatest athletic longevity case I’ve been able to find.
He could jump high in his 80s!
Here’s his favorite exercise, and how we can all use this data…
[In this picture he is 74.]
🏋️♂️ Top 5 Non-Negotiables for Building Muscle
1. Proper Nutrition: Fuel up with high-quality, unprocessed foods that are rich in protein to provide the building blocks for muscle growth.
2. Progressive Overload: Continuously increase your workout intensity to challenge your
🏋️ Not ready for barbell squats? Begin with dumbbells or heavy kettlebells to build your strength safely.
Remember, regressing this movement is essential to truly master it... So start at the level that makes most sense for you, and progress from there 🦵
Chains allow one to
The recovery required from a traditional deadlift workout is too long to have a great ROI and the movement itself is simply partial range, can be executed poorly with ease, and does not generally bear much time under tension for optimal muscle growth.
So these other exercises
Exercise: Use short range exercises such as a hamstring curl to promote blood flow in the injured area.
A short range exercise is one where the muscles are contracting in a shortened position (such as a bicep curl or reverse step).
Go very light at first with these and use
ATG30 💪
A fitness challenge with scalability and accessibility.
Get in shape QUICKLY & SAFELY - stop hurting yourself while getting in shape.
Look better and FEEL better with less injury and more discipline.
via
@YouTube
💥The most bang for your buck ebicep exercise you're probably not doing... The Zottman Curl.
💪 Here's how you do it — Curl up with palms facing up, then twist to palms down and control the eccentric. This isolates the biceps but also intensely works the forearms during the