KneeOverToesGuy Profile picture
Jan 10, 2024 18 tweets 6 min read Read on X
🧵 How to Be Athletic For Your 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s, with Example of Each Age…
(X usually fails to upload my threads, so I wrote this all out beforehand, and I’m posting it one by one. My apologies. Thank you for your patience…)
30s

Me

Reached my 20s having never grabbed the rim.

Long list of knee problems.

Had always followed the exercise advice I was given:

“No knee over toes, and no full range of motion.”
Thanks to Charles Poliquin, who helped athletes win 26 Olympic gold medals across a variety of sports, I became OBSESSED with knee over toes and full range of motion.

Now they’re my greatest strengths, and I’ve been living my 30s as a great athlete.
Also 30s

My wife had to give up figure skating in her teens due to ankle problems.

I had shin and ankle problems of my own. When I saw my knees could be solved, I became obsessed with ankles, too.

It’s priceless to now be able to help her.
She’s 35 and has more knee and ankle ability than when she was a teenager!
40s

Stefan Holm

Olympic gold high jumper

What’s of particular note is that he was able to compete more often without injury than any high jumper ever.

And he was “unusual” in that he trained full range of motion.

And he still does.

And he’s still crazy bouncy in his 40s! Image
Also 40s

@Mr1nf1n1ty1

He’s been my training partner for the better part of my 13+ year journey with these subjects.

He’s 45, and sets the example I want for my 40s.
@Mr1nf1n1ty1 50s

There’s only one man under 6 foot tall and DUNKING…

Kadour Ziani!
@Mr1nf1n1ty1 Kadour told me he never believed the advice of no knee over toes and no full range of motion.

Instead, he embraces ability for his entire body, rather than limiting it.

@Kadour_ziani Image
@Mr1nf1n1ty1 @Kadour_ziani 60s

I started training my mom in 2018 when she was 64.

Her hips were becoming a major problem.

I used the exact same system, but at her level.
@Mr1nf1n1ty1 @Kadour_ziani Now she’s flying!

Her mobility with my kids is incredible.

She’s a SuperGrandma.

It’s painful to watch how the bodies of other grandparents are deteriorating.

It doesn’t have to be that way. At least, not as broadly as it is when we limit the body.
@Mr1nf1n1ty1 @Kadour_ziani 70s

George Hackenschmidt was 74 when this picture was taken.

He reportedly could jump over chairs all the way to his mid-80s when he moved on. Image
@Mr1nf1n1ty1 @Kadour_ziani George is one of the all-time great knee over toes and full range of motion pioneers.

His favorite exercise was holding weights behind his back and squatting all the way down while balancing on his toes! Image
@Mr1nf1n1ty1 @Kadour_ziani Conclusion:

Full range of motion has been suppressed for millions of people.

It felt like a duty to share what I learned, so I dedicated my career to this.

But I do NOT put down any form of exercise.

I support the WHOLE range, and ANY exercise you enjoy.
@Mr1nf1n1ty1 @Kadour_ziani If you’d like to see broad medical data supporting this, check out:

But what’s been missing the whole time is:

REGRESSION

Rather than avoiding ability, I seek to figure out how to exercise it at a level that feels good for you. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23821469/
@Mr1nf1n1ty1 @Kadour_ziani Life ain’t supposed to be magic and rainbows.

But it ain’t supposed to be an epidemic of joint replacements and painkillers either.

You CAN be athletic for your age, as you age.

And that can feel pretty magical.
@Mr1nf1n1ty1 @Kadour_ziani Maybe your greatest limitation now, is where you have the most potential.

Yours in Solutions,
Ben

Coaching:
Equipment:
Foot-Shaped Shoes: ATGonlinecoaching.com
ATGequipment.com
UncivilizedSneaker.com

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with KneeOverToesGuy

KneeOverToesGuy Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @kneeovertoesguy

Aug 30, 2025
1/10: Intro

This week, F45 added this exercise to their 1000+ gyms.

It’s a scalable mobility solution I’ve used in coaching Super Bowl champs and grandmas alike.

I’ve threaded it many times, but I’m going to try to make this my most detailed technique guide yet… Image
2a/10. Risers, F45

All F45s (and most commercial gyms) have some form of risers.

The simplicity for this exercise is that the higher the risers, the easier the strength and flexibility.
2b/10. Risers, Bumpers

Since there are over 10,000 CrossFit gyms, and they all have bumper plates, it’s worth noting that those can also act as a riser system.

CrossFit gyms also have PVC pipes for learning weightlifting technique, and these can act as balance and assistance.
Read 22 tweets
Aug 23, 2025
10-Step Full Body Mobility Checklist For Someone w/ “Bad” Knees

15 years ago I couldn’t dunk and thought I’d always have bad knees, but here we are.

I’ve since coached about 1000 people in-person, always working toward simplicity.

Here’s where I’m at so far…
1/10: Foot-Ankle

There are various ways you can sit on the ground to stretch the feet and ankles, but my knees were a problem and those positions felt awful.

-straight leg calf
-tibialis
-knee over toes calf

These are the 3 positions I’ve worked most, and each scales…

Straight leg calf is very simple.

You’re getting some baseline lower leg strength and circulation going.

Suggested: 20 reps

Two legs = easier
One leg = harder
Read 22 tweets
Aug 9, 2025
🧵 Thread Recap: Full Squat Seminar w/ @CoachAlanBishop

6 straight Sweet 16s or better, one of the most successful basketball strength coaches of all time, yet one of the few who uses full range of motion.

Tried my best to recap the progressions for you!

Let’s go… Image
With large groups, full slant and holding a plate is a great way to start.

The slant makes it simple to develop the legs and knees, while the plate allows gentle loading in the direction of a front squat.

Think there’s a cup on top of the plate and you don’t want it to tip.
Image
Then kettlebell, thumbs in the horns, allows more loading while continuing the progression toward a front squat.

Still full slant for knee and leg development.
Image
Read 10 tweets
Jul 29, 2025
Full Side & Front Split Squats Tutorial

1/7. Intro

After 15 years of practice and coaching, I think strength through flexibility is one of the best investments you can make for a resilient body, and in this thread I’ll do my best to show you how to start and then progress…
2/7. Full Side Split Squat Intro

This exercise is usually called a “Cossack Squat” after an Eastern European group called the Cossacks, who used a similar position in their traditional dance.
Image
3/7. Full Front Split Squat Intro

This exercise didn’t get a name.

It was first taught by legendary strength coach Charles Poliquin, who used it to help make many Olympic gold medals.

He inspired me and my gym called “ATG” (ass to grass), so we often say “ATG split squat.”
Image
Image
Image
Read 5 tweets
Jul 23, 2025
🧵 Slant Squat Thread

For young athletes I’m obsessed with the slant squat because of how simply it allows you to build extra leg and knee ability to help handle the demand of sports.

I’ll now show you progressions, context, and how to build back if you’ve lost it… Image
I first like you to master 20 reps PAIN-FREE.

Single-leg is then a legit progression without weight.

But two to one leg is a big leap:

Use two hands to assist
Then one
Then unassisted!

10 per side PAIN-FREE is excellent!
Loading is another legit progression!

Progression is by load AND DISTANCE from body (closer and heavier = harder)

Kettlebell is a good way for young athletes to get used to this, but any form of loading applies, for example you could reach out a plate, then DB, then barbell.
Read 9 tweets
Jul 11, 2025
10-Exercise Bodyweight System

My PE class format is:
1. PLAY, rotating through a wide variety of sports and games.
2. Learn just ONE exercise per day. Set the example, and kids will want to learn!

Here’s my system…

1/10. Slant squat = simple to build knee/quads foundation!
2/10. Kids love rings!

And by using the legs up, with some tension down, you can smoothly progress to pull-ups.
3 and 4/10. Sometime between childhood and leaving school, it’s easier to get and keep full front and side split squats!

Full demo below, showing how elevating the front foot scales difficulty.
Read 11 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(