I never would have thought that I could be more athletic and mobile now at almost 48 than I was at 28...

I used simple, balanced strength training routines like this to get there. You can too: 🧵 1. Sled

I tore my ACL at 23 on one side and my Achilles at 29 on the other.

So now in my late 40s, healthy lower legs and knees are top priority.

I like to start my workouts from the ground up with a sled, treadmill, or even backward walking/jogging if no equipment is available.

10 years ago, I was 37, overweight, and struggling with the day-to-day grind.

Now in my late 40s, I'm more athletic, healthy, and mobile than ever.

I used simple, balanced training routines like this to get there—you can too:
🧵
Optional Warmup: Backward Treadmill x 5 minutes

Whenever I have access to a sled or the @atgexercise Backward Treadmill, I use it as a daily warmup and efficient cardio tool!

3 ATG Movements For People Who Work at Desks

Read this thread if you SIT a lot: 1. Back Extension

In my opinion, this machine is the safest and most effective way to train the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings at home.

(Beginner, Basic and Pro versions shown)

*If you don’t have a back extension machine, you could substitute a high-rep offset RDL (demonstrated in the 4th clip)

I used to think my plantar fasciitis pain was permanent...

Here's how I finally beat it:
🧵

(Hint—it wasn’t ice, rest, orthotics, stretching, compression sleeves, acupuncture, or cortisone shots—although I tried all those too)
After much trial and error (and lots of money spent on new shoes, inserts, night sleeves, and other gadgets), I finally figured out a simple truth:

The soleus muscles in my lower legs were WEAK.

You Can Improve Athletic Performance In Your 40s

This is a series of threads showing exactly how I did it—and what I'm doing to continue to improve.

Part 10: Balanced Exercise
As I’ved learned from @kneesovertoesg's @atgexercise system, the human body thrives on balance.

This may be THE most important factor for maintaining (and even improving!!) athleticism as we age.

You Can Improve Athletic Performance In Your 40s

This is a series of threads showing exactly how I did it—and what I'm doing to continue to improve.

Part 9: Mobility Standards Being flexible on its own doesn’t necessarily make you more explosive or athletic.

But it does provide greater access to strength and helps the body to work more efficiently as intended.

You Can Improve Athletic Performance In Your 40s

This series shows how I did it at 47.

Part 4: “Bulletproof” Against Common Injury
If you want to improve athleticism and continue to play sports, obviously injury prevention is a MUST.

As I learned from @kneesovertoesg, this requires a “reserve” of physical ability greater than the demands that you ask of your body.

You Can Improve Athletic Performance After 40

This is a series of threads to show you how

Part 3: Strengthen Lower Legs
Why?

More conventional workout programs adds muscle mass and power to the upper body, hips, and thighs, but the muscles below the knees are often neglected.

You CAN Improve Athletic Performance After 40

Here’s a series of threads on how I did it.

Part 2: How To Start, With Zero Equipment:
🧵 The first @atgexercise training program I followed after discovering @kneesovertoesg a little more than 4 years ago was "Knee Ability Zero".

Zero because you don't need any special equipment to do it.

This was a perfect introduction, especially since it was during the Covid period and most of the gyms were still closed.

Must Read For People Who Sit A Lot

4 Common-Sense Tips:
🧵 This is Part 10 in a series on how to counteract the effects of too much sitting.

This thread will shift focus to habits you can adopt outside of the gym to combat a sedentary lifestyle.

Desk Workers ⬇️⬇️

Here's a 4-Part Stretch Circuit to Help Counteract Too Much Sitting:

(Sitting Solutions, Part 8/10)
1. Butcher's Block Stretch x 45 seconds

This is my current favorite upper body stretch.

It's great for opening up tight lats, triceps, and upper back muscles.

Hold a weight plate or a stick with your hands wider than the line of your elbows to keep your shoulders externally rotated.

Engage your core muscles and keep an anterior pelvic tilt for more stretch on your upper back.

For more challenge, extend your knees into a full plank as shown.

If you don't have a weight bench, a coffee table can work too.

Sitting too much?

Sitting every day at a desk can lead to weak/tight abdominal muscles.

Lengthen + strengthen your core with the 3 moves in this thread.

(Sitting Solutions, Part 5 of 10)🧵


1. We all probably spend too much time sitting—looking down at a phone or a computer with rounded, hunched shoulders.

The abdominal muscles can often become shortened as a result.

My go-to move to change that is called the pullover, and it scales to ANY strength level.

How to Use Weight Training to Counteract Excess Sitting

Part 4 of 10:
🧵
The last thread in this series was on my favorite anti-sitting exercise for the upper body, the full-range dip.

Today's thread is on my go-to exercise for the posterior chain—the Romanian deadlift.

As an English teacher for 25 years, I made my students sit a lot... 🤦‍♂️

But now I help people undo the effects of too much sitting.

Sitting Solutions: Part 2 of 10 🧵 In this thread, I'm going to break down what I think is the best lower body exercise to counteract the negative effects of excess sitting:

It's called the ATG Split Squat.

The average person sits too much.

Research shows sitting for 8+ hours per day without exercise corresponds to a risk of dying similar to that of smoking.

Scary stuff! But what can we do about it?

(Sitting Solutions, Part 1 of 10) 🧵🧵 As a kid, I never wanted to sit.

Every time I went through a doorway, I had to jump up and touch it.

My parents’ house had handprints on the ceilings and over all the doorways.

When you’re a child, it feels good to move.

Running and jumping is natural and fun.

(I'm trying to get back to that feeling now at 47.)

My Plan to Be Stronger and More Athletic at 50

(Part 8 of 10) The last thread in this series covered cardiovascular exercise.

Today's topic is diet.

Part 3 of 10:

My Plan For Even Greater Athleticism at 50

(6'1; 47 years old) In Part 1, we covered the fundamental ATG principle of building from the ground up.

Part 2 addressed training in a FULL range of motion.

Today’s topic is simple: “No weak or tight links”

What's the single best way to impact mortality, cancer, and cardiovascular disease rates?

Exercise

Nothing else even comes close.

Here’s 5 of my favorite ways to exercise for longevity at 47: 1. Sled and/or Resisted Treadmill

Pushing and/or pulling a weighted sled or using a human-powered, resisted treadmill provides great cardio while also putting money in the bank for long-term joint health!

I use these daily with great results with my clients and in my own training.

Stiff and Tight Hips?

Use this quick routine if you sit a lot for work: 1. Wall Pullover x 20

Painful lower back strain?

It might be a weak and/or tight quadratus lumborum muscle.

Read this thread to learn what to do about it: 1. Have you ever experienced a lower back tweak on one side, directly above the hip bone?

That could be your quadratus lumborum—a deep, four-sided core muscle located on either side of the spine.

I used to sometimes strain this area of my lower back very badly.

Every time I did it, I would freak out—convinced that I had “blown out” my back and would never be the same—might even need back surgery, etc… 😀

Understand that I don’t want to diminish a lower back strain. It can be very painful—even debilitating.

I remember once when I did it 5 or 6 years ago, it was so painful that even getting in and out of my car was an ordeal.

At that time, I didn’t know what it was or how to fix it—let alone how to prevent it from happening again, but I've learned a lot since then.

If you do tweak this area, try these steps below to fix it fast:

In this 🧵, I’m going to show you 3 exercises I used to get more explosive and eliminate tweaks and nagging injuries at 47. 1. Nordic Hamstring Curl

I patiently worked on nordics for almost two years before I had the posterior strength to do my first full rep.

I usually do sets of low reps of these with slow eccentrics. 5 sets of 5 is a good protocol.