Father’s Day Knee Article

As a dad, I’m incredibly grateful for these 3 methods.

As a dad, I’m incredibly grateful for the following 3 methods.

These save me time, money, stress, and pain, making it easier to be the dad I want to be for my kids.

1. Reverse Slant Step-up

Less foot on board is easier than whole foot on board.

Less reach with the off foot is easier than farther reach.

And assisted is easier than unassisted. For extreme goals, you can even add load.

I’ve been working on some form of reverse step-up for 12 years. This is my favorite version for the knee. Find a level that doesn’t hurt, train at that level, and slowly but steadily improve your ability over time.

Over these years, I’ve trained some of the world’s richest athletes, and I haven’t seen anything work better than a simple wooden slant!

I think it’s beautiful that you can get world-class knee results from home, simply, without a big space or expensive equipment.

2. Deep Split Squat

Higher front foot is easier than lower.

Assisted is easier than unassisted. And for extreme goals, you can add load.

Notice how you can scale the deep split squat with just bumper plates and a stick! Many home gyms already have bumper plates, and I’ll bet you could find a cinder block or something else around the house to stably elevate your front foot.

Again: I’m not advising this just for short-term results. I think of this exercise as a long-term investment, where the simple work I put in now will be giving me greater resilience for decades to come.

I’ve already surpassed 10 years without a knee or back problem, and it’s hard to believe that would be true without the strength and flexibility results this exercise has given me.

3. Deep Squat

Using the same simple slantboard, I elevate my heels for deep squats with extra knee development.

Progression is by load AND DISTANCE to the body. As the weight gets heavier and closer to the body, the challenge increases. Conversely, I’m able to consistently help people get winning with squats - people who previously thought they couldn’t - by using the counterbalance and heel elevation methods.

CONCLUSION

These tools are easy to find, and each exercise can meet you where you’re at.

They’re here for you for the long haul.

Like dad.

Happy Father’s Day!

And cheers to all those dads who have recognized that their greatest duty in life is raising their children.

I was raised by such a dad.

He showed me the way, and now I get to pass this on to my own kids.

Thanks Dad.

Yours in Solutions,

Ben

For the American-made slant in this article (or ask dad to make you one: I suggest about a 25-degree angle, and testing the height and width to make sure it’ll fit your shoes and stance well): atgequipment.com

For my Knee Ability & Standards programs, which use all these exercises and more: atgonlinecoaching.com

And for the flexible, foot-shaped shoes I’m wearing (which are now back in stock as of this week!): atgequipment.com/collections/ shoes