Over the past few months, the popularity of the Knees Over Toes mantra has exploded. With proven benefits for athletic performance and knee health, incorporating these exercises into your routine is a great idea. While the ATG Programs and ATG Equipment are great, the truth is that you can do plenty of exercise at home or in the gym with just some basic equipment.
With the help of this educational guide, you’ll learn about the eleven most effective Knees Over Toes Guy exercises, which will leave you feeling strong and ready to take on any challenge.
Who Is Knees Over Toes Guy and ATG?
Let’s take a step back from the exercises for a second and learn about the man who started this whole thing‒Ben Patrick, the founder of Athletic Truth Group (ATG). Knees Over Toes Guy, or ATG for short, is a fitness guru and enthusiast who changed the game when it came to working the lower body. His unconventional approach to training involves unconventional knee postures.
ATG’s mission is to assist people in achieving their fitness goals by enhancing their strength and resilience, specifically in the knees.
Best Knees Over Toes Guy Exercises
ATG Split Squat
The ATG Split Squat is a great workout for building strength, stability, and balance in the lower body.
Benefits: The ATG Split Squat is an excellent way to build muscle in the thighs, buttocks, and calves. It also helps to improve balance and stability, and it can be modified to make it more or less challenging.
Form: Start an ATG Split Squat by putting your feet about shoulder-width apart and pointing your toes forward. Step forward with one leg and bend both knees to a 90-degree angle as you lower your body. Your front knee shouldn’t go past your toes, and your back knee shouldn’t touch the ground. Throughout the movement, keep your back straight and your core tight.
Muscles worked: The ATG Split Squat is an excellent exercise for strengthening your thighs, buttocks, hip flexors, and hamstrings. It’s a great exercise for the abs, the lower back, and the legs.
ATG Squat
The ATG Squat, also called the “ass to grass” squat, is a deep squat variation that works the quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves.
Benefits: The ATG Squat is an excellent workout for developing stamina and mobility in the thighs and legs. It is also useful for enhancing squatting mechanics and decreasing the likelihood of knee injury.
Form: Start an ATG Squat by putting your feet about shoulder-width apart and pointing your toes forward. Lower your body until your legs are parallel to the ground. Your back should be straight, and your knees should be over your feet. Keep your core working the whole time.
Muscles worked: The ATG Squat is a full-body exercise that targets the thighs, buttocks, hips, groin, and calves.
Backward Sled Pull
The Backward Sled Pull is a functional exercise that focuses on strengthening the posterior chain, which includes the glutes, hamstrings, and calves.
Benefits: The Backward Sled Pull is a great way to build strength and speed in the back and hips. It also helps speed up, slow down, and increase total power.
Form: A weighted sled and a harness or strap are needed for this workout. Squat down so that your thighs are perpendicular to the floor and your chest is out. With your arms fully extended, start walking backward while pushing the sled. Maintain an erect posture as you thrust yourself backward, utilizing your legs and glutes.
Muscles worked: The glutes, hamstrings, calves, and low back all get a good workout with the Backward Sled Pull. Core muscles are also put to use.
Forward Sled Push
The Forward Sled Push is a dynamic lower-body exercise that targets the quadriceps, buttocks, and calves.
Benefits: The Forward Sled Push is an excellent workout for boosting power, speed, and explosiveness in the lower body. Having better balance and coordination is another benefit of this exercise.
Form: Attach a harness or strap to a weighted sled to do this workout. Put your hips low and your chest up in a squat pose. Start moving the sled forward by stretching your arms out and using your legs to drive. Keep a strong, stable posture throughout the act, and get power from your lower body.
Muscles worked: This exercise targets the quadriceps, buttocks, hamstrings, calves, and lower back. It also engages the core.
Dumbbell VMI Squat
The Dumbbell VMI (Vertical Movement Integration) Squat is an advanced workout that strengthens the thighs, buttocks, and legs all at once.
Benefits: The Dumbbell VMI Squat has a lot of good points. It develops the muscles in the lower body, such as the quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings, making the lower body as a whole stronger and more powerful. Dumbbells work the upper body and core muscles, making the body more stable and better coordination.
Form: Position your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a pair of dumbbells at shoulder height to perform a Dumbbell VMI Squat. Squat down as far as you can while still keeping your back straight and abdominals tight. Press the weights overhead as you ascend.
Muscles worked: The Dumbbell VMI Squat works your quads, glutes, hamstrings, hip abductors, hip adductors, calves, and lower back. It also engages the core.
Tibialis Raise
The Tibialis Raise is an exercise designed to strengthen the tibialis anterior, a muscle located in the front of the lower thigh.
Benefits: Tibial Raise is a fantastic exercise for building strength in the tibialis anterior, which is responsible for dorsiflexing the ankle. This is important for maintaining ankle strength and avoiding harm.
Form: To perform the Tibialis Raise, sit on a bench or chair with your feet flat on the ground. On top of your toes, put a resistance band or a weight plate. Focus on the tightness in the front of your lower leg as you lift your toes toward your shins against the resistance. Bring your toes back down, and do this as many times as you want.
Muscles worked: The Tibialis Raise works the tibialis anterior.
Nordic Hamstring Curls
The Nordic Hamstring Curl is a difficult workout that focuses largely on strengthening the hamstring muscles.
Benefits: Exercises like the Nordic Hamstring Curl are excellent for building strength in the hamstrings and avoiding injury to those muscles. They are useful for strengthening the hamstrings in an eccentric position, which is vital for avoiding injuries.
Form: You will need a person to help you do Nordic Hamstring Curls. Start with your knees on the floor and your feet flat on the floor. You should let your partner hold your feet. Slowly lower your body until your hamstrings are completely stretched. Your partner should help you keep your balance as you go down.
Muscles worked: The Nordic Hamstring Curls work the hamstrings.
Hip Flexor Lift
The Hip Flexor Lift is a great way to strengthen the muscles that help you flex your hip and pull your thigh closer to your body.
Benefits: The Hip Flexor Lift is an excellent exercise for strengthening the hip flexors, which are the muscles responsible for elevating the thigh. This is essential for hip mobility and injury prevention.
Form: Lie on your back with your legs stretched out in front of you. Under your lower back, between your legs and hips, put a stability ball or a foam roller. Lift your legs off the floor and pull your thighs in toward your chest while you engage your core. Keep this position for a few seconds while concentrating on contracting your hip flexors, and then return your legs to the beginning position gradually.
Muscles worked: The Hip Flexor Lift works the hip flexors.
Hip Flexor Stretch
The Hip Flexor Stretch is a beneficial exercise for improving hip flexibility and reducing tightness in the hip flexor muscles.
Benefits: The Hip Flexor Stretch is a great workout for making your hips more flexible and keeping your hip flexor muscles from getting too tight. This is important for getting around and staying healthy.
Form: Start in a lunge stance with one knee on the floor and the other leg extended forward to stretch the hip flexors. To get a stretch at the front of the hip, lean forward from the hips. The recommended time for this stretch is 30 seconds per leg.
Muscles worked: The Hip Flexor Stretch stretches the hip flexors.
Pull-ups
Pull-ups are a compound exercise that primarily targets the back, biceps, and shoulders.
Benefits: Pull-ups are beneficial. They strengthen the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, and trapezius, improving posture and upper body strength. Pull-ups also strengthen the arms, shoulders, and biceps.
Form: Grab an overhead bar with an overhand hold, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, to pull up. Hang with arms fully extended and pull yourself up using your back muscles. Bring your chest to the bar while engaging your core. Slowly lower yourself back to the starting position with control.
Muscles worked: This exercise works on the back, biceps, and shoulder muscles.
Dips
Dips are a compound exercise that predominantly targets upper-body muscles, such as the chest, shoulders, and triceps.
Benefits: Dips are a great exercise for strengthening the chest, triceps, and shoulders. They also help to improve upper body strength and stability.
Form: Dips require shoulder-width parallel bars. Start with shoulders-width hands on the bars and a straight torso from head to heels. Lower yourself to a 90-degree elbow bend. Then, push yourself back up to the starting position.
Muscles worked: Dips work the chest, triceps, and shoulders. They also engage the core and upper back.
Full Knees Over Toes Workout
To make a Knees Over Toes workout example, you can make a structured routine out of some of the exercises listed above. Here’s an example:
Warm-up
- 5 minutes of light exercise, like jogging or jumping jacks.
- 10-15 repetitions of each of these active stretches:
- Arm circles
- Leg swings
- Butt kicks
- High knees
Workout
- ATG Split Squat: 3 sets of 10-12 reps per leg
- ATG Squat: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
- Backward Sled Pull: 3 sets of 10-12 reps
- Forward Sled Push: 3 sets of 10-12 reps
- Dumbbell VMI Squat: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
- Tibialis Raise: 3 sets of 15-20 reps
- Nordic Hamstring Curls: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
- Hip Flexor Lift: 2 sets of 15-20 reps per leg
- Hip Flexor Stretch: Hold for 30 seconds per leg
Cool-down
- 5 minutes of easy aerobics
- 10-15 repetitions of each of these standing stretches:
- Leg stretch
- Hamstring stretch
- Stretch the calf
- Stretch your hip flexors
Final Verdict On Our ATG Workout
The Knees Over Toes Guy exercises are a complete way to strengthen, move, and stabilize the lower body. By adding these exercises to your training routine, you can make your lower body stronger and more flexible, improve your athletic ability, and lower your risk of getting injuries.
It’s important to start with the right form, increase the difficulty slowly, and pay attention to what your body can and can’t do. If you’ve never done these exercises before, it’s best to work with a trained fitness professional to make sure you’re doing them right and reduce the risk of injury.
Remember, consistency is key. Train often, develop slowly, and enjoy your progress. With determination, you can maximize your lower body strength and mobility. Stay motivated, devoted, and enjoy the Knees Over Toes Guy workouts as you get stronger and more resilient.
Daniel Mesa, CPT, is a trusted fitness expert and founder of FitDominium. With his extensive experience and commitment to helping others, Daniel is the go-to source for reliable fitness advice and recommendations.