WTF(it)! How Ruben Changed his life!

_SPOTLIGHTS
Ruben Parada-Echeverry
ATG Coach
Read Time 3-5 mins

This week we learn how knee mobility can change your life.

Today’s Spotlight is a young budding fitness trainer that changed his life through the ATG methodologies and Knee Ability Zero!

What can you expect? To learn how to totally transform your life, knee health and mobility in one simple routine (make sure to watch out for tomorrow’s Workout Of the Week)

So let’s jump in the passenger set and ride shot gun with Ruben!

INTRO

By the time I was 21, I thought my athletic days were over, But In hindsight, they didn’t begin until 29…….hint hint….It’s never to late!

Here’s how I went from an obese/depressed college drop out to becoming an Athlete, finding my purpose, and Loving my life.

Back in high school, I didn't make the soccer team because the coach thought I was too slow…. He was RIGHT 😂 I trained squats, deadlifts, and plyometrics, but no matter how strong I got, I wasn’t any faster. 

Eventually I gave up on my dream of playing varsity sports, and then in college I traded gym time for partying.

By Junior year I gained 100 lbs and my lack of athleticism evolved into knee and lower back pain. 🤕🏋🏽

I was 23 and decided I needed to make a change, so I turned to how I got in shape in high school, playing sports and rekindling my love for martial arts.

But as I pushed myself to be more active, injuries became my new normal.

I lost 100 lbs through changing my habits, cooking, and strength training. By the time I turned 26 I had chronic back pain, achy knees, and a torn rotator cuff. 

My body felt 10 years older and the more I trained, the more frustrated I became with my lack of progress.

Pushing through pain is what I learned from my coaches in high school. 

“No pain, no gain.” The limp and painful grin were to be worn like a badge of honor. 

Who’s heard that before?

I wanted to become a personal trainer because losing weight and getting healthy greatly improved my life. 

I lacked confidence because despite having a six pack, I didn’t improve my athletic ability or injury resilience…

Then almost 3 years ago at age 26, I randomly stumbled upon Ben Patrick and athletictruthgroup on instagram.

On a whim, I signed up for ATG for coaches.

WTF(it)! is Knee Ability ZERO?

Knee Ability Zero is a body weight workout designed to improve the strength of your knees and your entire body’s mobility. I learned this workout from my mentor, Ben Patrick, who wanted to share the secrets he learned from Charles Poliquin during a time when no one was allowed to step foot in the gym (2020). So he developed a workout to achieve similar results with bodyweight only!

I did this exact routine 3 times a week for 3 months a couple of years ago, and I was blown away by the results!

I know this can be helpful for you too!

You can scale all of these movements with equipment (as you will see in the videos) but this can be a Game-changer 🥇 for those days you can’t make it to the gym. 

Save this for when you’re in a time crunch, or if you need something to do while traveling. 

Ok so now you know then what?

My goal here is to get you a sick leg pump PLUS  a mobility routine to help you REVERSE the effects of sitting.

Focus on giving your maximum attention to doing every rep with perfect form, and working at a level that is challenging, but doesn’t bring you pain. If you’re looking at a pain scale from 1-5, don’t go above a 2. 

PAIN = DESTRUCTION

Your body uses pain to communicate to you, and by acknowledging this two-way communication, you can actually handle the source of your pain, rather than just trying to "shut up" what your body is saying to you.

On the other hand, if you feel burning in your muscles on an exercise, rather than pain inside the joint, you are stimulating greater protection for your knee, giving us the following counter-rule:

PAIN-FREE MUSCULAR BURN = CONSTRUCTION

Sweet I get it! But, I don’t know what exercises, or how many sets to do? Make sure to check out this weeks Work Out of The Week email

HOW ATG CHANGED MY LIFE

The key insight I discovered:

Pain Free, Sets the gains free! 

I learned how to train at a pain free level and humbly assist myself through a full range of motion. 

I basically had to relearn everything I knew about training. It resulted in becoming stronger, more flexible, and best of all much more injury resilient.

It gave me the confidence to compete in Amateur Muay Thai because I knew none of my opponents had the advantage of this training knowledge.

Ben's journey from multiple knee surgeries at 19 to dunking at the age of 30 inspired me beyond words. Witnessing how this system has also helped my friends and clients become more athletic and resilient had a profound impact on my life.Ben paved the way for thousands of others, including me, to improve ourselves.

Now at 29, I regularly train martial arts, lift weights, and play pick up soccer and basketball with my friends. I’ve also transitioned from being miserable working in a cubicle to LOVING my job as a personal trainer.

Quite honestly I feel like I’m AGING BACKWARDS. I feel more excited than ever to wake up every day to see what I can achieve next. I’m also FAR more athletic than I was in high school. There is always hope. Getting started is actually easier than you might think.

When you ARE able to play your sport or do the physical activity that you like to do….life is BETTER!

If you are in Pinellas County Florida, and are interested in in-person ATG coaching, I’m currently available for booking and I’m here to help!

 Follow Ruben here:
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