THE NEW CUTTING-EDGE LONGEVITY BLUEPRINT!

WARNING: The Absolute Worst Thing You Can Do If You’ve Been Feeling Run Down or Your Joints Are Tight and Achy…

Is STOP going to the gym. Trust me, I know! The saying goes, “movement is medicine” – and it is absolutely true. You have to keep moving.

I’m sure you’ve heard that when you’re injured, you need to rest. This was probably the worst advice I’ve ever been given over the last 35+ years I’ve been in the gym. Yeah, rest is important, but so is the quality of your life. Living longer is everyone’s goal, but there also has to be a quality of life. And the best place to improve your quality of life is in the gym. Trust me, the truth (that I learned the hard way) is that if you sit around all day ‘resting’ your aches and pains – they get worse!

The second piece of bad advice that I’ve gotten over the years is more of a fitness ‘myth’ – and it goes like this…

The only way to get bigger and stronger is to keep adding more weight to the bar. Well, after 35+ years in the gym and over 20+ years as a strength coach, this has to be one of the worst lies that lifters and trainers truly believe. This simply mindset is a quick trip to injury! What if I told you that the real advice – learned from being in the trenches and training hundreds of athletes is, take weight OFF the bar and focus on better quality repetitions performed with a controlled and deliberate pace.

Sounds crazy, right?

Here’s another one….Let me know if you’ve heard this before, “Always do your big barbell lifts at the start of every workout!” I’ve heard this very common programming advice so many times over the years that I stopped trying to argue about it. The true answer for lifters and athletes who have been crushing it in the gym for years might be the complete opposite – put your heavy barbell training at the END or the MIDDLE of your workouts.

You’ve probably never heard any trainer say this to you.

Finally, going against the entire fitness industry, I’m here to tell you that maybe your warm-ups aren’t only done BEFORE the workout starts. While it is true that warm-ups can improve your technique, keep you safe under the bar, and optimally prepare your joints to train, there is a better way to think about ‘improving quality movement’ over time than just doing a typical warm-up. There are drills and exercises (I call them intraworkout resets) that can be used throughout the workout AFTER the main warm-up as a means of ‘active rest’ to help you train better and move better over time!

If some of these myths sound familiar and you’re confused about how to train better, let me tell you about a…

A SYSTEM OF TRAINING THAT BUILDS MUSCLE, GETS YOU STRONGER, AND HELPS YOU MOVE BETTER – ALL WHILE STILL TRAINING HEAVY AND LEARNING HOW TO EFFECTIVELY USE LESS WEIGHT!

If you’re a meathead like me, designing the perfect workout isn’t so simple. Because we’ve always been told, the ONLY way to progress in the gym is to ADD MORE WEIGHT TO THE BAR. And, if you miss your reps, just shorten up the range of motion, throw on a belt, put on some neoprene wraps – and hit it again. But, with my many years of coaching lifters and athletes, I’m here to tell you that old school mentality is out-of-date and it will get you injured! That doesn’t work for me anymore and guess what?!

It shouldn’t work for you either, especially if your goal is to train for the rest of your life. If you’re a serious lifter, you understand that fitness is a lifelong journey. My journey took me on a quest to solve the mystery of training longevity because I didn’t like how beat up I felt every time I left the gym. I finally said enough was enough! Fitness should help you move better and feel better. Not force you to move like the tin man for 3 days after every workout.

Here’s the good news, I found the solution and I can’t wait to tell you about…

WISDOM MEETS SCIENCE: THIS EXPERT-DESIGNED STRENGTH PROGRAM FOR LIFTERS, TRAINERS, AND ATHLETES COMBINES DECADES OF EXPERIENCE WITH CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH TO HELP YOU ACHIEVE OPTIMAL FITNESS AND PR SHATTERING WORKOUTS!

The answer is the new Ageless Athlete 5.0 program. Trust me, the complete Ageless Athlete 5.0 program will quickly become your favorite program (and complete training system) and I know you’re going to use it for the rest of your life! It is THAT powerful and that life-changing! In fact, every workout I’ve done for the last 10 years has had the Ageless Athlete principles built into every set!

Let me explain.

The AA5.0 program is a ‘CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE’ system of training where you get to pick your favorite exercises – the EXACT exercises you need to immediately improve your training – and plug them right into the workout template. So this means that as you change and start moving better, the program changes with you. This also means that every time you repeat the 12-week AA5.0 program, it will be a completely new program!

You might be asking yourself, “To make this program perfect for me and to get results – how do I know which exercises are right for me?”

I got you covered! The right exercises for you are the ones that don’t cause you pain and you can use good technique. Here is how I’m going to help you find which exercises you need. I give you a simple (and proven) Ageless Athlete Self-Assessments you use to figure out exactly where you’re tight and where you’re weak. This quick tool will give you the exact blueprint for which exercises you should use in your workouts. Here’s the best part, if you know what exercises are right for you, every single workout will leave you feeling amazing and you will leap forward toward your goals after every training session!

But the AA5.0 program is much more than all other workouts you’ve done…

That’s because each workout contains built-in ‘move better right now and feel amazing’ resets programmed into every training session! But that’s not all! I told you, we’re focused on training for a lifetime around here. In addition to the movement resets, I also created some of the most effective upper body, lower body, and full body mobility routines that work as the finisher to every workout. These routines are a gamechanger that will jumpstart your recovery and get you ready for the next workout. They will literally help you leave the gym feeling better than when you got there!

A SUPER EFFECTIVE, EASY-TO-FOLLOW BLUEPRINT WITH STEP-BY-STEP WORKOUTS THAT REMOVE ALL OF THE GUESSWORK

Along with the simple-to-follow workouts that you will customize just for you, I have expanded the Ageless Athlete exercise library to over 650+ exercises. The VIP exercise index walks you step-by-step through the comprehensive warm-ups, the Super 7 mobility routines, the intraworkout resets, the advanced training protocols that form the foundation of the Ageless Athlete system, how to perform the big barbell lifts, and all of the joint-friendly exercises that won’t cause you pain and allow you to train harder than ever before.

I’ve organized the Ageless Athlete Video Quick Reference Guide for the entire exercise database into different sections: the special routines, the move better, feel better exercises, the warm-ups, all of the exercise variations for each strength training movement pattern, and my favorite best-of-the-best live training sessions for each body part – you will be able to see the Ageless Athlete system in action! You are not going to believe how huge this exercise index is and how it will easily be the key to taking your workouts to the next level!

And don’t forget about the AA5.0 warm-ups. They contain the absolute most effective exercises I’ve learned over the last 20 years as a strength coach to make every workout world-class! These critical warm-ups will get your joints moving, fire up the right muscle groups, and quickly prepare your body to train at its absolute best. We knew they would add a TON of value to this program and bring BIG time results to every single one of your workouts!

• The 12-week Ageless Athlete 5.0 Program

• The Proven 12-Week AA5.0 Template

• Sample 12-Week AA5.0 Program

• Printable AA5.0 Workout Sheets

• Ageless Athlete 5.0 Warm-ups

• 650+ Exclusive AA5.0 Video Library

• The Exclusive Rep Max Formula

• The Ageless Athlete Nutrition Guide

If you’re ready to take your training to the next level, you need to grab your copy of the new 12-week AGELESS ATHLETE 5.0 program right now!

GET AGELESS ATHLETE 5.0 TODAY!

The important lesson is, you can’t stop training; you have to keep going! The AGELESS ATHLETE SYSTEM is the program you need to get you back into the gym, help you train hard – and GET YOU OUT OF PAIN!

WHAT YOU’LL GET WITH THE NEW AGELESS ATHLETE 5.0 PROGRAM

THE AGELESS ATHLETE 5.0 MAIN MANUAL

The revolutionary new Ageless Athlete 5.0 program is here and ready to set your training on fire! The Ageless Athlete training model will literally change your workouts forever! Designed for the ‘ageless athlete’ and lifter who have been in the trenches playing sports and training for many years, the program will help you move better, feel better, and train better! With the never-before-seen intraworkout resets, Super 7 mobility protocols, Diesel Blast sets, 1:1, Diesel Block training, and repeatable customizable workouts, and much more…Get ready to have the best workouts of your life!

THE AGELESS ATHLETE 5.0 WORKOUT SHEETS

Ageless Athlete 5.0 comes with 12-weeks of custom formatted step-by-step workouts that you can print-and-go right to the gym and start training immediately. Create your own personal training log as you track and record your progress through all 4-phases of the program. These printable workout sheets are critical for recording your records so that you can be dialed in every time you step into the gym!

THE AGELESS ATHLETE EXERCISE LIBRARY

The massive 750+ Ageless Athlete Video Library contains all of the intraworkout resets, warm-up drills, main exercises, foam rolling techniques, supplemental exercises, and live workouts you need to get the most out of each and every Ageless Athlete training session. Good technique is critical for staying safe and progressing in the gym. That is why every single exercise in the program is recorded to show you step-by-step the proper technique. The Ageless Athlete VIP library is the most comprehensive pain free, joint-friendly exercises ever assembled!

TRAIN FOR LONGEVITY: THE CUTTING-EDGE BLUEPRINT BACKED BY EXPERIENCE AND SCIENCE GIVES YOU EASY-TO-FOLLOW SUPER EFFECTIVE WORKOUTS!

PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM SMITTY…

I know you love to train. It is that 1-2 hours in your day where you can focus on just yourself. No kids, no mortgage, no stress….just you and the weights. Honestly, I don’t know where I’d be without the gym. It has given me so much in my life. But, after almost four decades ‘under the bar,’ my training has HAD to change so I could keep pushing and getting after it. Intentional training – where you make every single repetition count – and instinctive training – where you know when to push, when to back out, and when to change course – has come to be a priority in my training. I know the science of training, and with my experience in the gym over the last 4o years, I have created the industry’s first training system focused on helping you train for a lifetime.

The Ageless Athlete principles and ‘move better’ strategies (comprehensive warm-ups, Super 7 mobility routines, triphasic training principles, self-assessments, and intraworkout resets) will completely change your training forever. You will begin to hit NEW PR’s in the gym, train as hard as you want, and NOT be in pain. This is my pledge to you! The Ageless Athlete will show you a new and better way to train – and as you get older – the system will show you how to adjust your training specifically for your weaknesses, your restrictions, and your personal limitations.

Regardless of the number of years you have in the gym, you can still maximize your gains, build muscle, get stronger, AND remain athletic! Join the thousands of lifters, coaches, and athletes who have already discovered the power of “Ageless Athlete” and start your journey to lifelong athleticism and enduring strength today.

If you’re ready to take your training to the next level, you need to grab your copy of the new 12-week AGELESS ATHLETE 5.0 program right now!

GET AGELESS ATHLETE 5.0 TODAY!

LITERALLY ‘EVERYTHING’ YOU NEED TO KNOW IN THIS DONE-FOR-YOU TRAINING SYSTEM. THE PERFECT WORKOUT IS JUST WAITING FOR YOU!

Being able to train for a lifetime is about finding out what the best exercises are for you and then putting them in a balanced program focused on getting stronger, building more muscle, and moving better. Don’t get stuck in a rut with a ‘cookie-cutter’ program that wasn’t specifically designed for you! That is the fast track to nowhere. You need to take back control of your training and start doing workouts that have you leaving the gym with a spring in your step and the results you want!

The Ageless Athlete program is not just a program, it is a system of training that you will be able to use for the rest of your life. It contains the best warm-up exercises (wait until you try the World’s Greatest Warm-up (WGM) and the NEW WGW2.0), the best ‘move better, feel better’ mobility drills, a structured plug-and-play 12-week program (that can be repeated forever), easy to follow printable workout sheets, some of the most advanced training protocols you’ve ever seen, a massive arsenal of the best-of-the-best follow-along exercises that you can plug into the program to create the best workouts of your life.

I’ve been in the gym training for over 34 years and I know what works, and more importantly, I know what doesn’t. And, as a strength coach of over 20 years, I know what problems all lifters and athletes go through trying to change their body and improve their performance. The Ageless Athlete system works and I guarantee it because I’ve been testing and updating the protocols for the last 20 years. I know it is going to change how you train forever.

If you’re ready to take your training to the next level, you need to grab your copy of the new 12-week AGELESS ATHLETE 5.0 program right now!

GET AGELESS ATHLETE 5.0 TODAY!

I love cossack squats…but sometimes they feel terrible on my previously injured right knee.

Wrestling in my youth, four decades in the gym, and now training BJJ—my daily mobility practice is essential to keeping me moving. And cossack squats provide the important role of keeping my adductors ‘long and strong.’

The goal is to improve the quality of soft-tissue through pressure (foam rolling, percussion massage tool, tempering) and movement (multi-planar mobility drills). Then, as the tight muscle groups and hips begin to unlock and wider ranges of motion (ROM) come into play, (directional) tension is used to provide stability and strength potential at all positions (including end ranges of motion) through the movement.

In my opinion, cossack squats are an extreme mobility drills for most people. You’re essentially achieving the bottom position of a squat with one leg while the other is stretched out straight to the side (in the frontal plane). Most people are too immobile to even achieve the bottom position of a bodyweight squat with a semi-vertical torso. So forcing them into cossacks, or other ‘popular’ extreme knee flexion unilateral drills you see online, is asking for trouble - especially when the foot is planted and all of the torque is happening at the knee.

Here’s the good thing. As with all exercises, there are progressions and regressions that can help expose a lifter to the demands of a cossack squat in a meaningful way without having to do the full execution of the lift on day one.

Cossack squats can be performed through a partial range of motion (ROM) while holding onto a bench or power rack. This added stability helps initiate the process of safely elongating the adductors under tension. Cossack squats can also be deloaded in two ways: (1) using an elastic band anchored high in a power rack and wrapped around the lifter’s torso, or (2) using an elastic band anchored opposite the direction of movement.

Video: Deloading Cossacks with Bench Support and with Lateral Band-Assistance

Video: Deloading Cossacks with Full Body Band-Assistance

Regressing Cossack squats is one option; choosing a similar variation that targets the same training effect is another. If you think of a pyramid that represents a lifter’s movement capacity—with Cossack squats at the top—adductor rockers and hinged cossacks form the base of the pyramid.

Adductor Rockers

Recommended Volume: 2-3 sets x 10-20 reps per side

Hinged Cossacks

Recommended Volume: 2-3 sets x 10 reps per side

Cossack squats are a fantastic drill to strengthen lateral hip adduction/abduction and help unlock tight and immobile hips. Unfortunately, getting to the full execution of the lift is a journey for most lifters, but with each milestone they reach, low back pain seems to disappear and better lower body technique begins to reveal itself.

Team Forever Strong is more than a training program—it’s a community and your new home base for training for a lifetime. Get joint-friendly, muscle-building workouts delivered straight to your phone, real coaching feedback from Joe D. and Smitty, and the support of a world-class community that has your back every step of the way. With proven programming, expert demo videos, and lifters just like you pushing forward together, you’ll stay consistent, motivated, and progressing. You’ll never train alone again! JOIN TODAY

When you think about preparing for a squatting pattern (triple flexion = hips, knees, and ankle flexion), the linchpin of the hips must always be the first focus - and then you work your way down from there. That is why this simple squat warm-up works.

It targets the adductors, hip flexors, and stabilizes the knees. Simple, right? It kind of covers ‘most’ of the bases while leaving some room for some more individualized movements / drills you specifically require for your current restrictions.

Let’s check it out:

Simple 3-Step Squat Warm-up

1A) Adductor Plate Drags, 3 sets x 5 drags (LEFT), 5 drags (RIGHT)

1B) Split Squat ISO-Holds, 3 sets x 20 sec. per leg, Rest 20 sec. b/t legs

1C) Hip Flexor Sit-ups, 3 sets x 5 reps (LEFT), 5 reps (RIGHT), 5 reps (BOTH)

The ultimate goal is do you have a good sweat going, are the main joint systems expressing a full range of motion (ROM), and are the target muscle groups warmed up and (activated) - all before you get under the bar. If you always keep this goal in mind, your risk of injury will go down and you’ll be able to train at an optimal level for a long time.

Try out this exercise variation in your next back workout and check out Ageless Athlete 5.0. It is my exact training blueprint for modifying conventional exercises (and programming) for older lifters to help them train optimally and for the rest of their life.

Check out the instructional videos below:

1A) Adductor Plate Drags, 3 sets x 5 drags (LEFT), 5 drags (RIGHT)

1B) Split Squat ISO-Holds, 3 sets x 20 sec. per leg, Rest 20 sec. b/t legs

1C) Hip Flexor Sit-ups, 3 sets x 5 reps (LEFT), 5 reps (RIGHT), 5 reps (BOTH)

For our community, we teach (and integrate) training methods like slow eccentrics and isometrics [1] to not only alleviate knee pain but to restore stability and function for all lower body movements.

This unknown knee pain fix utilizes isometrics in the form of split squats held for time as a finisher for your lower body workouts. Even though we recommend this technique as a finisher for the workout, it can be used as a pre-training warm-up, as well.

Here is the setup.

Using a power cage as support (as needed), you will perform a split squat and lower downward until both knees are in a 90/90 position, with the back knee hovering right above the ground. Using the power cage as little as possible, hold this position as long as possible without losing tension in the lower body or the vertical position of the torso. Rest 1 min. and then perform for the opposite leg.

Over time, you will begin to notice the stress in your knees will dissipate and your squats, lunges, step-ups, and unilateral training will begin to feel more stable and strong.

Recommend Volume: 1 set x ALAP* for both legs, Rest 1 min. b/t legs

ALAP - As Long As Possible

Try out this exercise variation in your next back workout and check out Ageless Athlete 5.0. It is my exact training blueprint for modifying conventional exercises (and programming) for older lifters to help them train optimally and for the rest of their life.

References:

[1] Rio, E., Kidgell, D., Purdam, C., Gaida, J., Moseley, G. L., Pearce, A. J., & Cook, J. (2015). Isometric exercise induces analgesia and reduces inhibition in patellar tendinopathy. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 49(19), 1277-1283. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2014-094386