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The Tim Ferriss Show

#835: Ben Patrick (KneesOverToesGuy) - 20-Minute Workouts That Produce Wild Results, From Chronic Knee Pain to Dunking Basketballs, Lessons from Charles Poliquin, Bulletproofing the Lower Body, and More

with Ben Patrick

Published November 12, 2025
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About This Episode

Tim Ferriss interviews strength coach Ben Patrick, also known as Knees Over Toes Guy, about his journey from debilitating knee pain and multiple surgeries to pain‑free athletic performance. Ben explains the origins of his knees‑over‑toes approach, the key exercises and minimalist programming he uses for joint health and performance, and how he applies this with clients and family, including his 71‑year‑old mother. They also discuss equipment innovations, American manufacturing, and Tim's philosophy on integrity, long‑term thinking, and resisting audience capture in media and business.

Topics Covered

Knee rehabilitation Strength training Sled training Flexibility and mobility Minimalist training programs Lower leg training Longevity Entrepreneurship Manufacturing in China Integrity in business

Disclaimer: We provide independent summaries of podcasts and are not affiliated with or endorsed in any way by any podcast or creator. All podcast names and content are the property of their respective owners. The views and opinions expressed within the podcasts belong solely to the original hosts and guests and do not reflect the views or positions of Summapod.

Quick Takeaways

  • Ben Patrick went from chronic knee pain, multiple knee surgeries, and being nicknamed "old man" in high school to pain‑free performance and a 42‑inch vertical by systematically training knees over toes.
  • Backward sled dragging became his first reliable tool to reduce knee pain, get off painkillers, and safely load the knees in a position similar to walking downstairs.
  • He emphasizes full‑range squats and ATG split squats (often with elevated heels and simple household setups like stairs and railings) to build strength through mobility instead of avoiding deep positions.
  • Training the lower legs and tibialis (e.g., with wall‑based tib raises or a tib bar) before knee work helps desensitize painful knees and restore strength balance from the ground up.
  • Ben maintains his performance with just two roughly 45‑minute workouts per week plus occasional basketball, focusing on sled work, ground‑up leg training, and strength through full range of motion.
  • Tim describes how short, intense sled intervals and minimalist strength work, combined with intermittent fasting, produced major fitness and body‑composition benefits for him.
  • Ben and Tim highlight the value of American‑made training equipment, even while acknowledging that cheaper copies made in China will inevitably appear.
  • Tim explains why he deliberately avoided launching a supplement line around The 4‑Hour Body and declined to chase crypto trends on his podcast, prioritizing audience trust over short‑term profit.
  • They discuss how small compromises in titles, claims, or content (e.g., 2% more exaggeration each time) can compound into major integrity losses and audience distrust.
  • Both emphasize long‑term thinking: compounding small positive choices in training and business can produce extraordinary results over years while preserving integrity and enjoyment.

Podcast Notes

Introduction and overview of the episode

Tim introduces guest Ben Patrick and his background

Tim explains that Ben Patrick is better known online as "Knees Over Toes Guy" and can be found on Instagram and elsewhere under that name[0:09]
Ben is the founder of Athletic Truth Group (ATG), an online and brick‑and‑mortar training system focused on rehabilitative strength and joint health[0:22]
After years of debilitating knee and shin pain and multiple surgeries, Ben rebuilt his body and performance, going from a sub‑20‑inch vertical to a documented 42‑inch leap[0:27]
Tim notes that Ben is the author of "Knee Ability Zero" and other books on fitness and recovery, and that there is a companion video for this episode showing the exercises they discuss[0:38]

Pre‑recording conversation and nickname story

Tim mentions they just did a workout overview on video that listeners can find via links in the show notes[2:37]
Tim asks Ben about a nickname they discussed before recording and where it came from[2:56]
Ben says his high school basketball coach started calling him "old man" because he was so stiff and took much longer to warm up than other players[3:01]
Ben knew he was not naturally built for basketball but believed he could work his way there, doing intense workouts from about age nine, which led to chronic knee pain by age 12[3:13]
He suspects that during puberty his body did not form properly in part because he was so stiff and was not getting into his legs correctly, reinforcing the "old man" nickname[3:26]

Ben's knee injuries, surgeries, and initial recovery

Cascade of problems leading to major knee surgery

Doctors believed something significant happened around age 14 that should have required surgery but did not, and additional issues accumulated over the years[3:39]
By 18, Ben underwent a partial kneecap replacement where part of his kneecap was floating, had his quad tendon reattached, and received a meniscus transplant[4:36]
Because of his extreme stiffness, he was immobilized and could not even run for about a year and a half after surgery[4:44]
After this period, his right knee hurt worse than his left knee ever had, similar to Tim's experience of his uninjured shoulder becoming painful after rehabbing the other side[4:55]

Painkillers and discovering Charles Poliquin

Ben stayed on painkillers after surgery without his parents or girlfriend (now wife) knowing, continuing to pop them as his pain persisted[5:19]
He stumbled on information from strength coach Charles Poliquin, whom Tim had previously hosted on the podcast and spent time with[5:31]
Poliquin's materials clearly contradicted mainstream fitness advice by promoting training the knee‑over‑toe position to help athletes prevent injury and rehab, instead of avoiding it[5:54]

Origins and rationale of knees‑over‑toes training

Why knees over toes was discouraged in mainstream exercise science

Ben explains that in the 1970s, as exercise science became formalized in schools, researchers found more pressure on the knee when it went over the toes during exercise[6:41]
This finding led textbooks to teach that when exercising you should not let your knees go over your toes, especially in movements like squats[6:29]
Tim compares the old advice to common coaching cues like keeping shins vertical and knees aligned over ankles in squats, which he calls a "sacred cow" in some exercise science circles[6:15]
Ben notes that this recommendation was understandable given the research context, but he asks listeners to compare it to everyday actions like stepping down stairs, where the knee naturally travels over the toes[7:05]
Ben points out that every step down a staircase involves loading the knee over the toes, suggesting that training this position is natural and important[7:05]

Backward sled dragging as Ben's first breakthrough

The first exercise that allowed Ben to get off painkillers was dragging a sled backwards so that every step put his knees over his toes[7:31]
He likens backward sled dragging to walking backward up a hill to rehab, rather than going down a hill, which is harsher on the knees[7:43]
His rehab progression starts with backward walking and adding resistance, then moves toward controlled forward stepping down using tools like a slant board or even a rolled‑up towel under the heels[7:43]
Ben describes using high repetitions at a pain‑free level, even if he could not control a full six‑inch stair step and had to start with just a couple of inches of descent[8:11]
• At the time, he had to "clunk" down stairs, unloading weight with his upper body because he could not control each step without knee pain
Backward walking with resistance let him accumulate 100-200 yards of work without pain, increasing circulation and early strength in the knee‑over‑toe position[9:04]
After a week of sled work he intentionally stopped taking painkillers, wanting to feel the pain so he could truly assess this new route[11:21]
Within a week of sled work, he felt clearly different and saw a viable progression in training knees over toes instead of avoiding it[11:27]

Safety profile and coaching experience with sleds

Ben estimates he coached people on the sled over 100,000 times in group sessions at his gym and never saw a sled dragging injury, though he acknowledges nothing is 100% safe[11:51]
To illustrate safety, he had his 71‑year‑old mom attempt to drag 1,000 pounds on a sled backward; she could not move it but was completely fine, showing the load is not compressing her body[12:10]
• He highlights that dragging weight has less potential for bodybuilding‑type breakdown but more potential for safe, pain‑free entry into loaded movement
Tim adds that backward sled work can be done with a harness, vest, or hand straps and finds it very therapeutic and elegant for knee rehab and prehab[9:56]
Ben learned about backward sled dragging from a Poliquin case study where an Olympic athlete used it frequently to recover fast enough to compete and win a medal[10:32]

From sleds to full‑range squats and split squats

Incorporating deep squats after sled progress

Beyond sleds, Poliquin's work made clear the importance of getting athletes into a full‑range‑of‑motion squat[13:20]
Ben grew up in basketball environments where he was told not to do deep squats or let his knees go over his toes, and to avoid going below 90 degrees[13:29]
He saw 6-10 trainers and none promoted full‑range squats, which he believes reflected the prevailing norm; he estimates 99% of basketball teams do not squat full range[13:50]
Tim notes that if you never train deep positions, unexpected slips or game situations that force you there can create severe injury because your body is weak at end range[17:05]

Deep squats: practical regressions and loading

Ben says deep squats hurting or feeling impossible due to limited mobility is very common[18:27]
Elevating the heels slightly can help people get lower in a squat, and holding weight out in front acts as a counterbalance that reduces knee pressure[18:39]
He recommends a progression starting with heels elevated on something like a rolled towel and holding a 25‑pound plate out in front while lowering pain‑free for about five controlled reps[21:03]
• Next steps include holding a 45‑pound plate closer to the knees, then a 45‑pound or heavier kettlebell close to the body above the thighs, and finally potentially a front‑loaded barbell for sport‑specific goals
He aims for students to squat all the way down while holding a kettlebell without pain, seeing it as a practical life goal for picking up children and everyday tasks[22:13]
Ben observes that all toddlers can deep squat naturally, and when he coaches large groups of kids, he can get 100% of them into deep squats using slant boards and front‑held weights as needed[18:27]

ATG split squat and why Tim favors it for safety

Tim describes the ATG split squat with the front foot elevated on a step or stacked plates, back leg positioned as far back as pain‑free, and front knee traveling far over the toes in a controlled descent[23:07]
He cautions beginners against jumping into deep bilateral squats with heavy load and posterior pelvic tilt ("butt wink"), which can injure the lower back[24:04]
Tim likes the front‑foot‑elevated split squat because, performed slowly and under control, it makes it harder to commit major form errors compared to heavy barbell squats[24:24]
Ben notes that when he was 19 trying to learn from Poliquin, there were no videos, only articles, so he now makes detailed step‑by‑step videos, often using stairwells for balance and step height[30:18]
• He points out that stairwells are almost ideal for ATG split squats because they provide handrails for support and steps of different heights for progression
Tim mentions he initially performed split squats with his front foot two steps up, holding the railing, and worked his way down, which is how Ben's mom mostly did them[32:39]

Applying the system to family and aging

Ben's parents and the impact of ATG training

Ben says his 71‑year‑old mom, who had hip deterioration and a fall that began a chronic hip issue, credits the split squat with fixing her hip problems[25:52]
He has been training his mom for about eight years, and she fell in love with sled work, doing it regularly with a gentle program of roughly 10-15 minutes a day[25:52]
Ben says his mom has great mobility with the grandkids and that she slowly coaxed his father into doing parts of the program to address his own old pains[27:23]
He contrasts his mom, who worked at a desk for 50 years but seems to have good genetics, with his father and himself, whom he calls "Mr. Fragile" due to their history of broken bones and knee tears[26:06]
• As a youth, Ben attended a speed class where his dad joined and pulled his hamstring on the first run because there was no structured warmup, reinforcing the "fragile" label
Ben says he went through high school unable to grab the basketball rim, but now, at 34, he has been dunking for over a decade without problems, and Tim's videographer filmed him dunking on a concrete court[27:52]
Tim asks if great genetics explain his 71‑year‑old mom's sprinting ability; Ben replies that she likely was athletic when younger but did not keep playing sports, and her current capacity stems from years of training and hip rehab[28:10]
Ben suggests his mom's top exercises would include sled work forward and backward, a full‑range split squat, and a posterior‑chain exercise such as their style of back extension due to her desk‑based work[28:35]

Influences from Poliquin, Westside Barbell, and Bob Gajda

Charles Poliquin's broader influence and regret

Ben notes that Poliquin helped bodybuilders and athletes and tried to master many disciplines of strength[30:18]
At a late‑career seminar Ben attended, Charles told him his biggest regret was not getting into flexibility earlier[30:41]
Ben concluded from Poliquin's regret that strength and flexibility (or mobility) should be brought into harmony so that you feel strong in the positions you are flexible in[31:10]
Tim agrees, noting that he developed good range of motion partly by doing the movements themselves, such as overhead squats, instead of separating strength and stretching into long blocks[31:51]

Westside Barbell, Louie Simmons, and sled origins

Ben recounts how Poliquin went to Westside Barbell, led by Louie Simmons, which was producing the strongest powerlifters in the world[36:45]
Louie was jealous of Finnish powerlifters' squats; they claimed their secret weapon was dragging trees as a day job, which inspired Louie to invent dragging weight as exercise[37:05]
Dragging sleds became a way of life at Westside, and Louie's disciple Dave Tate later created the prowler‑style sled via EliteFTS[37:15]
Ben says Dave Tate remembers Louie telling them to go drag the sled in the parking lot before training; they did not even call it warmup, just "the stuff you do before you train"[37:15]
An article about Poliquin using backward sled dragging to rehab an Olympic athlete was a key stepping stone for Ben toward his current system[38:02]

Bodybuilder Bob Gajda and tibialis training

Ben highlights Bob Gajda, a bodybuilder and Mr. Universe who worked at the Chicago YMCA helping kids get off the streets and into bodybuilding[39:26]
Gajda quit bodybuilding when he discovered steroids emerging in his gym and turned down early protein shake deals, then shifted his passion to helping people enjoy life without breaking down[40:16]
Bob invented a device called the DARD (Dynamic Axial Resistance Device) to train the opposite of calf raises and strengthen the front shin muscles (tibialis), but it never caught on commercially[40:26]
Ben notes that Poliquin and others did calf and tibialis training, but Bob was the originator whose idea particularly influenced Ben's focus on the lower leg[40:49]
In Ben's workout sequence, after sled work forward and backward, he addresses the body from the ground up by training lower leg muscles before knee work to desensitize pain and build robustness[41:08]
• He found extra desensitization of painful knees by doing tibialis and calf work after sledding, possibly because sleds already burn the legs and the added lower‑leg work further conditions the area
When an equipment company asked what was missing from the market, Ben suggested updating the DARD concept into a simpler tib bar focused on the anterior tibialis[42:00]
He purposely named it a "Tib Bar" to be simpler than "DARD" and notes that now multiple sellers on Amazon offer tib bars, including many made in China[42:22]
Ben says he offers the lowest‑priced American‑made tib bar on his site; he accepts that others will sell more units by manufacturing in China and sees that as acceptable[42:27]
He describes a no‑equipment version of tibialis training: standing with butt against a wall, feet 1-2 feet away, knees locked, and repeatedly lifting the toes for a reverse calf raise[43:15]
• For additional lateral stability, he suggests lifting the foot fully, then lowering toward the pinky‑toe side on one rep and toward the big‑toe side on the next, alternating sides

Wrist bar, American manufacturing, and viral sales

Design and use of the wrist bar

Tim describes Ben's wrist bar as a baton‑like tool with a thick end that can be plate‑loaded, useful for pronation and supination work, including isometrics, and very portable[46:49]
Tim plans to use it for rehab after elbow surgery, especially for combination and rotational forearm work[46:08]

Unexpected spike from Tim's newsletter and US manufacturing

Ben recalls seeing wrist bar sales suddenly explode and tracing it to Tim mentioning the product in his Five Bullet Friday newsletter[47:43]
He calls it a highlight business moment and notes the wrist bar is made in America by a family‑run manufacturer in Minnesota[48:25]
Because the product was American‑made, they could make units to order and quickly fulfill the spike in demand without large speculative inventory orders[48:13]
Tim explains how sudden exposure can be a "hug of death" for small companies that over‑order overseas inventory they then cannot sell, but Ben's domestic, made‑to‑order setup avoided this risk[48:13]

Minimalistic training program and sets/reps philosophy

Ben's "minimalistic workout program" video and title discipline

Ben created a recent YouTube video titled "Minimalistic workout program with sets and reps" to recap his knowledge and present his actual program for this podcast[49:31]
He says he is careful never to lie in titles and mentions a case where another channel titled a video about him "fix knee pain guaranteed in 60 seconds" and "only exercise you'll ever need," which he considers dishonest[50:15]
Ben admits one of his own older titles, "how to make yourself a world‑class athlete," came closest to feeling like a potential lie even though he used stories of people who did it[50:57]
He says his straightforward titling means view counts depend on content quality rather than clickbait phrases like "knees over toes" or "fix knee pain" in every title[50:15]

Sets, reps, and minimum effective dose

Ben says his starting system for people is one to two sets per exercise, and he finds one to two sets sufficient for maintenance for himself[56:59]
He only adds more sets on exercises where he plans to progressively add weight, mainly as a safety buffer rather than for high volume; the truly hard work still comes from one or two work sets[57:41]
Tim emphasizes that people can always scale volume down, even to a single set, and that very small starting doses can accumulate significant benefits over time[53:42]
• He shares an example of someone starting with one pushup before bed, which gradually grew into 50 pushups nightly and produced real results
Tim references the Barry Ross deadlift protocol described in The 4‑Hour Body, using two to three sets of two to three reps, dropping the bar after each rep, to build very high strength such as a 475‑pound deadlift[55:17]
Both note that higher‑volume programs can also work, but the best program is the one you can stick with given your goals and life constraints[58:27]

Ben's weekly training structure and core principles

Two‑day‑per‑week system and no extra therapies

Ben currently works out only twice a week, about 45 minutes per session, and has been dunking and playing hard without knee or back issues for roughly 12 years[1:04:03]
He does not do additional therapies or take supplements; all his joint and performance maintenance comes from these workouts[1:03:21]
He aims to play basketball about once a week, often with strong kids at a school where he volunteers, and otherwise focuses on raising toddlers and running his business[1:05:40]

Three overarching training principles

Principle 1 is forward and backward resisted movement, using tools like sleds or a resisted treadmill to train locomotion under load[1:06:20]
Principle 2 is training from the ground up, prioritizing lower legs before upper legs to restore strength balance where most people have undertrained the lower legs[1:06:25]
Principle 3 is building strength through mobility, meaning you get strong in the same ranges where you are flexible, not just in mid‑range positions[1:06:29]
Ben then applies the same ground‑up and strength‑through‑range logic to the upper body and is finished, creating an efficient full‑body system[1:06:35]
At home he uses a resisted treadmill forward and backward; in about three to four minutes of alternating sets with rest, he gets a hard leg and cardio stimulus[1:00:10]
He does one weekly burnout set each of ring rows and ring pullups, which he says keeps his upper back well balanced for his goals[36:23]

Tim's modifications to The 4‑Hour Body approach and sled intervals

Additions Tim would make to The 4‑Hour Body

Tim says most of The 4‑Hour Body still holds up, but if he updated it he would add sled work or resisted incline treadmill analogs[1:01:16]
He would also add chapters or sections on intermittent fasting, hip and glute medius exercises for stabilization, and on zone‑two training even though he finds it very boring[1:02:00]
He might also remove some chapters to further simplify the book, while keeping its most reliable protocols[1:01:04]

Tim's sled and intermittent fasting routine

During one summer, Tim did sled sessions every other day, typically 10-20 minutes of intervals, such as four minutes on and four minutes off for several rounds, on a gravel driveway using mechanical resistance[1:02:11]
He found that very little added weight was needed on the sled because of the surface and resistance, yet his legs and stability improved dramatically[1:02:16]
He performed these workouts fasted, often with only a small dose of essential amino acids beforehand, and then delayed eating for a few hours, breaking his fast around 2-3 p.m.[1:03:25]
He would schedule weight training later, typically before his evening meal, and estimates his total weekly time investment at about three to four hours split into manageable segments[1:03:40]
Tim notes that such a simple routine dramatically improved his conditioning, leg size, stability, and fat loss, underscoring how high the return on invested time can be with a few smart exercises[1:04:54]

Integrity, audience capture, and long‑term thinking

Ben asks Tim about maintaining integrity at scale

Ben praises Tim for becoming very successful without bashing others or using low‑integrity tactics, and asks how he navigates decisions around integrity in podcasting and business[1:09:40]
Ben says he has had to make his own rules, such as ensuring his posts do not contain lies or content meant to intentionally start arguments, and he wants to learn from Tim's approach[1:09:15]

Tim's crypto episode example and avoiding trend chasing

Tim describes an episode with Balaji during COVID that became the most popular episode of the year amid a crypto and trading boom[1:10:46]
His team suggested four or five more crypto‑focused guests, which would likely generate high downloads and financial upside, but Tim paused to consider the trade‑offs[1:11:19]
He cites a quote often attributed to Mark Twain: "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect," and used it to evaluate whether to chase the crypto trend[1:11:45]
Tim realized that heavily focusing on crypto would filter out listeners uninterested in the topic, training his content toward a narrow and volatile trend and risking "audience capture"[1:12:52]
He explains audience capture as being steered by audience demands and platform incentives instead of an internal compass, with algorithms acting as highly sophisticated psychological traps[1:12:52]
Tim shares an example from an article about a YouTuber who built a channel on extreme binge‑eating videos, became obese, and felt trapped by the persona and expectations he had created[1:13:40]
Andrew Zimmern once warned Tim to be careful what he does in his first TV episode, because if he pretends to be someone he's not and it succeeds, he will feel obligated to keep playing that role[1:14:40]
Tim argues that using extreme statements or guests purely for views leads inevitably to exaggerated, unreliable headlines and National Enquirer‑style content[1:15:10]

Trust, reputation, and decisions about supplements

Tim says he has worked hard so his audience feels they can trust him, and that with a great audience comes great responsibility not to compromise that trust[1:17:41]
He notes that once a listener asks themselves "Can I really trust Tim?" or similar, that seed of doubt often equates to losing their trust permanently[1:18:48]
When The 4‑Hour Body launched, Tim had deep experience in sports nutrition and could have created a supplement line around every major recommendation, potentially making tens or hundreds of millions[1:19:10]
He chose not to launch such a line because it would create an inherent conflict of interest and justifiably cause readers to question whether his recommendations were unbiased[1:20:07]
Tim acknowledges he personally consumes many supplements from brands that use third‑party testing, and that some supplement companies are good actors, but he wanted the book's advice to stand apart from his financial incentives[1:21:17]
Ben parallels this by saying listeners will know he has "sold out" if he ever sells a joint supplement, because his work has been based on exploring what exercise alone can accomplish[1:22:30]

Compounding small choices, American manufacturing, and family values

Tim's 2% rule and long‑term compounding of habits

Tim suggests asking: if you continue doing X and increase it by 2% in frequency or intensity each period, what does that look like in three years?[1:23:53]
He warns that if you exaggerate titles or claims by even 2% and get rewarded, you are unlikely to stop, and these small increments can eventually cross ethical lines without you realizing it[1:24:02]
He emphasizes that the same compounding logic can be applied positively by putting a bit more energy into high‑integrity priorities each year, such as American manufacturing or quality products[1:26:20]

American manufacturing as a deliberate value choice

Ben explains that he and his wife, who he calls the business genius, are passionate about making equipment in America and persist through repeated "no" responses until they find factories and technologies that can do it[1:26:25]
He says that if he lived in Canada or China he would similarly want to support local manufacturing, and that this choice makes him and his wife happy even if the numbers are not gigantic[1:26:41]
Tim notes that even if American‑made items cost more, the pride and values they reinforce in Ben's family, and how that radiates to his kids, can more than offset the financial trade‑offs[1:28:07]

Reputation and opportunities from trustworthiness

Tim recounts that being known as discreet and reliable in San Francisco, honoring implicit "friendias" when people shared confidential information, led to angel‑investing opportunities with startups[1:28:45]
He says returns from those angel investments ultimately far exceeded what a supplement business might have generated, illustrating the long‑term payoff of trustworthiness[1:29:06]
Tim underscores that money is just a medium to trade for other things or feelings, and that the amount needed to live an amazing life is usually far less than people think, with trust and values filling much of the remaining gap[1:30:51]

Closing and where to find Ben

Final thoughts and contact information

Ben says that on YouTube and Instagram, under "Knees Over Toes Guy," people can learn essentially everything he knows via his videos[1:32:23]
Tim notes they will link to everything in the show notes, including Ben's pinned overview video and the joint exercise video they recorded together[1:32:57]
Tim thanks Ben for the conversation and encourages listeners to be a bit kinder than necessary to others and to themselves[1:33:15]

Lessons Learned

Actionable insights and wisdom you can apply to your business, career, and personal life.

1

Training strength through full ranges of motion, including knees over toes and deep hip positions, can transform joint resilience and performance when progressed carefully instead of avoided.

Reflection Questions:

  • • What movement patterns in my life do I currently avoid because they feel uncomfortable or risky, and how might I safely reintroduce them in a controlled, low-load way?
  • • How could I regress range of motion, load, or support (e.g., using stairs, railings, or heel elevation) to start building strength where I'm weakest rather than just where I'm strongest?
  • • What specific lower-body movement-such as a backward sled drag or split squat-could I practice this week in a pain-free range to begin expanding my usable mobility?
2

A minimalist, high-quality program done consistently-often just one or two hard sets of a few key exercises-can deliver outsized results compared to complex, high-volume routines you can't stick to.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Where am I using "not enough time" as an excuse when I could start with a single set or even one rep to build consistency?
  • • How might my results change if I focused on a small set of high-yield exercises instead of constantly adding more volume and variety?
  • • What is one minimal, clear routine I could commit to for the next four weeks, even on my busiest days?
3

Building from the ground up-prioritizing lower legs, knees, and hips before heavy upper-body work-creates more balanced, durable mechanics and reduces the likelihood of chronic pain.

Reflection Questions:

  • • How balanced is my current training between upper body and lower legs, especially around the ankles, shins, and hips?
  • • In what ways might weak or neglected lower-leg muscles be contributing to recurring foot, knee, or back discomfort for me?
  • • What is one simple ground-up addition (like tibialis raises or sled dragging) I can incorporate to strengthen my base before heavier work?
4

Resisting audience capture-refusing to chase trends or extreme content just because it performs well-protects your integrity and keeps your work aligned with a long-term internal compass.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Where in my work or online behavior am I tempted to lean into what "gets clicks" rather than what I actually believe is right or useful?
  • • How could I tell if I'm starting to be steered more by algorithmic rewards than by my own values and long-term goals?
  • • What is one boundary I can set around the topics, titles, or tactics I will not use, even if they would reliably boost my metrics?
5

Audience trust is a compounding asset: small compromises (like overstated claims or conflicted recommendations) can permanently damage it, while disciplined honesty creates opportunities you can't predict.

Reflection Questions:

  • • What decisions am I currently making where short-term financial gain could come at the cost of people questioning whether they can fully trust me?
  • • How might my future opportunities change if key people in my life saw me as unfailingly reliable and discreet, especially with sensitive information?
  • • What is one existing product, recommendation, or promise I should revisit or clarify to ensure it fully aligns with what I can honestly stand behind?
6

Small, repeated choices-whether slightly exaggerating a claim or investing a bit more in a core value like quality or local manufacturing-compound over years into dramatically different outcomes.

Reflection Questions:

  • • If I kept doing what I'm doing now, with just a 2% increase each month, where would that realistically lead me in three years-in both positive and negative directions?
  • • Which one or two priorities, if I invested a bit more effort into them consistently (like craft quality, reliability, or health), would most improve my long-term trajectory?
  • • What is one "2%" adjustment I can start this week-either eliminating a small integrity leak or reinforcing a small positive habit-that my future self would thank me for?
7

Clarifying what "enough" looks like for you financially frees you to optimize for meaning, integrity, and health instead of chasing every possible dollar.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Have I ever explicitly defined what a "good enough" income, savings level, or lifestyle would look like for me and my family?
  • • How might my decisions around projects, partnerships, or products change if I knew I was already close to or at "enough"?
  • • What simple exercise (like listing desired experiences and pricing them out) can I do this month to better understand my actual needs versus assumed ones?

Episode Summary - Notes by Sawyer

#835: Ben Patrick (KneesOverToesGuy) - 20-Minute Workouts That Produce Wild Results, From Chronic Knee Pain to Dunking Basketballs, Lessons from Charles Poliquin, Bulletproofing the Lower Body, and More
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