Ben PatrickKnee Ability Zero

I bought this book after seeing some videos of its author, Ben Patrick, on YouTube, and I'm very satisfied with the purchase. I have been following the book's program for about five weeks now and have noticed a marked improvement in the strength and flexibility of my knees, and I am hopeful that the results will continue. I started doing the Knee Ability Exercises about six weeks after having arthroscopic surgery on one of my knees to remove some calcified bursa "floaters."I liked the book's emphasis on not doing anything that causes pain, and I started at a very beginner's level; the programs' exercises are easily scalable, with an abundance of photos detailing beginner to advanced possibilities with the movements. There are also many colorful diagrams showing how the muscles, bones, and ligaments are activated, and the writing is simple and complete. It's a great book, particularly for it's price, and seems to represent the life's work and research of its author. I wish it had been around twenty years ago or more; I think it would have saved me a lot of pain.

Where to start? Just turned 70, and have been dealing with bad knees for many, many years, courtesy of 41 years in law enforcement with numerous injuries throughout the years. I dodged surgery early in my career, mainly by declining and working through the pain, doing rehab, and stuffing supplements down my throat. I was not going out on injury retirement, I wanted to retire on my terms. Since retirement, my doctor has put me on notice that, mainly due to my mobility issues, arthritis, and pain (mainly in left knee) that I am a candidate for knee replacement.That's my background. Oh, and I was 80 pounds overweight to boot. After losing close to 60 pounds recently, and still going, I am pleased with a definite mitigation in my knee pain, but not so for my flexibility, strength, etc. In fact, I developed a "mystery pain" in my left leg, radiating from the knee to the ankle. Doctor ruled out DVT and finally said the pain is basically a mystery, possibly nerve related. I heard about the KOT guy at the gym, and researched the concept. I bought this book, frankly expecting it to end up in the attic with all the other broken toys (gizmos "guaranteed" to "cure" the knee pain, strengthen the legs, etc). The book consists of 8 exercises, the first 4 especially being simple, and the last 4 a bit more challenging. In fact, the last 2 exercises I am staying away from for the time being. Anyway, I started slowly, like Patrick advised, and did not overdo any of the exercises. I quickly found Youtube videos (a lot of them) which detail each of these movements (I recommend using them). Within less than a week, my pain and discomfort improved by about 20%, a BIG deal for me. That was about a month ago. Presently I am seeing about an 80% lessening of pain! And my flexibility has improved. I attribute much of this improvement to the strengthening of the muscles around the knees, and hamstring stretching, which was always a problem for me. I also swear by his opening pre-exercise, a simple walking in reverse for about 20 minutes on flat ground. What a difference it made for my balance. Also, I splurged and purchased a pulling harness and a pulling sled for weights (both for well under $100). I waited a couple weeks before trying the sled pull, and believe me, even starting slowly with small weights, it really, really helped.I truly wished these exercises where incorporated in my numerous rehabs my work sent me too, I could have avoided a lot of future injuries, and lived pain-free these past few years. The best advise I can give is that sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands, like I did when I bought this book and seriously started using it. Second piece of advise is that you WILL feel better, and that may cause you to jump the gun and start overdoing the exercises, or thinking you'll be clever and "modify" the exercises (like with more weights, or increasing the angle for more resistance). Don't! Keep it simple, and follow his plan. I look forward to the day I can do the more advanced stretching exercises in the last two exercises.

The media could not be loaded. I didn’t start doing the exercises in this book because I had knee pain, but I had other problems like sciatica nerve problems on my right side, old hip flexor strain on the right leg, old ankle sprains andflat feet problems that caused my legs to hurt a lot after 1-2 hours of standing to the point that made me unable to do my job and I am a fitness coach so I'm on my feet most of the day.As a fitness coach and graduated professor for Physical Education, Sports and Health, the data in this book made a lot of sense and followed the biomechanics of human movement. Also, I was in a big confusion about physical training with all the data around, and this book handled that confusion for me. I started using the data in this book on myself and the clients that I trained and the results were unbelievable. Some of my clients that had knee problems and surgeries felt a huge improvement and their issues with their knees were gone. My sciatica nerve problem, the pain, and tightness in the right hip flexor and the effect from the past ankle sprains are now just a memory in the past. I work all day in the ATG gym that I’ve opened and I’m on my feet throughout the whole day in barefoot shoes feeling zero pain and heaviness in the legs. So, this book helped me become a better fitness coach in two ways: first, by making me more able to work without the pain stopping me, and second, by giving me the tools and knowledge to make my clients more physically able and handle their pains and body problems. I’m telling you, this small book has information that has more value and importance about human movement than the whole college that I’ve studied for 4 years, so it’s definitely worth it.

I am trying to strengthen my knees if I can. This book tells you simple things you can do. I usually exercise in a swimming pool to support my weight and take pressure off my joints. I am starting with one basic exercise then going up to another and gradually increasing. If I do my pool walking I do 10 minutes, and if I do it at home outside the pool, I only do 5 minutes. The pictures are great. The exercises are doable. I am a senior who is starting small and building up.