Overtime Athletes presents: 5 Keys to Exploding Your Weight Room Numbers

Overtime Athletes presents: 5 Keys to Exploding Your Weight Room Numbers

LEGAL 2015 Overtime Athletes Inc. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright. www.overtimeathletes.com This ebook is free to distribute on the Internet. The only restriction is that you cannot modify or change the ebook in any way. Notice Consult your physician before undertaking this or any other exercise, dietary, and/or nutrition supplementation program. This report was developed based upon findings from a variety of sources and different interpretations of the studies and applications of their findings, if any, are possible. Individuals vary in their response or reaction to exercise, diet and/or nutrition supplementation. Overtime Athletes, Inc. and the developer and distributors of this manual will not be liable for any incidental, consequential or other damages arising out of the use or application of any of the information contained in this text.

About the Author - Chris Barnard is the head strength and conditioning coach at Strength Camp, a hardcore athlete training facility in St. Petersburg, Florida, as well as creator of multiple training programs dedicated to maximizing overall athleticism that he s developed while working with many high school, collegiate, and pro athletes. He earned his pre-med degree in Applied Kinesiology and Physiology at the University of Miami, where he initially went to play football before becoming ineligible. He has worked with athletes at all levels and from many different sports to produce the highest level of performance in each. He currently resides between St Petersburg, Florida and continues to pursuit breakthroughs in athletic performance as he aspires to reach his own full potential through extreme performance goals.

Ahhhh the good old strength manual. It s crazy how many books there are in the fitness industry pertaining solely to strength gains. It s seems like everyone and their moms want to get stronger. And rightfully so. Strength is one of the MOST important aspects of being an awesome athlete. If you want to be fast, explosive, muscular, and injury resistant; than striving to get stronger will get you there. Haven t you heard of the quote: Only the Strong Survive I don t know who said it, but its 100% true when it comes to athletics. If you want to survive the entire game and dominate the field then you re going to want to keep reading. Here at Overtime Athletes there are 5 keys we concentrate on when it comes to getting stronger. I have come to realize strength training has become about fluff and tactics. In reality Strength is simple and it comes down to one thing: consistent intensity. That s it, my big secret. I have truly watched countless athletes come and go from my gym here in St. Petersburg FL. The one underlying factor that determines the strength of any particular athlete is their consistent intensity. the ones who are willing to come in and work hard everyday will reap the benefit of getting brute strength. Strength gains are not a sprint but rather a marathon that you need to build on week in and week out. Below are some of the simplest ideas but I would be lying to you if I didn t give it to you straight up. With so much information out these days this report is not intended to teach you anything new necessarily but to keep you in check or on the right path to strength progression. It took me many years to give up gimmicks and focus on consistent hard work through proper programming. I wish you all the best.

1. Perform Compound Movements This is a given. If you want to get stronger start doing exercises that require multiple muscle groups to work at once. Exercises like the squat, deadlift, bench press, and overhead press are awesome movements to add into the beginning of your workouts. Exercises like these can help tremendously in your pursuit to becoming an elite level athlete. The movements I mentioned above mimic the primal movement patterns, which are patterns we perform in everyday life, especially during a game. Variations of push, pull, bend, squat, lunge, gait, and twist are all movements that will be integrated into the playing field in athletics and must be trained on a structural level for each athlete. By getting stronger in these primal movements we create an easier way of life and increase performance. In everyday life and in competition it is essential we become more efficient at overcoming resistance. We become more efficient by breaking down these recurring movements and strategically implementing them into our weekly training. Below are a series of the simplest compound movements that you should be performing on a weekly basis as an athlete. Becoming stronger in these compound movements will be your first steps into becoming a great athlete. Here s a list of compound movements you should be performing Bench Press Deadlift Pull Ups Squats Lunges Russian Twist Overhead Press Barbell Rows And all their variations

2. Simplicity is Key There s a reason why this is number 2 on our list and I have even alluded to this in the introduction but it s essential I hammer this down. There s so much information out there that it has become nearly impossible to start a new training routine without any confusion. Training shouldn t be complex. It should be simplistic, especially when it comes to strength gains. Just add weight to the bar. Every week you should be adding 5 to 10 pounds on the bar, depending on your training age and what exercise you re performing. It s that simple to progress. Now I m not referring to elite powerlifters here who need to be more creative with their programming. I m referring to the athletes who need to establish their baseline of strength in each movement and increase the intensity each week. Yes, it is as simple as increasing the weight each week driving the nervous system to adapt to the stimulus and then deloading properly, which I ll get into later. For now, I need you to take the thought process out of the fancy movements and tricks. Focus on establishing your 5 rep max in each movement above and pushing that envelop each and every week. If you Bench 5 reps for a max at 200 lbs. you need to focus on adding weight to that over the next month. Once you get to 220 lbs. the same process of getting to 240 lbs. Until you stall for a period of months where you do not see increase and you are consistent then you can begin to examine other ideas. Until then allow your body to get stronger and get your mind out of the way. Which leads me to the next Strength Key.

3. The Golden Number of 5! FIVE. The golden number that has been show time and time again to be perfect in eliciting a strength and hypertrophy response without too much stress on your CNS and joints. We recommend that all athletes start at this number of reps. Whether it s 3 sets of 5, or 5 sets of 5; just load up the bar to a weight that you can lift 5 times and lift that shit. Every week increase the weight by 5 pounds. This is how you get stronger. It s that simple and feeds exactly off the last principle. Focus on establishing your 5 rep max in each movement above and pushing that envelop each and every week. If you Bench 5 reps for a max at 200 lbs. you need to focus on adding weight to that over the next months. Once you get to 220 lbs. the same process of getting to 240 lbs. Until you stall for a period of months where you do not see increase and you are consistent then you can begin to examine other ideas. Until then allow your body to get stronger and get your mind out of the way. This method of 5 has been shown to work with hundreds of young athletes I ve coached. Take your time, get stronger in your 5 rep range, and start seeing how much of a better athlete you become. For a simple scheme in your compound movements check out this simple template I set up for you... Week 1 - Compound Movement - 5 sets of 5 reps (last set establish comfortable 5 rep max) Week 2 - Compound Movement - 4 sets of 5 reps (last set of 5 increase load from last week 5 lbs) Week 3 - Compound Movement - 3 sets of 5 reps (last set of 5 establish a new 5 rep max) Week 4 - Compound Movement - 3 sets of 5 reps (deload: do not go over 60% of 5 rep max)

4. Form Over Everything Here at Overtime Athletes we take pride in having our athletes use proper form for all the movements we do. There s a reason why you ve heard this a million times. It s important from a structural aspect because as an athlete we need to balance the body and not create an imbalances or faulty motor patterns. When muscular imbalances are created we increase the risk of injury that may occur. Our bodies perform in a series of sling systems to create the best mechanical advantage. When we train in bad form we create faulty movement patterns by engraining that movement in our body. When these faulty patterns are created we become less efficient at our mechanics in turn decreasing the level of performance. When we demanding our body to move at a high intensity but with inefficient movements something is bound to break down. Why would we want to facilitate that through our training? We don t, that is why sound movements with proper form is essential to build the foundation of our bodies mechanics so when we take it to competition we reduce the risk of injury and create efficient movement. There are a ton of cues that coaches have when teaching proper form in all compound movements. Some are better than others, which can drastically change the form from correct to horrible. Make sure you find a good coach. If you don t have access to a trusted coach then I invite you to check out my Youtube channel where we have awesome videos on performing these exercises correctly. Check it out at Overtime Athletes Youtube

5. Hypertrophy is Key for Young Athletes Hypertrophy is simply applying a stimulus to the body to increase the size of the muscle. When muscle size increases we typically see an increase in overall strength. This is not a direct result but rather a positive correlation. Fact is when you perform at higher volumes of a particular movement with hypertrophy settings you can achieve a number of things for performance. One, being the fact that you can engrain that movement pattern in your nervous system and get better at it. Two, you increase the time under tension which facilitates muscle growth and what athlete doesn t want that? Finally, you increase the strength because as you combine the two benefits above you are able to overcome more resistance the more you practice a movement. As a young athlete starting off I recommend to not isolate but to perform the same compound movements as suggested earlier but perform them with hypertrophy parameters. Simply follow a template similar to the one below to increase the volume on your lifts... Week 1 - Compound Movement - 5 sets of 5 reps (last set establish comfortable 5 rep max) Auxiliary Movement - 3 sets of 12 reps Week 2 - Compound Movement - 4 sets of 5 reps (last set of 5 increase load from last week 5 lbs) Auxiliary Movement - 4 sets of 10 reps Week 3 - Compound Movement - 3 sets of 5 reps (last set of 5 establish a new 5 rep max) Auxiliary Movement - 5 sets of 8 reps Week 4 - Compound Movement - 3 sets of 5 reps (deload: do not go over 60% of 5 rep max) Auxiliary Movement - 3 x 10 @ 70%

Chris s Resources Total Power Training My proven and tested athlete program that in a test yielded 18 collegiate scholarships out of 25 athletes. Total Xplosive Training The exact program I followed before playing college ball. This program is not pretty and will challenge you but will also provide results. Athletic Calisthenics The only body weight program designed specifically for power athletes. There is no need for weights with this program to excel your performance to the next level. Gridiron Domination The leading football program on the internet guaranteed to develop football players in the offseason.