Andy Bolton How I Squat Bench and Deadlift

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How To Avoid The 7 Deadly Strength Building Sins That Kill Your Gains By Andy Bolton and Elliot Newman © 2011, All Rights Reserved

www.andyboltonstrength.net

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Andy Bolton Strength Presents:

How To Avoid The 7 Deadly Strength Building Sins That Instantly Kill Your Gains And Could Cut Your Training Career Short…

PLUS… HOW I TRAIN TO SQUAT 1214lbs, BENCH 755lbs AND DEADLIFT 1008lbs

By Andy Bolton and Elliot Newman ©2011, All Rights Reserved



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Table Of Contents

- Chapter 1: Deadly Strength Building Sin # 1 Poor Training Program Design

- Chapter 2: Deadly Strength Building Sin # 2 Ignoring Technique

- Chapter 3: Deadly Strength Building Sin # 3 Failing To Warm Up Properly

- Chapter 4: Deadly Strength Building Sin # 4 Not Knowing When To Back Off

- Chapter 5: Deadly Strength Building Sin # 5 No Peri-Workout Nutrition

- Chapter 6: Deadly Strength Building Sin # 6 A Lack of Sleep

- Chapter 7: Deadly Strength Building Sin # 7 Poor Training Continuity

- Chapter 8: Conclusion; Creating Superhuman Strength and Explosive Power Some Key Points To Help You Create A Compelling Future For Your Strength Training

- Chapter 9: Andy Bolton, How I Train



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Chapter 1: Deadly Strength Training Sin # 1 Poor Training Program Design Your TRAINING PROGRAM is your main blueprint for success in the gym. When strength is your goal, you must have a program designed to achieve precisely that. Your training program is the main strategy you will use to get strong. Your training program will dictate what days you train on and at what times (training frequency), what exercises you do, how many sets and reps you perform of each exercise, how long to rest between sets and the loading parameters for each exercise. Oh, and don’t forget a progression method! The more experienced (stronger) you get; the more important your training program is to your success. Absolute beginners can get stronger doing just about anything, but once you have gone past that first 6 to 12 week glory period (where strength gains tend to be rapid), more careful attention needs to be paid if you want to progress at the fastest pace you can and the safest pace you can. To write a good training program for yourself that will allow you to build serious strength, you should take the following into account: - How often you can train (1x per week, 3x per week, 4x per week etc) - Have you got any limitations (injuries, aches and pains) - What exercises do you want to get stronger on (Bench Press, Deadlift, Snatch etc) - What is your training history (how long have you been training, are you a beginner, intermediate or advanced athlete?) - Your sport (do you have one or are the weights your primary focus) - Goals (Be specific, “strength” is a weak goal. Aim for a certain number in a certain time frame. This way you can measure how effective your programs are)



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Before we proceed to looking at some guidelines that you can use to design effective strength training programs, read the following definition of optimal training: “Training is efficient [optimal] if the highest sports result is achieved with the least expense of time and energy” (Thomas Kurz, Science Of Sports Training, 2001)

Bear this in mind at all times when you are designing a training program with the primary goal of building brutal strength, explosive power, speed and athleticism. 3 Guidelines For Designing Effective Strength Training Programs Focus on the basics Your strength training program should be built around the big, basic, compound exercises. This is how Powerlifters, Strongmen and Weightlifters build their awesome strength. Old school bodybuilders like Steve Reeves built their impressive physiques this way as well (because they didn’t have any other options). Any athlete looking for strength, power and speed should base their strength training programs on the basics. Some great strength training movements include: The Powerlifts (Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift) Olympic Weightlifting (Clean and Jerk, Snatch) Military Press, Push Press (Overhead Pressing Movements) Pull Ups, Chins and Dips (Challenging Bodyweight Exercises) Barbell Rows and DB Rows (Horizontal Pulling Movements) Variations of the above (for example: Incline Bench Press, Sumo Deadlift) How To Avoid The 7 Deadly Strength Building Sins That Kill Your Gains By Andy Bolton and Elliot Newman © 2011, All Rights Reserved


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The key point to think of when considering what counts as a big, basic strength training exercise is: Does the exercise involve a bar, and incorporate movement at more than one joint? If this answer is yes, then it could well be a worthy exercise. If the answer is no, it probably doesn’t want to be a staple in your strength training program. An example of a good strength training exercise is the Bench Press. It involves movement at the shoulder and elbow and uses a barbell. An example of an exercise that should be used only as an assistance exercise (and not a main strength training exercise) is the DB Curl. It involves movement only at the elbow and does not use a Barbell. Avoid Machines Machines fill commercial gyms (and some hard-core gyms) nowadays like a plague. They are almost a total waste of time if you are training to develop strength, explosive power and speed. Machines were made popular by the big bodybuilding companies and magazines, but they are a poor choice for strength training for many reasons. Before we go into some of those reasons it pays to remember that you must never confuse size with strength. Some people will argue that machines are great because bodybuilders are the biggest, most muscular dudes on the planet and they can often be seen using machines. Well… guess what. Who cares? No one training for strength should care, that’s for sure. You see, many top bodybuilders are weak for their size and very un-athletic. If you want strength, power, speed and athleticism… the barbell will always rule. And besides, if you look at the bodybuilders with the hardest, densest looking muscles (not soft, inflated, puffy ones), you will find that they are usually the How To Avoid The 7 Deadly Strength Building Sins That Kill Your Gains By Andy Bolton and Elliot Newman © 2011, All Rights Reserved


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strongest bodybuilders and they tend to use a lot of free weight exercises and often started out training for strength. Think of Ronnie Coleman and Franco Columbo and you will see what I mean. So what is it exactly that makes machines so bad for strength training? I could write a book on this but will give you the main points instead as you may want to start writing that strength training program at some point and actually get to the gym and start getting stronger ;) First off, machines are designed with the ‘average man’ in mind. But who’s to say what average is? The take home point is that unless you are 5”10 with regular length limbs, most machines are not designed for your proportions. And how do female athletes fit into this? Well, I guess they are screwed because they are generally much smaller than the “average” man. I think you can see how machines fall flat on their face just from this point. Right? Anyhow, I’ll give you a few more reasons why machines suck for strength training… Machines force you through their range of motion and movement plane and not your own. Conversely, with a barbell in your hands, or on your back, you can train a movement and perfect the technique that suits your body. This is impossible with machines. For this reason, machines are a great way to promote injuries (both through repetitive strain type syndromes AND by forcing your body through a range of movement it just doesn’t like). Machines are great for sitting on in between sets of Squats and Deadlifts and hanging your coat on and that’s about it! A third reason why machines are awful for strength training is because they usually force you to start in the bottom position of a movement. Take a seated chest press for example. You will start with the handles at your chest and then drive them to lockout.



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This is the opposite of what happens with a barbell Bench Press, where you start with the bar at arm’s length, lower it to the chest and then drive it to lockout. The reason why starting in the bottom position of the movement is so bad is because it is the most vulnerable point and it is usually a point past your natural range of motion. For this reason, the first rep on most machines is particularly dangerous. Let’s face facts. If you strength train for a long time and do everything perfectly, you will probably get the odd injury here and there. Why would you want to use machines that build no balance or athleticism and increase the risk of injury at the same time? With everything in life that you aim to be successful at… Try and Stack the Odds in your Favour! Now we’ve bashed machines to death I must just say that there are some exceptions to the rule of avoiding machines at all costs. Some machine rows can be useful for developing back strength and pull down variations are often a useful way of training the Lats of extremely heavy athletes (lighter athletes would be better off with pull ups). That said; rows and pull downs would still not be primary exercises in your strength training program. They would be assistance exercises. Train Your Main Movements Using 1 To 5 Reps When training for strength make sure that you use the rep ranges that build strength. You can do all the Bench Presses and Squats you like, but if you use 3 sets of 12 reps every time you train, you will not reap the same strength gains as if you stick to 5 reps and below. It has been proven time and time again that for strength; low reps and long rest periods (3 to 5 minutes) tend to work best. Let me give you a very simple example of a well-designed total body training session for an intermediate athlete trying to gain strength and a poorly designed one as well. How To Avoid The 7 Deadly Strength Building Sins That Kill Your Gains By Andy Bolton and Elliot Newman © 2011, All Rights Reserved


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Lower Body Training Session A. Squat: Work up to 5RM, (use 6 to 8 sets and 3 to 5 minute rest periods) B. Glute Ham Raise: 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps, rest 90 seconds C. DB Side Bends: 4 sets of 6 to 8reps/side, rest 90 seconds

This training session focuses on the Squat (a big compound movement), and keep the reps low (5 reps) because strength is the aim. The session then finishes off with two assistance exercises that will help build the Hamstrings and Glutes (GHR) and Core Strength (Side Bends). These exercises are done with shorter rest periods and slightly more reps (to help build muscle and more strength). A Poorly Designed Strength Program A. Hack Squat: 3 sets of 25 reps with 1 minute rest B. Lying Leg Curls: 3 sets of 10 reps with 1 minute rest C. Calf Raises: 3 sets of 50 reps with 1 minute rest As a strength training workout, this set up fails miserably. There is no big bang for the buck exercise to start things off (no Squat, Deadlift, Snatch etc). The reps are all high and the rest periods are all short. And the workout relies on machines. This program gets a 0/10, yet it is more like what you see the vast majority of people perform in commercial gyms. It’s no wonder they often lack strength and size!

In conclusion, training program design is the most important facet of your ability to train for strength. You must avoid machines, focus on big, basic, compound movements and keep the reps low on these movements.



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Assistance exercises can be trained with higher reps (6 to 12), but remember that the big movements should take up 80% of your time and may produce up to 95% of your strength gains. So don’t “major in the minors” as Tony Robbins would say. Training Program Design is both Art and Science and takes years to understand. Truthfully, there are many high level and world class athletes out there who don’t understand it (that’s why they have coaches). And that’s why I offer Online, 1 to 1 training program design, tailored to suit you and help you achieve your strength training goals and stay healthy in the process. If you’d like to know more about my training program design service, check out my website: www.andyboltonstrength.net



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Chapter 2: Deadly Strength Training Sin # 2 Ignoring Technique This is perhaps the most overlooked “Sin” out of all 7 that I’m presenting to you in this report. It doesn’t matter whether you go to a hard-core gym or a commercial gym… the fact of the matter is that most people perform most of the movements they do in the gym with bad form. Do not let yourself fall into this category. Poor form has the potential to greatly increase injury risk, stop you from achieving your strength potential and cut your strength training career short. I think you will agree that those are some pretty compelling reasons to pay attention to your technique, on every exercise that you do! If you do practise technique and make sure that you only ever start to load of movement pattern once you have decent technique (notice I didn’t say perfect) then you should be rewarded with a minimised risk of injury, the most rapid strength gains possible (provided you are not doing any of the other “strength building sins”) and a long training career. I’m sure you’ll agree that those are all good things. So… make sure you work on technique. Now, you may be thinking to yourself… “Sounds great, but how do I know what good technique is?” Well, this is where a good coach comes into play. I offer an entire ebook dedicated to each of the 3 Powerlifts (Squat, Bench Press and Deadlift). So if you want to perfect your technique on those



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movements then be sure to check those out at: www.andyboltonstrength.net If you want to get good at the Olympic lifts (Snatch and Clean and Jerk) it would make sense for you to seek out a book on building the technique for those lifts. Or, better still; work with a coach who specialises in those lifts. There are a couple of things to keep in mind regarding building good technique on any lift. If you are really struggling with a movement from a technical perspective, you must ask yourself the following: - Do I really know how this movement should look and feel? If not… then seek out a resource that will help me understand how a perfect (Squat, Bench Press, Snatch etc…) should look and feel. If you do… - What is stopping me from having good technique? If there is no physical limitation then you just need to keep grooving the pattern. Come up with technical cues that will help you improve your technique and get your training partners to say them to you as you are lifting. For instance: “Blast it” – if you are working on speed “Squeeze the bar” – if you are struggling to grip the bar as tightly as you should “Arch” – if you are falling forwards on the ascent of the Squat How To Avoid The 7 Deadly Strength Building Sins That Kill Your Gains By Andy Bolton and Elliot Newman © 2011, All Rights Reserved


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If there is a physical limitation then you must work out a way to eradicate those limitations.

That thought process might be a little difficult to get your head around, so I’ll give you an example; as it’s actually pretty simple. Let’s say that you are working on your Squat technique. And let’s say that you are having a really tough time keeping your upper back tight during the Squat. Firstly, ask yourself “Do I know how a technically proficient Squat should look”… Turns out you do, so you move on to ask yourself “What is stopping me from keeping my upper back tight” Well, you look in the mirror and quickly see that your upper back is very rounded (think caveman posture). Now, if you have a rounded upper back when standing relaxed, how are you going to get your upper back tight and really force your chest out when Squatting? The answer is… with great difficulty. So, you assess the problem a little deeper and realise that: - You have poor thoracic spine mobility - Your shoulder mobility sucks - Your pecs are tight as hell To sort this out you commit to laying off squatting with a regular bar for 3 weeks and use the Safety Squat Bar instead because this requires much less shoulder mobility. Furthermore, you now do the following every day: How To Avoid The 7 Deadly Strength Building Sins That Kill Your Gains By Andy Bolton and Elliot Newman © 2011, All Rights Reserved


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- Foam rolling (lots for the upper back) - Mobility Drills, emphasizing the shoulders and thoracic spine - Statically stretch the pecs After 3 weeks you can see that your posture has improved massively in the mirror. You get under a regular bar and find you can now set up to Squat correctly. Your upper back is tight, shoulders are forced back and down and your chest is out. Then when you actually Squat and the load gets heavy you find you are able to stay tight in the upper back (arched) throughout your set and you feel much stronger. Whereas, in the past; when the weights got heavy you ended up losing the tightness in your upper back and your weight shifted forwards when squatting… In contrast, you now find you stay tight, your weight stays on your heels to mid foot and the ascent of your Squat is much cleaner and efficient. So, to build great technique you must understand how the movement should look and feel and you must be able to work out why you are struggling with a certain aspect of the movement pattern. From there you can devise a plan to remedy any problems you are having and start to work towards better technique. The other thing to consider regarding technique is that it will come and go. You will have days where it feels “on” and days where you don’t feel quite right. Don’t worry too much over this… you are a human and not a robot after all. How To Avoid The 7 Deadly Strength Building Sins That Kill Your Gains By Andy Bolton and Elliot Newman © 2011, All Rights Reserved


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Just make sure that over time your technique improves. In conclusion, do not ignore your lifting technique as it is one of the fastest ways to slow down your strength gains and possibly injure yourself. The best athletes in all sports usually have the best technique. Strength training is no different so be sure to get good form before you load a movement pattern heavily. Get great technique and you will maximise your strength gains, promote training longevity and minimise injury risk. I know you’ll agree that that’s a pretty good trio!



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Chapter 3: Deadly Strength Training Sin # 3 Failing To Warm Up Properly This strength training sin can lead to all sorts of problems. This most obvious being an increased risk of injury. There is no excuse for not warming up and most people don’t do it because they are lazy and/or don’t know how to. To warm up for your strength training session will take 10 to 15 minutes. This is not a lot of time and I urge you not to skip this vital aspect of getting strong if you truly want to minimise injury risk, promote training longevity AND get brutally strong as quickly as possible. A good warm up will: -

Raise your body temperature Prepare your joints to handle heavy loads Activate dormant muscle groups Excite your nervous system (which will make you stronger when you start lifting)

Here’s an example of a warm up for a total body strength training session: - 3 minutes on the treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical (optional) - Foam rolling (emphasize the IT Bands, Hip Flexors, Quads and Inner Thighs, Upper Back, Lats, Pecs and Triceps) - Static stretching for the hip flexors - Mobility drills (Glute Bridges, Wall-Ankle Mobilizations, Running Butt Kicks, Lateral Lunges, Arm Circles, Wrist Circles, Scapular Wall Slides, Push Up Plus etc) How To Avoid The 7 Deadly Strength Building Sins That Kill Your Gains By Andy Bolton and Elliot Newman © 2011, All Rights Reserved


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Now I’m the first to admit that the warm up is kinda boring, but it’s very necessary if you want rapid and long-term strength gains. So make sure you do it every time you train. I have trained with many strong guys who fail to warm up. Instead, they just turn up to the gym and get under the bar. Well, guess what? These guys are exactly the ones who are always in pain and injured. And if you’re injured, you can’t train. And if you can’t train, you can’t gain. So warm up every time you set foot in the gym. Ps… Remember that after the warm up we suggested above, you still need to warm up carefully on your first movement of the day. Let me give you an example. Let’s say you plan on doing 140kg on the Squat for 5 reps (for your top set). Do not just do the warm up I outlined in this chapter and then put 140kg on your back. This would be a disaster for 2 reasons. Firstly, your CNS would not be ready to handle so much weight and you would feel weaker than if you ramped up the weights. Secondly, 5 reps on the Squat is not enough volume. The lighter, warm up sets allow you to get the volume you need to get stronger (and bigger). Here’s how you could warm up for 140kg x 5 using the ramping method: (weight x reps x sets) Bar x 5 x 2 (optional) 40kg x 5 x 2 How To Avoid The 7 Deadly Strength Building Sins That Kill Your Gains By Andy Bolton and Elliot Newman © 2011, All Rights Reserved


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60kg x 5 x 2 80kg x 5 100kg x 3 120kg x 1 140kg x 5 Now that you know how to warm up to maximise strength gains and injury prevention; be sure to do it each time you go to the gym.



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Chapter 4: Deadly Strength Training Sin # 4 Not Knowing When To Back Off This might just have the potential to be the most frustrating strength training sin of all. If you try to push yourself to the limit each and every time you set foot in the gym you will end up over-trained at some point. And if you end up over-trained, you invite injury and you will not get stronger or add muscle. Before I show you how to structure your training so that you do not end up over-trained (by using strategic back off weeks), let me first show you some signs that you may be over-trained and in need of a back off (or “de-load”) week. Signs of overtraining might include: -

Lack of desire to train Increased resting heart rate Increased blood pressure Mild depression Achy joints and muscles Loss of libido

If you do find yourself over-trained you may need a week off the gym to get back to normal and re-gain your desire. During that week be sure to eat well and use recovery methods like massage and contrast showers. However, I’d much prefer to show you how to avoid getting over trained in the first place. The first step to avoiding overtraining is to



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understand (and accept) that easier training weeks (de-loads) are essential to your long term strength training success and longevity. The training process is very stressful on the body. In the gym you actually damage your muscles and it is only with adequate recovery and rest that your muscles heal themselves and grow bigger and stronger. After a few weeks of hard training, you will have built up some “fatigue”. This fatigue will mask fitness. (Fitness in this instance being your ability to show your strength). At this point it is essential to back off and take it easy for a few days or a week. This will allow your body to repair the damage you have done in the gym, recover and be stronger when you hit it hard again after your de-load week. A simple pattern of training that many athletes have followed with great success is this: 3 weeks of hard training followed by a 1 week de-load I’ll give you 3 ways to use that de-load week to recover: - Do nothing. I personally dislike this method, but it works for some. Not going to the gym for a whole week doesn’t suit me, but it does allow your body to recover - Do something different. This involves choosing different exercises to the ones you used for the previous 3 weeks and performing them at a lower intensity than normal. - Follow the rule of 60%. I think this is the best option and originated in the Soviet Union (they knew a thing or two about training and peaking). This involves looking at what you did in How To Avoid The 7 Deadly Strength Building Sins That Kill Your Gains By Andy Bolton and Elliot Newman © 2011, All Rights Reserved


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Week 1 of your training cycle and doing everything the same, with the exception that you only perform 60% of the reps…

Let me give you an example of de-loading using this 60% rule: Imagine that for the past 3 weeks you had performed Incline Bench Presses as your second movement on Monday. Here’s what you did: Week 1: 80kg x 6, 95kg x 6, 110kg x 6 Week 2: 85kg x 6, 100kg x 6, 115kg x 6 Week 3: 90kg x6, 105kg x 6, 120kg x 4 Here’s how you would de-load on Week 4: Week 4: 80kg x 4, 95kg x 4, 110kg x 4 Now think about this. What this method of de-loading does is allow you to keep the intensity high (% of your 1RM) whilst giving you a relatively easy training session. 80kg x 4, 95kg x 4, 110kg x 4 are the same weights you used in Week 1 but performed for only 60% of the reps. And these sets will feel easy, (when you consider what you did in Week 3).

In conclusion; not knowing when to back off can be the silent killer to your strength gains. Experienced and elite athletes may be able to instinctively back off. But for everyone else; the rule of 3 weeks hard strength training, followed by a 1 week de-load is a relatively foolproof way to minimise the chance of over-training.



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Start including back-off weeks into your strength training program and watch your strength gains increase and aches and pains go away. The rule of 60% is probably the easiest way to de-load and a good starting point for you to try. Other methods, like taking a week off and doing nothing are more risky as they could actually lead to under-training and strength loss depending on how hard you had really pushed it for the 3 weeks prior. Because there’s hard and there’s HARD, but that’s another story ;)



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Chapter 5: Deadly Strength Training Sin # 5 No Peri-Workout Nutrition Peri-Workout Nutrition refers to what you eat and/or drink before, during and after training. I’ll be more specific here and say that it refers to the hour before training, during training and the hour after training. Believe me when I say this… Peri-Workout Nutrition has the potential to supercharge your strength training results. If you get this right for your goals you could add strength, muscle and build power and speed faster than you ever have done before. If you don’t use peri-workout nutrition then you are busting your ass in the gym and throwing away a lot of the potential gains that that hard-core training should be giving you. This is ridiculous, especially when you consider that it takes absolutely no more time in your day to remedy this deadly strength training sin than it does to carry on doing it! Your peri-workout nutrition will be fluid based (think drink, not eat). This is because the fluids are more quickly absorbed than solids and this is exactly what you require around training time. You should start to drink your pre-workout drink an hour before your strength training session and finish it before you start warming up. Your during-workout shake should be sipped throughout your workout, in between sets and you should finish it towards the end of your session. How To Avoid The 7 Deadly Strength Building Sins That Kill Your Gains By Andy Bolton and Elliot Newman © 2011, All Rights Reserved


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Your post-workout shake should be drunk within an hour of finishing your training session (so take it with you in your gym bag!). I personally like to start drinking my post workout shake immediately upon completion of my training session. Now you must be wondering what you should put in each of these shakes… - Pre-workout shake: BCAA’s, Carb powder - During-workout shake: BCAA’s, Carb powder - Post-workout shake: Protein powder, Carb powder, Vitamin C (5 grams), Glutamine (5 grams), Creatine (5 grams) Now you may be asking yourself why I haven’t put down quantities for the BCAA’s or Carb powder. The reason is that it depends on the size of the athlete and their goals. If you are 200 pounds, you will need more carbs than a 135lbs athlete. If you want to gain muscular size, again more carbs is probably the way to go. If you are competing in a weight class and only want to gain strength (and not size) then you probably want less carbs. If you train first thing in the morning you may need more carbs than someone who trains later in the day and has already eating plenty of carbs. So you see; there are lots of variables and you must work out what stack works best for you. A great starting point is to read the label on whatever products you buy and go by the manufacturer’s recommendations, and then tweak your stack as the weeks go by and you see the results you are getting.



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Some recommendations… For BCAA formulas, Dr Eric Serrano and Phil Richards Performance both produce very good tasting products that mix well (the BCAA products that are in pill format are a bad joke, unless you like the thought of swallowing 20 to 30 pills before and during every training session! Trust me, this gets old; fast). To find those products, do a Google Search for their names. For carb powders it comes down to personal preference. Personally, I like Vitargo by Genr8 as it contains no artificial sweetners, flavourings etc. Considering how often you will be drinking this stack, this is worth considering. Cheaper products are available, so I’ll leave you to make your choice.

In conclusion, peri-workout nutrition will supercharge your strength training results, no doubt. There is no excuse for not using. Don’t bust your ass in the gym and then throw away potential gains. Instead, be sure to drink your pre, during and post-workout shakes each and every time you train. Ps… the stack we suggested above will almost totally eradicate muscle soreness from training! (Provided you use a quality BCAA product). This is tried and tested by hundreds of elite and professional athletes. Soreness is no way to judge training progress and getting rid of it is a good thing.



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Chapter 6: Deadly Strength Training Sin # 6 A Lack Of Sleep We have already discussed how hard the training process can be on the body and how we recover and grow stronger when we rest. Well, the most important rest you can get is sleep because this is when your body does its most deep healing. You should aim for 6 to 10 hours of sleep per night (most people will do best on around 7 to 8 hours sleep). If you fail to get enough sleep you will create a lot of stress on your body and your strength gains will slow down or stop. A great way to get a little extra sleep is with a power nap in the afternoon. This would involve somewhere between 20 to 60 minutes sleep. Any more than 60 minutes can be too much during the day and can end up making you feel more tired; so be sure not to overdo this one. Some guidelines to help you get great sleep: -

Aim for 7 to 8 hours sleep per night Go to bed between 10pm and Midnight Wake up and get up before 6am Do not exercise within 2 hours of going to bed Do not watch or listen anything that gets you too emotionally excited within 2 hours of sleep (avoid violent films, loud music etc) How To Avoid The 7 Deadly Strength Building Sins That Kill Your Gains By Andy Bolton and Elliot Newman © 2011, All Rights Reserved


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- Listening to soothing, chilled out music can help you sleep - Meditation can promote great sleep - Try to eat your last meal of the day at least 3 hours before bed This has been the shortest chapter so far. This is because, essentially, the concept is very simple: Fail to sleep enough and you will kill your strength gains Sleep well, for 7 to 8 uninterrupted hours a night and you will allow your body to recover from training and keep making strength gains. Be sure to monitor your sleep patterns and try our recommendations for restful sleep if you are struggling to sleep well.



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Chapter 7: Deadly Strength Training Sin # 7 Poor Training Continuity I am using the term “training continuity” to refer to how well your training flows, from one block to the next, from month to month and year to year. If you want to achieve a high level of strength and anywhere near your potential level of strength you must have training continuity. Without it you are doomed. Imagine the scenario where the typical guy gets excited around the time of the Masters Golf Tournament. So he plays golf for 3 or 4 weeks with his buddies. Then he gets really motivated about Tennis in the summer time when Wimbledon’s on. So he rounds up his friends and they play tennis for 2 or 3 weeks. Then, come winter time, the soccer season is well under way and this takes his fancy. I think you can see where this is going. This guy doesn’t commit to anything. How good do you think he will be at any of the sporting activities he participated in, in the above example? The answer is… he won’t be very good at all because he had no continuity. He jumped from one thing to the next, and had periods of doing nothing physical in between. He never gave his body chance to adapt to the physical task he was asking it to perform. That’s a very easy example to understand and now you must apply this knowledge to your own training. How To Avoid The 7 Deadly Strength Building Sins That Kill Your Gains By Andy Bolton and Elliot Newman © 2011, All Rights Reserved


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You could go on the internet and find a different training program every 4 weeks from a well-respected coach. You could do everything else correctly… And avoid all the other deadly strength gain killing mistakes that I’ve outlined in this report for you. You’d even be following the rule of choosing a good training program. The only trouble is, the “new training program every 4 weeks from a well-respected coach approach” is a bad idea because there is no training continuity. A much better option is to choose one coach’s methodology that suits you and you feel you could enjoy and commit to using it for a minimum of 6 months and a year would probably be better. This way you have training continuity and you can see what works for you and what doesn’t. This may seem like a boring approach but it works and it builds strength. And when you are getting stronger it’s never boring! For this reason, I provide a service where I design online training programs for you, week by week for as long as you like. This means you get a great training program, tailored to your needs, with the training continuity that is essential for strength success. Check out this program training design service at www.andyboltonstrength.net



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Chapter 8: Conclusion; Creating Superhuman Strength and Explosive Power Some Key Points To Help You Create A Compelling Future For Your Strength Training In this report I’ve shared with you what I consider to be the 7 deadliest strength building sins and more importantly; how to avoid them. To re-cap, here is what you must be doing to ensure your long-term strength training success, whilst minimising your chance of injury: - Design a sound training program (this is your blueprint for strength. Remember… without a map, you’ll never find your destination) - Work on your technique (Great technique can instantly improve your strength and will minimise injury risk. The best athletes usually have the best technique) - Design and use a great warm up (use foam rolling and mobility drills to start with and then “ramp up” the weights on your first exercise) - Strategically plan “back-off” weeks to enhance recovery (the rule of 3 weeks hard training followed by 1 week easier training works for most people and will probably work well for you too) - Be sure to drink your pre, during and post-workout nutrition each and every time you train (these drinks can make your strength explode faster than you ever thought possible. To not use them is like saying goodbye to half your gains) - Aim to get 7 to 8 hours of un-interrupted sleep per night (we recover outside the gym, not inside the gym. Sleep is our most powerful recovery tool. Supercharge your strength gains by perfecting your sleep patterns) How To Avoid The 7 Deadly Strength Building Sins That Kill Your Gains By Andy Bolton and Elliot Newman © 2011, All Rights Reserved


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- Ensure you have training continuity (do not jump from one program to another every month. Instead, commit to one program for several months and then you’ll start to really see what works for you and what doesn’t)

We wish you every success in your quest to build brutal strength, explosive power, speed and awesome athleticism… Andy Bolton and Elliot Newman



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Chapter 9: How I Train At the time of writing, I have achieved career best lifts of: - Squat: 1214lbs - Bench Press: 755lbs - Deadlift: 1008lbs All these lifts were done in competition and are still in the World and/or British Record Books. (Nobody cares what anyone lifts in the gym. It’s what happens in the heat of competition that counts). As well as what you’ve already learned in this book, I have some guidelines and principles that I’ve always used in my own training. Below you’ll discover the most important ones. My Most Important Training Principles 1. With weights above 40% of my max I lift as explosively as possible 2. I do a lot of Squatting, Benching and Deadlifting with the style that I use in competition. I am a firm believer in S.A.I.D (specific adaptation to imposed demands) 3. I use assistance exercises as their name suggests (ie for assistance work. I do not smash myself to pieces on assistance exercises) 4. I avoid missing reps in the gym. I find that failure takes a longer to recover from than successfully completed reps 5. I take as much rest as I need between sets of Squats, Bench Presses and Deadlifts. This can be up to 10 minutes. (I take shorter rests of around 60 to 90 seconds on assistance exercises) 6. I include conditioning work in my strength training program. (This allows me to train harder during my main sessions and recover quicker) 7. I follow a plan but allow room for instinctive training. (If my body is telling me to de-load/back-off… I will)



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Now that you know my key training principles, I’d like to show you my training split. This has changed over the years (as everything in life does)… but this is how I’m training at the time of writing: Monday: Bench Press A. Raw Bench B. Shirted Bench C. Reverse Band Bench D. Board Press E. Halbert Swings The sets are 3to 5 on each pressing movement and the reps are 1 to 3. The Halbert swings are usually done for higher reps… eg 4 sets of 12 reps. Wednesday: Squat / Deadlift A. Squat B. Conventional Deadlift or Block Pull C. Leg Press or Back Extensions D. Hamstring Curl Squats are done for speed or max effort work, using straight weight or going against chains. Sometimes the reverse band method is utilised to allow me to over-load the top end. Deadlifts are performed from the floor for speed or from blocks very heavy. Either way, the reps are 1 to 3. Assistance work is done for 3 or 4 sets of 8 to 15 reps



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Thursday: Assistance This workout is devoted to assistance work for the back, biceps and traps. A typical session could look like this: A. Wide Pull Downs: 3 x 10 reps B. One Arm DB Row: 3 x 10/side C. Low Pulley V-bar Rows: 3 x 10 D. BB Shrug: 3 x 8 E. DB Curl: 2 x 15 Saturday: Assistance This training session is focused on conditioning, core strength and grip strength. It often looks like this: A. Fast walk on treadmill: 20 minutes B. 3 to 4 core exercises (I like Planks, Side Bends and Leg Raises) C. Grip Work (Pinch Gripping or Fat Bar Holds)

To follow my training log, check out this: http://www.andyboltonstrength.org/category/andy-boltons-training-log/



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About The Authors

Andy Bolton is one of the greatest Powerlifters of all time. A multiple world champion in the WPC and WPO federations, one of only 5 men to ever Squat over 1200lbs and the only man to ever pull in excess of 1000lbs on the Deadlift. Andy can make legitimate claim to being the strongest man to have ever walked the face of the planet.

Elliot Newman is a competitive Powerlifter who has competed in the BDFPA, WDFPF, BPC and WPC. He has competition best lifts of 255kg Squat, 157.5kg Bench and 260kg Deadlift. He is passionate about all things related to nutrition and strength training.

For more information on how YOU can and deadly strength training mistakes and develop herculean strength, explosive power and muscular size, please check out: http://www.andyboltonstrength.net



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Andy Bolton How I Squat Bench and Deadlift

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