What a session looks like

Sixty minutes. No wasted reps.

• Dynamic warm-up and mobility built for your sport
• Acceleration, sprint mechanics and change of direction
• Jumps, throws and power work
• Strength training coached for age and experience
• Testing every four weeks so you see the progress

Built for your event

Train for the event you compete in

• Sprints and relays: block starts, acceleration, top speed and handoffs
• Hurdles: rhythm, lead-leg and trail-leg mechanics, clearance
• Jumps: approach, takeoff and clearance for high, long and triple jump
• Every event: strength and speed programmed around your meet schedule

Athletic, not recreational

• Coached small groups, not a crowded class
• Strength, conditioning and mobility in every session
• Plans built around your schedule and history

Monthly packages

How a contract works

• We meet with your staff and set goals for the season
• MTO designs and coaches the program on your schedule
• Athletes test every four weeks; you get the numbers

Coach Lawrence Hardin

Founder of Mt. Olympus Training and strength and conditioning coach at Richwoods High School.

MTO trains athletes and adults who decide to win every day. Champions aren't made on game day. They're made in the reps nobody sees, one percent better at a time.

Built on Peoria blacktop

I grew up a 90s Peoria kid: a Huffy BMX, ten miles a day across the north, south and west ends, and a pickup game on every side of town. Every weekend I chased my cousin Sherrick McManis, who went on to play 11 NFL seasons with the Texans and Bears, and he beat me at everything. Then, my junior year at Richwoods, he brought me out for track, and I found the one thing I could beat him in: the high jump.

From walk-on to record book

No coaching and almost no letters. I cleared 5'11" at state as a junior, then came back as a senior and took 5th in the IHSA Class AA high jump. Lincoln College gave me a shot as a walk-on, and I earned a scholarship by showing up every single day. By my sophomore year I cleared 7'2¼", still my lifetime best, and took 3rd at the NJCAA national championships. At Western Illinois I cleared 7'1", 14 inches higher than my junior year at state, to break a school record that had stood since 1976, won the 2010 Summit League title and placed 14th at the NCAA West Regional, two spots short of nationals.

The lesson that built MTO

I was scissor-kicking 7'2" the day before regionals. I thought hard work was the whole answer, and I had no idea what rest or recovery meant. I left my best jump on the practice field. That's the mistake I coach every athlete to avoid.

Learning from the best

I started coaching in 2017 at the Riverplex, helping build its sports performance program and learning under Justin Bokema and Keegan Ross, now with the Phoenix Suns strength staff. I coached at Be Relentless Training in Morton, studied core stability at a Stuart McGill seminar, and had my programming reviewed by John Dettmann, the longtime head of Wisconsin's strength program during the Watt brothers era. Today MTO trains out of The House Barbell Club and The Yard in Peoria.

What I coach

Speed and strength, yes. But also how to eat, how to recover, and how to find your own reason to compete. Whether an athlete has too much drive or is still looking for it, we build them from age 9 through college, and pros when they come through Peoria.

• Personal bests: high jump 7'2¼" · long jump 21'5½" (indoor) and 20'9¼" (outdoor)
• NASM Certified Personal Trainer
• TPI Certified (Titleist Performance Institute) golf fitness
• USA Weightlifting certified coach
• FMS (Functional Movement Screen) certified
• Coaching since 2017 · 2,000+ athletes trained · strength coach for 5 Central Illinois schools

Training location: 7920 N Sommer St, Peoria, IL 61615