TRANSFORMATIONAL TRAINING WITH THE POWER OF INTENSITY: RESULTS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE GYM!

When it comes to high-intensity interval training, there is a lot of misinformation out there. Many confuse it with popular workout programs like Beach Body Insanity or even CrossFit. But actually, Intensity Training is fairly straight forward – It is Condensed POWER or FORCE. This is what is needed to push your body out of its comfort zone.

Have you ever felt stuck in your life? Do you feel like everything is just routine, and you are just going through the motions? This can be a big problem for many people, not just in their fitness training but in all areas of their lives. It can slowly chip away at your passion for life and your goals and dreams. If you feel like you aren’t making any progress or making any significant changes, fear not! Many people are in the same boat. You may not even know what the issue is, but you feel dissatisfied with something in your life, and so you think to yourself, “I need to make a change.” Many people talk about needing to make a change in their life, but this isn’t actually what they need; they need a transformation.

MANY PEOPLE TALK ABOUT NEEDING TO MAKE A CHANGE IN THEIR LIFE, BUT THIS ISN’T ACTUALLY WHAT THEY NEED; THEY NEED A TRANSFORMATION

Many people don’t see a difference between “change” and a “transformation”. However, they are actually quite different. Let’s apply these two words to another example to show you what I mean. If you wanted to change a house, you might do something like repaint the outside, get some landscaping done in the yard, or add some new appliances inside. You’d be making changes to the house, but only in an aesthetic way.

Now, when you transform the house, you are doing something altogether different. Imagine knocking out some of the interior walls to alter the space. You also re-wire the entire house, shifting around major appliances, and even redo the plumbing system. You are making major transformations so that when you are done, the new house doesn’t even resemble the old one. Sure, the foundation and the framework are still in place for the house, but it has been altered to the point where it has fundamentally shifted how it functions.

This is what I am talking about when I refer to making a transformation. Making a change is simply not enough when you feel like you are in a rut. Whether it is in our bodies, our minds, our relationships or our careers, there may come a time when you are desperate for something to change. That’s when you need to make a transformation.

Recognize the Need for Transformation

So how do you know if you need to make a transformation? Here are a few signs:

• Boredom – When the excitement is gone from your life – that is your mind’s way of telling you that you need to start making some changes.
• Complaining – Sure, we all have rough days from time to time and need to vent. But if you are finding that you are constantly complaining about something, this is indicative of a larger problem. This is especially true if you find you are complaining about yourself or others.
• Perfectionism – Too many people are not living the best life possible because they are busy trying to make everything perfect. Perfectionists do things like trying to wait for the ideal set of conditions before moving on to something else. They say things like “Once I have more time,” or “When I am better prepared”. You are never going to find yourself in the ideal conditions, and waiting for them is just a waste of time.

Breaking Down Intensity

• The Vision: There is a saying that goes like this: without a vision, people perish. This is certainly true in my own life, as without a vision, I can feel lost and passionless. Have you noticed that in life “stuff happens”…there is no perfect timing, and things seem to not line up for you? To fight this, we must set a BIG VISION and then have that vision guide us through a series of goals and phases. Otherwise, we can get stuck in the stuff of life and lose focus on our Vision. When we are stuck and life happens, refocusing on the vision gets us back on track.
• The Plan: How well you MANAGE anything will show in the results. To manage things in the most effective way, we must have a PLAN and a STRATEGY. These are the tools you need to become effective so you can EXECUTE this plan.
• The Execution: We can think and plan all we want, but if we cannot execute said plan, nothing will happen. This will tell you how effective your plan and knowledge is because there is a natural rhythm inside of us that wants to expand. We have learned it from the time we were children – we learned to crawl, then walk, then run. The same is true with learning to train and live with intensity.

TO MANAGE THINGS IN THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY, WE MUST HAVE A PLAN AND A STRATEGY.

The Value of INTENSITY

Here are the BIG 7 RESULTS OF ramping up your INTENSITY:

1. More Energy – Once you start adding intensity to your life, you’ll find that you have more energy, and as a result, you’ll get more done. I had to learn how to manually raise my energy on my own, in addition to learning the proper foods that worked specifically for me. I decided to raise my energy to a level 10 as well by putting myself into peak postures that allowed energy to build and flow in my body.
2. Take Action – You’ll learn how to train and take action in a proactive state. We call this the WARRIOR MINDSET. The results you end up getting come from the actions that you take before them, and so having the ability to act without fear, doubt, or worry is essential. Creating an IDENTITY is also a huge key. Until I saw myself as a better dad and fitness model, taking action was a struggle as I beat myself up. When I SAW myself as I wanted to be, ACTION was more natural and with a warrior ‘do whatever it takes’ mentality, I was able to combine the new energy and the mindset for massive action.
3. Confidence – One of the biggest differences in yourself that you will notice is your confidence level. While outside factors – like your job, relationships, etc. – can make your confidence fluctuate, adding INTENSITY will give you a solid base of confidence in yourself, so that you can weather these ups and downs. We can’t control the outside world, but we can control how we react to it. By building up your inner self, you will be better equipped to handle what life throws at you.
4. Quality over Quantity – In life, it is not about how much you have, but the quality of what you have. In programs like this, you want to be getting the most out of not only your workout, but yourself. You are building a better you one step at a time. Create goals that motivate and excite you to be a better version of yourself. Don’t worry about the number of reps that you do at the gym or the weight – just worry about bringing the right attitude and making each one of those reps count.
5. Remove Boredom – Having more energy in your life will encourage you to do things that you hadn’t considered doing before. All those hours you have spent bored in your life up until now will seem like a waste of time. There is so much in this life that you can be doing, and soon you’ll have the energy, confidence, and drive to do them all.
6. Create Results – Lastly, by pushing your body beyond its comfort zone you’ll find a sense of excitement in transforming yourself, and this will drive you to do even more. Once you start noticing the improvements in not just the gym, but in your daily life, you’ll be motivated to continue.
7. Relieve Stress – Training hard with intensity is a great stress reliever. It also helps outside the gym because you can apply the “I am not going to quit” mentality to various real-life and business situations. Applying this mentality inside and outside the gym increases your ability to push harder and move faster and endure more.

Building Your INTENSITY Routine

1. The Right Plan – Most of us have the same goal – to burn body fat and build lean muscle. To do this, you need to have the right plan. There are 4 elements that go into any body transformation plan. Building quality muscle requires all four of these elements. Many people will only focus on one of these elements at a time, but to have an effective routine, you need to focus on all of them. These elements are:
   1. Weight Training
   2. Cardio Training
   3. Nutritional and Supplement Basics
   4. Recovery and Rest
2. The Right Knowledge – The more knowledge you have, the better your routine will be. Always be on the lookout for information that will improve your routine. When you add an intensity training program to your life, the results will spill over into other areas. But how do you know if they are improving your life and your training? To measure this, there are several aspects that you should focus on. In the business world, these are known as KPIs, or Key Performance Indicators, and checking in on them each day/week/month can let you know if your intensity program is working. They are:
   1. How do you FEEL? How is your mood improving? Are you feeling any better?
   2. How do you THINK?  Has your attitude changed? What’s your stress level like?
   3. How do you LOOK? Has your weight gone up or down? Did you build more muscle and lose more body fat?
   4. How is your LIFE? Are you experiencing better personal relationships? Do you find you are getting more done in the day? Has your job performance improved?
3. The Right YOU – An INTENSITY program will not work unless you are in the right frame of mind. You have to be willing to commit to this type of program to get the results you are after. While focusing on your diet and workouts is great, what you should really be looking at is who you are going to become after the transformation. Having the right ATTITUDE will give you the passion and drive necessary to complete the transformation. I get asked all the time which I believe to be more important: training or nutrition, and I always answer the same way – IT’S YOUR ATTITUDE!
4. The Right Environment – Lastly, you need to be in the right environment. Surround yourself with people who are going to support your goals, and who are going to help you achieve them. Spend time with people who are also pushing themselves to be better, and who will motivate each other to continue on those days when you just aren’t feeling it. You are going to need a strong support group to make the kind of transformation you are after, so start finding those people now.

HAVING THE RIGHT ATTITUDE WILL GIVE YOU THE PASSION AND DRIVE NECESSARY TO COMPLETE THE TRANSFORMATION.

Execute Your INTENSITY Workout

With your plan in place, now you need to execute it. Here are some quick strategies to find your peak intensity.

• Fire Yourself Up!  How you get started is key. Jump out of bed in the morning and create a fresh start to your day. Don’t wait for something good to come along to get your day started – get yourself fired up instead.
• Eliminate “Someday” Too many of us think “I’ll get started on this SOMEDAY”. You need to remove that word from your vocabulary. Get started now! You will never find the ideal time, so you need to make now the ideal time.
• Have Fun! INTENSITY Training is not meant to be all work and no play. Be sure that you are having fun throughout this process. If you stress yourself out about it, you are going to become tired of it and give up. Remember to mix some fun activities in and enjoy yourself.
• Train Your Emotions. How you feel is going to play a large role in your results. You need to train yourself to be happy with what you have, and to stay optimistic as to where you are going. Eliminate bad thoughts and stress, and the good emotions will help you to continue having good workouts.
• Music. Create a playlist for yourself that will pump you up. Music has a way of transforming our emotions, so find some songs that suit the mood you are going for. Play it whenever you are starting to feel down or too tired, and it will help pick you back up.
• Envision Your Workout. Spend a few minutes before each workout thinking about how it is going to go. Take this time to set up your mind, and get yourself in the right state to work out. Also picture the results that will come from it, and how you will feel after the workout is done.

CONCLUSION

In the end, Intensity Training is all about creating power and focusing that power on what you set for the vision of your life and the lifestyle you wish to create. It’s about raising your passion and intensity in the gym to the point where it spills into all the other aspects of your life. Push harder and faster, and eventually you’ll stop measuring the weight and counting the reps, and focus on the simple act of exertion. This is an invaluable way to tackle every realm of living.