Train With Intent

“Go till you puke!”

“Push!”

"Don’t stop, don’t stop, don’t stop!”

Ah, the battle cries of most gyms and training centers. The law of the land is intensity. Without it, you’re doomed to failure. With it, you’re destined for glory.

This is true…to some extent.

Most gym-goers go through the motions (some with and most without intensity) just to get the task at hand finished. This is not growth. This is not improving yourself.

You must train with intent!

Each and every rep counts. Each and every lift matters. I don’t care how much you hate a certain exercise. You dig down, get under the bar and love every second of it (or at least tell yourself that.)

I love the scene in Fight Club when Ed Norton gets acid poured on his hand by Brad Pitt (or was it Ed Norton, still?) and when Norton tries to mentally take himself to another place Pitt screams “This is the greatest moment of your life, man, and you’re off somewhere missing it!”

While Pitt gets a little more psychological on Norton, the scene always stuck out with me. Love the pain. Enjoy the pain. Be one with the pain. It will bring you freedom and allow you to fully experience the task at hand.

This is training with intention. You are fully immersed in each movement. There is no “going to my cave” or finding a meditative state. There is only the pain that is soon accompanied by growth.

While this might seem a little aggressive and possibly sadistic (especially if you know the scene I’m referring to) but in reality this type of training allows you to see the positive in every situation because you are looking at it with absolute clarity.

Take squats for example. Most people hate to squat with a passion. They hate the burn, they hate how it feels and because of that they avoid it at all costs.

Squats, however can build massive amounts of strength and muscle and are a great fat burner. Now, you can just get them in and be done with it, but every time you go through the motions you miss out on a key life experience. An experience that will help you in the long run. This experience will give you the ability to handle anything. You'll feel invincible and incredibly empowered. Sound crazy? Give it a shot.

When you're in the middle of a hard set, and I mean gut-busting hard, don't turn away from the experience. Don't ease the mind with visions of unicorns and sugar-plums. Get dirty! Get your mind wrapped around the pain, that extreme burn of every exercise. If it's the 200th snatch, 50th squat, or max lift you get into it. You lift with full intention of experiencing as much from each rep as possible. Don't ever let a rep go to waste. You physique and performance is the cumulative effect of every single rep from the first easy few where you find your groove to the last agonizing one. Give each one the credit they deserve! Don't be a mindless zombie. Lift with intent.

Nov 3rd: Fighter Training

I planned to workout with my fighters today, which was a blast. Always fun to train with others to help you push yourself to your max. This is why training with a buddy or trainer will always help you train harder than you would train yourself. This isn't true for many people, but for the vast majority it will do nothing but help to have a partner in crime.

1:30-12 oz chicken breast, 4 oz avocado, olive oil, red onions, 2 cups spinach, F1 Multi

2:45-Pure Powder

3:00-Trained

4:00-30g whey, 8 oz almond milk

5:00-mixed nuts, ½ slice cheese, 1 slice salami

7:00-AMAZING turkey burger from Slaters 50/50 here in Anaheim Hills, Ca. This thing was a beast! F1 Multi

9:30-1 oz mixed nuts

Started with complexes with a 95lb bar

Deadlift

Row

Clean

Snatch

Push Press

Back Squat

Good Morning

-finished with plank

--20 seconds per exercise (except plank)-3 rounds.

20 sets of 20 double unders

Medicine ball circuit with the 35lb ball

-slams

-throws

This was a brutal workout!

Nov 2nd: Another Day of Squats

Squat (based on a 320 max)

555-175-7

65%-210-7

75%-240-11 (seeing stars)

I love squats. There are very few exercises that make you feel as powerful as the squat. If you hate squats, do them anyway! You will learn to love how it feels. Start with KB or DB goblet squats and work your way up. Squatting doesn't hurt your knees and back. Bad squatting hurts your knees and back.

Double KB Front Squat (32kg)-5,4,4

Double Outside the Leg Swings (32kg)-10,10,10

-90 seconds between sets

RDL (w/straps)-(270)-6,6,6

Standing Calf Raise (88lb KB)-8,8,8

Finished with an unconventional Cardio routine. This one was Awesome!

2:00-1 cup FAGE nonfat yogurt, 15g protein, medium banana, F1 multi

3:00-HPN P3

5:00-2 servings golden grahams, Flame Broiler beef with white rice bowl

9:00-12 oz chicken breast, 8oz potatoes with ketchup, large salad, pita chips with hummus, F1 multi

Nov 1st: Much Needed Rest

I was planning this as a rest day because it had been since last week since I took time off. I cannot stress the importance of taking rest days. Over-training WILL happen if you like to workout. You’ll train and train and train and suddenly you feel like shit and don’t know why.

On rest days do some mobility work. Aim to complete a 15-20 minute routine where you hit every body part. These feel amazing after.

Indian clubs are also a staple of my rest days. My shoulders feel ready to go after a mere five minutes with these bad boys. An Indian club workout does not need to be super complicated. A simple routine like this one can do wonders:

Foam rolling will also happen on my rest days. Loosens up the back, hamstrings and hips better than anything!

1:00-Low Carb bread with almond butter, ½ scoop of casein and low carb jam. Makes for an amazing low carb Almond butter sandwich

3:00-4 oz smoked salmon, 6oz cottage cheese

8:30-8oz chicken breast with 2 cups steamed broccoli

11:00-3 eggs, cheese, ham, mixed nuts (not together)