Unbreakable Mind & Body

The Power of Intentional Training

• Tiana Gonzalez • Episode 27

Share episode

What's the rush? When it comes to fitness, slowing down might be exactly what you need to achieve better results. 

We live in a world that glorifies busyness, constantly pushing us to do more, faster. But in this episode, I challenge that notion by exploring how intentional, deliberate action creates far more powerful outcomes than hurried, mindless movement. 

The centerpiece of this conversation is my five-minute pre-workout ritual—a simple yet transformative practice that grounds you, focuses your attention, and clarifies your purpose before stepping onto the fitness floor. This ritual helps transition your mindset from the chaos of daily life to a space of focused intention, allowing you to maximize every minute of your workout. By taking just five minutes to get clear on what you're doing and why, you set yourself up for a significantly more effective training experience.

Through client stories and personal examples, I illustrate the importance of finding balance between receiving guidance and making your own discoveries. 

Ready to transform your approach to fitness? Download my free five-minute pre-workout ritual guide using the link in the show notes and start training with greater intention and purpose today.

Send us a text

Connect with Me

Instagram: www.instagram.com/tianasmindandmoves

Website: unbreakablemindandbody.com

Email: info@unbreakablemb.com

Download your Free 5-Min Pre-Workout Guide:

https://tiana-gonzalez.mykajabi.com/likeyoumeanit

Disclaimer: This show is for education and entertainment purposes only. This is not intended as a replacement for therapy. Please seek out the help of a professional to assist you with your specific situation.


Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Unbreakable Mind and Body podcast. I am your host, tiana Gonzalez, a multi-passionate, creative storyteller and entrepreneur with a fierce love for movement. This is our space for powerful stories and actionable strategies to help you build mental resilience and elevate your self-care practice. Together, we will unlock the tools that you need to create an unbreakable mind and body. Welcome back to the show. I am your host, tiana, and on this episode, I want to know what is the rush? We're going to focus on slowing down. We're going to look at the things that you're doing in your life and I want you to ask yourself what is the rush Now, before we dive into the show? Now, before we dive into the show, I do want to share that I have created a five-minute pre-workout ritual, and it is for my capable clients out there, people who have experience working out to some degree, who have spent a little bit of time in the weight room and they're at a point now where maybe they need a little bit of support, a little bit of structure. So what I have put together is a quick five minute pre-workout ritual. You can do this at home. Once you get the hang of it, you could even do it in the car or in the parking lot before you set foot onto the fitness floor. And the idea here is you get intentional, you have clarity and you set a specific mini goal for that day, for that workout. This will help you be clear on what you're there to do. It will help you feel more empowered as you are moving around on the fitness floor. You have more confidence, you're a little bit more self-assured and you have specific exercises and movement patterns that you know you want to complete before the conclusion of that workout. Why did I create this? Well, I have encountered so many women at the gym that tell me they just want some structure, they want a plan, they want to follow something, they need to quote, unquote figure it out, and they're kind of confused and lost. So before we figure things out, we need to understand why we're doing what we're setting out to do. This is where the rushing comes in. We need to slow down Now.

Speaker 1:

In a previous episode I believe episode 24, I talk about getting out of the anticipation phase. Once we decide we're going to commit to a goal, we're going to embrace a little bit more of the imbalanced champion mindset and get out of anticipation and start to take action and I'm not contradicting myself here, because we are taking action, but we are going to take deliberate action. We are intentional in the things that we do. We are doing away with the excess and we're staying laser beam focused on what is necessary. So if you're interested in getting a copy of this quick little guide, go to the show notes. There's a link where you can submit your email address and then you'll get the guide sent right to your inbox and you can start using it immediately.

Speaker 1:

Now this is a really potent and really powerful practice, and I don't want to give away all of the good stuff, because I really want you to get your hands on the guide so that you have it and you can refer back to it at any point in time once it's in your possession. But I do want to just share a little bit about it, because this is literally what I do, what I have been doing and what I still do and put into practice every single day. Before I get onto the fitness floor, I know what my workout is, I look at the exercises, I know the movements I want to do and I read the fine print or the details to make sure I understand the desired stimulus. You've heard me talk about stimulus on previous episodes. It's important because the desired stimulus has to match the goal of the day and the goal of the day has to align with the bigger picture. Now, remember, when we're goal setting, we have something that seems like it could be very far off into the distant future, and that's okay. Maybe it's a huge transformation you're going through. Maybe you want to pack on a decent amount of muscle onto your frame. Maybe you want to lose body fat. Maybe you want to do something kind of combination, hybrid of both of those things. So it feels like it may take you a year or two years to get there. That's okay.

Speaker 1:

Then we back it out and we come up with a bite-size goal that's a little bit more within reach. So, almost like a milestone, from the milestone we look even more gritty and granular and get into the details of what the day to day is going to look like. So when you're thinking about what you're going to do on the fitness floor, I encourage you to look at the whole week. What days are you going to come to the gym? How are you going to split it up? Maybe it's four days a week, Maybe it's three days a week, how are you going to effectively split up your training so that you are approaching it with just the right mixture of what you want and what you need to reach the goal?

Speaker 1:

Now, every human being that crosses paths with me comes to me with some understanding of fitness, exercise or experience that they have from years prior, and then what I do is assess what's the state of the state, where do they want to be, and come up with a plan which is basically the linchpin, the bridge, the connector to get them from point A to point B. Now, sometimes point B is really far away, just like we talked about it a moment ago. So then we got to back it out, create those milestones. But even in the mundane, not so fun, not always sexy routine of going to the gym, of completing the workouts, how do we stay motivated, how do we stay interested? How do we maintain that high level of desire that you had, the thing that you probably spent months, if not years, dwelling on before you actually decided to take action? Now you take action and you feel like you want to harness that momentum, and I'm encouraging you to take that momentum and capitalize on it in other ways.

Speaker 1:

So instead of trying to race through your workouts or even when you get up into the gym to go a hundred miles an hour, let's slow it down, let's get grounded, let's confirm what we're doing today, and today only, and get down into our bodies, get out of our head. If you can put your phone on, do not disturb. If you can choose some music that's not going to interrupt or, you know, have commercials or be a playlist that you're constantly shuffling. Continuous mix is always my jam If you're going to listen to something and then get into your body and understand why you're doing what you're doing, what's the immediate goal and what's the big picture. Now I have a client who has a lot going on in her personal life and she's building a business, she's completing a course, she did a fitness certification and she's not personal training, a different modality of fitness and whenever I see her I have to get her to slow down because she comes flying up the stairs and she wants to go right out onto the fitness floor and I love the enthusiasm. I love the excitement and at the same time I want a little bit of separation right there.

Speaker 1:

So similar to if you go into a yoga studio, or if you study martial arts, you remove your shoes outside of the dojo. This is the same idea. We're going to get ourselves grounded. Just pause for a minute, understand what we're here to do, why we're doing it, and then do the fucking thing right. So this guide that I created is really just to help you get clear with what those things are. Now there's five steps, and each step takes about a minute, and as you put it into practice, it'll probably be even shorter than that. But the first thing I want you to do is to take some breaths, wiggle your toes in your shoes, make sure you feel grounded, see what you can press, pause on in your brain and go back to later and then figure out what you're here to do. What are those movements that you want to do? Are those machines taken? Is that equipment taken? Do you need to wait? Can you work in with somebody? If they are using it, can you rearrange it? And don't allow for silly little things to mess up your momentum.

Speaker 1:

One of the things I hear often from acquaintances, people who may be around my periphery, is that when I'm working out, I have the don't fuck with me face on, and if you happen to catch me in between sets. You might get a smile, I may take out an earbud, I may have a quick talk, but I'm going to tell you right now when it's my turn to work out hard boundary. I'm not here to socialize. I need to get my work done and I'm so excited to be doing what I'm doing for myself and to be filling my cup that I'm all in Phones on. Do not disturb. I'm not answering calls, I'm not answering clients and, quite frankly, unless it's an emergency, I'm probably not taking my earbud out of my ear, because this is the best part of my day. This is what I look forward to more than anything else besides eating and going to bed at night. My training. This is what fills my cup, this is what makes me happy, this is what brings me joy.

Speaker 1:

I may be dancing in between sets still not an invitation to come and talk to me. Read the fucking room Nine times out of 10, the baseball hat's pulled down, the earbuds are in. I ain't looking at you, I'm not smiling at you. I'm doing me, but not everyone is where I'm at in their journey. Not everyone has that same level of conviction and not everyone wants to block out the world while they're working out. That's okay too. Wants to block out the world while they're working out? That's okay too. But there's something to be said for having that conviction, for knowing what you're doing, for knowing why you're doing it, and for just deciding and then moving in a certain direction.

Speaker 1:

Now, talking about deciding, there is something really interesting that has occurred with yet another client that I have, where at certain times, she feels some pain and stiffness in her lower extremities. She does have an autoimmune, and so sometimes she's, you know, inflamed, or the joints are really tight or achy, or there's like this dull, throbbing sort of feeling that she can only describe to me. Right, I can't feel it, I'm not in her body, and I can tell by how she walks and how she executes her repetitions if it's a good day or a bad day. I also know her so well at this point that sometimes I will hand her a weight and say nothing about whether it appears heavy or light for her, and I'll just let her figure that out herself. So this happened earlier this week, where we were doing an exercise and she made an observation and shared it with me like oh well, this side feels a lot better than that side.

Speaker 1:

And you know, she went on to share more of her observations with me and I said, yeah, I know. And she started giggling and said what do you mean, you know? And I was like I already knew all this. I was letting you find it. And she was like, oh, that's interesting. And I said, think about your kids, right? If your little one is trying to solve a puzzle or they're looking for a missing piece or they're trying to figure it out, do you always jump in, even if they ask for help, or do you sometimes let them figure it out themselves? And she said, oh, I let them figure it out themselves. And she said, oh, I let them figure it out themselves, because there's a tremendous amount of joy to be had as a child to solve a hard problem. And I said, exactly so, there's beauty in letting your child find it.

Speaker 1:

And sometimes, with my clients find it, and sometimes with my clients, I do the same thing. Obviously, I'm watching, I'll jump in if I need to. I have this safe environment for them that I've cultivated and I'm going to let them find it on their own. Maybe they will self-correct. Self-correct the posture, self-correct the breathing, wiggling the toes in the shoes, making sure that you know everything is in the right place and they are executing the movement to the best of their ability, without me repeating myself over and over and over again.

Speaker 1:

Now, as a personal trainer, I've been doing this 28, 29 years. At this point, almost 30. Trainer, I've been doing this 28, 29 years. At this point, almost 30. Okay, I have my core cues that I probably say 50 to a hundred times a day. The same cues. I have a handful of them Shoulders down and back, brace your core, spread your toes in your shoes, distribute your weight evenly, squeeze the lemons under your armpits. Sometimes, if we're doing something where I want the lats engaged. I can go on and on. I have a few more, but the point is, it is a beautiful thing when you can work with somebody and you can trust them to get it right themselves, maybe not every single time, but at least the first time.

Speaker 1:

Now the other swing of the pendulum here is someone who is constantly self-coaching and not getting into their body and just doing the movement. So I have another client Today's all about my work. Yet a third client who really loves to consume content. She listens to thought leaders, doctors, scientists, all sorts of podcasts, reads articles. She receives a bunch of newsletters from various places. She also has a team of doctors.

Speaker 1:

This is a woman who's, I would say, going through menopause or just beginning that process, so maybe in her 50s, and she analyzes everything to the point that it paralyzes her. So in this instance, when we're working together, I will actually ask her to stop thinking and stop talking and I say it respectfully, of course, but I'll just say hey, I need you to quiet your brain, get into your body and just do these three things that I'm asking you to do through this set. Try not to talk while you're doing the set. Make your observations, we'll discuss it after, and this is also another way where I want her to find it herself.

Speaker 1:

I don't really care what some famous person on a podcast says about fasting or about protein, or about weight training or menopause. Do I care? Of course? Do I care while you're in the middle of your set? No, what I care about is that you are having a good experience, you are training in an effective way and you're challenging yourself. Remember, I've talked about intensity quite a lot on this show. I've talked about finding it and I've talked about bringing it back to the why always.

Speaker 1:

So you will notice, as you continue to listen to this show, that's me subliminally messaging you to continue listening to this show. As you continue to listen to this show, you will understand that I have a few core values and principles and I repeat them in a multitude of ways and I interweave them into every conversation, into every session, into every appointment and into every episode. Because that every appointment and into every episode, because that's who I am and that's what I believe in I do think it's important to give people a little bit of space to safely find the thing they're looking for and solve the problem, maybe with a little bit of guidance, like you know, bumpers on the side of a bowling alley lane, but that's it. I also believe it's important to be in your body, to be present, to shut the notifications off, to put the do not disturb on, put the do not disturb on in real life too, and get to work. And I also believe it's incredibly valuable to self-check and to monitor Are you doing what you need to be doing?

Speaker 1:

Is there wiggle room for a little bit more? Do you need to make an adjustment and are these things in line with the big picture goal. And if the answer is no, guess what. Don't be upset with yourself. We can change things. I don't encourage constantly changing the goal. I actually believe to keep the goal the same, but change the approach.

Speaker 1:

If you're accomplishing your goals easily, guess what that means. You're not setting your sights big enough, it's time to go bigger. And if you're scared off, it's time to go bigger. And if you're scared, that's okay. But we're not going to let that stop us. We're going to continue to press on. We're going to continue to move forward, but the truth of the matter is, is you need to be intentional about your training or you're not going to see the results that you want.

Speaker 1:

You need to be present and in your body, you need to allow yourself to fail a little bit and not be so worried about getting everything perfect and self-check. Is this leading me in the direction that I want? Yes or no? And then move from there. Just like I asked you at the beginning of this episode what is the rush? So, if you've already gotten out of anticipation phase and you are in action taking, stay grounded and make sure you're not rushing ahead, because the journey is really what the secret sauce is. That's what is going to create the transformation, not just getting to the end. Once again, if you are interested in getting your hands on that free mini guide that I have created, please check the show notes. There is a link where you can download the guide right to your inbox. You'll have it in minutes and you can begin to train with intention and purpose, taking deliberate action from a grounded place. I appreciate you being here and, as always, I'll catch you on the next one.