Intensity: The Secret Ingredient for Fitness Results

Ever gone to the gym, completed your workout, and walked away feeling like you didn't really do anything? You're not alone. This frustrating experience stems from a critical missing element in most fitness routines: intensity.

Drawing from nearly three decades as a fitness professional, I unpack why so many workouts fall flat despite consistent gym attendance. The truth is that showing up isn't enough – what matters is how you engage during those precious minutes of training. Your phone might be the primary culprit sabotaging your results, along with selecting weights that don't adequately challenge your muscles.

In this episode, I dive into the physiological stimulus needed for change – expanding the edges of your comfort zone with each training session.

For women especially, I tackle the persistent myth about "getting bulky" from lifting weights. This misunderstanding prevents countless women from training with appropriate intensity, ironically keeping them from achieving the very "toned" physique they desire. 

Ready to transform your fitness approach? Try implementing these three game-changers: minimize phone distractions during workouts, select truly challenging weights, and maintain mental focus throughout each exercise. Your body will respond when you finally give it the intensity it needs to change. Got questions? Reach out - I'm here to help you build your unbreakable mind and body.

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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.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to the Unbreakable Mind and Body
podcast.
I am your host, tiana Gonzalez,a multi-passionate, creative
storyteller and entrepreneurwith a fierce love for movement.
This is our space for powerfulstories and actionable
strategies to help you buildmental resilience and elevate

(00:28):
your self-care practice.
Together, we will unlock thetools that you need to create an
unbreakable mind and body.
Welcome back to the show.
I am your host, tiana, and onthis episode, we're going to
talk about all things intensity,host Tiana, and on this episode
, we're going to talk about allthings intensity.
Now, lifting with intensity isthe secret ingredient in

(00:50):
catalyzing change.
And I specifically say liftingwith intensity because this
episode will be primarilyfocused around physical activity
, lifting weights, and what Iwant to share with you is some
insight, reflections and sometips that you can implement
right away to elevate yourpersonal fitness, health and

(01:15):
wellness.
Now, if you're new here, I'm afitness professional with almost
30 years of experience.
I got my start in high schoolafter being frustrated with my
weight.
I was a ballet dancer, I was ina company and I was so sick and
tired of being in this bodythat I didn't love.
I joined spring track my junioryear of high school and that

(01:38):
really was the catalyst that,combined with my mom, who was an
aerobics instructor andpersonal trainer, she taught me
all about lifting weights andnutrition at a very young age.
So I definitely had a headstart.
I was ahead of the curvebecause in high school I was
eating things like sliced bellpeppers with chicken breast, not

(02:01):
eating processed foods andfocusing on what I could put in
my body to help me not only lookbetter but feel better.
I got my start in bodybuildingshows in 1999, started my first
prep, did it for almost 14 yearsand throughout that time there
was a lot of ups and downs.

(02:22):
I decided to take all of theexperiences and knowledge that I
got on my own physique andwellness and turn it into
something that I could teachothers.
So that's really how I got mystart here.
But enough about me, becausewhat I really want to talk about
is this recurring conversationthat I've been having with

(02:43):
clients over and over and overagain, that they come to the gym
to work out, not with me, likein between our sessions, and
they feel like they're notreally doing anything.
Excuse me, what are you talkingabout?
I hear this all the time.
Yeah, I came to the gym, I didupper body, but I don't know.

(03:08):
I felt like I didn't doanything.
I'm not sore.
I didn't feel like I got myheart rate up.
I didn't break a sweat.
I'm not feeling exhausted.
I'm not laying in the fetalposition at the end of the
workout Pause.
All my people who do CrossFit,orange Theory, barry's, know
what I'm talking about andthere's no shade on any of those

(03:28):
boutiques or modalities offitness.
However, we are focused oncreating healthy bodies and
strong bodies.
So, yes, cardio is importantfor heart health and I do cardio
routinely and I'm an advocateof it.
However, when we're thinkingabout long-term fitness, being a

(03:56):
strong, robust body and havingbone density, okay, you've got
to lift weights, and you've gotto lift weights in a specific
way so that you can grow yourmuscles and nurture your bones,

(04:17):
and this is where intensitycomes up.
Now you might know this about mealready, but I am someone who
loves the Do Not Disturb featureon my phone.
In fact, I use it every day andeven when I'm working out and I

(04:38):
don't want to be interrupted.
I don't want notifications.
I don't want to hear any soundsother than the amazing techno
music that I'm most likelylistening to while I'm training.
I do still have to look at myphone, because that's where my
workout is.
It's in an app and I will tellyou more often than not that
that's going to be the numberone.

(04:59):
Culprit is managing your phone,or attention to the phone
during your workout.
Now the next thing you want toconsider is what kind of weights
are you using and how are youfeeling specifically during your

(05:19):
set, during the workout?
So we've got to get reallyspecific here, because we can
talk in broad strokes but thatmight not serve you.
That might not help you.
So while you're thinking aboutyour workout okay and you're
lifting weights, let's sayyou're doing shoulders.

(05:40):
You want to develop a nicesculpted upper body.
You want to have shoulders thatlead you right into nice
sculpted arms, right.
So while you're lifting, let'ssay you're doing lateral raises
with dumbbells and the rep rangethat's called out in the

(06:03):
workout.
The prescription, if you will,that's called out in the workout
.
The prescription, if you will,is eight to 10 reps and you're
going to do four sets of thatwith a 60 second to 90 second
rest in between each set.
Well, what does that meanreally?
Because for somebody who's justgetting started, their question
is going to be.
Well, what weight should I use?
And the person who wrote theworkout really can't tell you

(06:27):
that without knowing you,without watching you, without
working with you for a while,without knowing if you have any
injuries or any areas of concernor things to look out for, or
they don't know your experiencelevel.
But when we give you a rep range, we're leaving it up to you to

(06:48):
decide.
I want you to pick a weightthat when you get to rep number
eight, you feel like you'realmost done or you're pretty
much done.
But then you're going to trustyourself and you're going to try

(07:08):
to do another rep.
So let's go for that ninth rep,okay.
And then, if you complete itsuccessfully without breaking
your form too much, maybe yousqueak out another rep.
You are so tapped out that youcannot wait to put those
dumbbells down and take yourrest.

(07:29):
So, just in that small scenario,there are a couple of things I
want you to think about.
Do you feel that way whenyou're doing your workout,
whatever it is, doesn't matterwhat body part or exercise or
what tool when you have that reprange and you get to the top

(07:50):
numbers of the rep range likeeight, nine, 10, are you tapped
out.
Do you want to give up?
Are you ready to let go ofthose weights?
Are you completely fried?
Because if the answer is no,that's an indicator that means
you probably could go up inweight, and that will help

(08:11):
catalyze change.
That will stimulate muscularhypertrophy.
That will get us moving in thedirection that we want.
Now, the next thing I want topoint out is I said you can't
wait to get rid of those weights.
Put them down on the floor andtake your rest period.
So you should be working out sointensely, word of the day,

(08:34):
that you're looking forward toyour rest period and maybe you
need to sit down.
Maybe you don't even want tolook at your phone, you don't
want to talk to anybody becauseyou're out of breath.
So these are two differentthings that you need to be

(08:55):
paying attention to the nexttime you're working out, because
there's a specific science here.
What are we doing exactly whenwe're pushing that eight to 10
rep range?
Well, picture yourself insideof a circle, and that circle is

(09:16):
your comfort zone, and what I'mchallenging you to do is to
flirt right with the edge,because if you can continue to
press upon the edge, eventuallyyou will get stronger and you
will be able to stay at thatheavier weight and maybe in a

(09:37):
few months or a few years you'lllook back and say, wow,
remember when I was doing thoselateral raises I could only do
eight pounds, eight pounddumbbells, one in each hand
standing, and now I can do 15s.
That's almost double.
Where are you mentally whenyou're executing your set?

(10:01):
Are you thinking about thechores you have to do?
Are you thinking about yourgrocery list?
Are you thinking about what'sgoing on with your kid's
homework assignment, or are youfocused on you?
Now, I am not saying that noneof those things are important.
Of course they are.
But remember, in the moment youcame to the gym for a reason

(10:23):
you came to do one thing.
So can we prioritize that onething just for a short period of
time maybe 45 minutes, maybe anhour, maybe an hour and 10, so
that you can be effective?
We are not trying to spin ourwheels.
We are not trying to stay inthe gym all day and all night.

(10:45):
I mean maybe you are.
The gym where I work isfabulous.
There are a lot of amenities,there's an outdoor pool, there's
a cafe, there's a workspace.
But going back to that workoutand going back to being
intentional and takingdeliberate action.
I want you to really assesswhere you're at right now and

(11:11):
when I'm making thesesuggestions, I don't want you to
think to yourself oh well,tiana said I should do this or I
should do that.
Let's remove the word should.
The word should has a littlebit of a negative energy, like
vibrating right underneath it,and I am not trying to make you
feel badly.
I want to encourage you.

(11:31):
I want these things to besuggestions that you try.
It's kind of like a recipe andsomeone says well, you're making
sauce with tomatoes.
I like to put a little bit ofsugar in there because it cuts
the acidity.
You never heard that before.

(11:53):
Maybe you'll try it, maybeyou'll love it, maybe you'll
hate it, maybe you'll try it afew times until you get the
right dose.
And that's really what we'redoing here.
That's what this conversationis about.
You're not seeing change, you'renot feeling anything.

(12:14):
You feel like you're spinningyour wheels.
Now, for my ladies in the house, do not tell me you're worried
about getting bulky.
I am so tired of hearing thatnonsense.
When you work out and you arelifting weights and you're
pushing yourself with heavierweight selections if you feel

(12:38):
bulky nine times out of 10, whatthat is is muscle soreness or
water being stored in yourmuscles.
Flush it out.
Drink more water, you willflush it out.
Now, yes, we are all shapeddifferently.
Our bodies are all inclined todo slightly different things For

(13:01):
some of us.
We don't like that feeling ofsoreness, we don't like that
feeling of fullness, we don'tlike that bigness.
But the more you do the samething and stay consistent with
it, the less of an inflammatoryresponse you will get when it
comes to the lifting weights,maybe not with the soreness, but
with the feeling of likefullness, or you know, your arms

(13:23):
being pumped up or your legsbeing pumped up and you don't
like it.
That's really where we have tostart looking at the diet.
So if you want to lift weightsand get stronger and you're
concerned about getting bigger,I would encourage you to take a
look at your diet and whatyou're doing outside of the gym

(13:44):
to help reduce inflammation, tohelp keep yourself long and lean
and strong, because that's howyou're going to catalyze change.
When women tell me they want toget quote unquote toned, they
don't want to get bulky, theyhave no idea what they're

(14:05):
talking about and it's not theirfault.
Marketing and media hasbrainwashed us into thinking
that you can develop muscle in adifferent way.
You're either developing muscleor you're not.
It's very black and white, okay, how you do.
It can be colorful.
You need to lift weights, youneed to be intentional, and I am

(14:32):
so sorry, but if you aresomebody who does these group
classes, that's not liftingweights, that's doing cardio
with a little bit of weightsmixed in.
Okay.
So to recap the main points ofthis episode number one managing
your attention during theworkout.
Are you on your phone a lot?

(14:53):
Can you put the phone on?
Do not disturb.
Can you be more present, notonly during the set but
throughout the entire workoutsession?
Number two what weights are youselecting in your workout and
are they challenging enough tocatalyze change?

(15:14):
And number three how are youcompleting your workout Meaning?
Are you being intentionalduring each exercise and during
each set and during each rep?
With that, I'm going to leavethis episode here.
If you have any questions oryou need more support, please

(15:35):
check the show notes to find outhow to get in touch with me.
Thank you for being here.
I appreciate you and I willcatch you on the next one.