If you’re someone who works out, you might’ve heard of training with intention.
I know I’ve certainly mentioned it in some of my other posts, so you might’ve at least heard it from me.
Although I’ve mentioned it before, I’ve never explained what training with intention actually means.
That’s why I’m here now to explain to you exactly what it means to train intentionally.
And, what training with intention would look like in your workouts.
In This Post You’ll Find:
What it Means to Train With Intention
Doing something with intention means you have a specific aim in mind.
Therefore, training with intention essentially means you’re training with a purpose in mind.
In other words, you’re training mindfully.
What this means is you have something specific in mind that you want to achieve, and that’s the motivating factor driving your workouts.
Your intention behind your workout is what gives you the reason for the things you’re doing in the gym.
Meaning that what you want to achieve determines what you do in the gym.
Versus What It Means to Train Without Intention
It’s fairly common for people to come to the gym having no intentions for their workouts.
Typically, these people often come to workout without a plan, mix up their routine often, and struggle with seeing results.
Which, no criticism towards them, most people don’t even know what training with intention is.
But having intention behind your workouts is key to seeing serious results in the gym.
That way, you’ll never go to the gym without having a purpose for being there.
You always show up knowing exactly what it is you’re going to be doing that day, and why you’re doing it.
Things like exactly which parts of your body you’re working on, and what results you’re working towards.
Training With Intention is Key to Achieving Your Fitness Goals
I mentioned earlier that when you do something with intention, you do it with a very specific goal in mind.
This goal is what becomes the motivating factor behind your efforts to achieve it.
So you intentionally lay out exactly what it is you need to do to achieve this goal, and then you do it.
The same principles apply to your workouts.
When you start training with intention, you start working towards your specific goals.
It’s these goals that then become the motivating factor behind your workouts.
They drive your workout schedule and routine, helping you plan what to work towards.
For example, things like what muscle groups you need to train, when you’ll train them, and how often.
By following that plan, you know that every workout you do has this motivating factor (a.k.a your goals) driving it.
And every workout you do is done with the intention of getting you closer to achieving these goals.
That’s what it means to train with intention.
The Best Ways You can Start Training Mindfully and With Intention
There are tons and tons of ways to start training more intentionally in the gym.
It all comes down to realizing everything you do in the gym is connected.
All the things you learn about working out, the different terms and techniques, it all serves a purpose.
Understanding these things, and what purpose they serve, is key to thoughtfully incorporating them into your routine. And bringing intention into your workouts.
Plan Your Gym Goals to Lay Out Your Intentions
Like I mentioned earlier, training with intention is key if you want to achieve your gym goals.
As a result, if you didn’t have goals for your workouts, there would be no way for you to train intentionally.
You wouldn’t know what the intention should be behind your training. There would be nothing motivating your workouts!
Think of your goals as being the intention behind your workouts. They’re the results you want to get, and are the leading factors driving your workouts.
That’s why, as with many aspects of the gym, planning your gym goals is the first step to start training with intention.
Create well-defined goals for yourself, and be extremely clear what it is you want to achieve.
Take the time to really reflect on what it is that you want to accomplish in the gym.
Then use that to determine your plans are for yourself, the improvements you want to see and the changes you want to make.
Start A Workout Routine and Train Mindfully
Your goals really are the motivating factor behind everything you do in the gym.
That’s why being upfront with yourself and clearly defining what you want to achieve is crucial to your success.
Once you determine your fitness goals, you’ll next want to use these to create a workout routine.
Remember, everything in the gym is connected.
Your goals drive your intentions, which drives your routine, which drives your workouts, which drive your results.
Using your goals to start your workout routine takes your intentions, and actually brings them into your workouts.
But you first need to know what you want to achieve, and then you can plan the exact steps you need to take to achieve it.
Lay out when you should be training, what you should be training, and how often you should be training and resting, all to achieve your goals.
Then, every week of your routine that you complete guarantees you get closer to achieveing your goals.
Because right down to your rest days, every aspect of your routine has a purpose and is there intentionally.
Understand Different Training Principles to Thoughtfully Incorporate into Your Workouts
Understanding different training principles allows you to thoughtfully incorporate these principles into your routine.
That’s why being aware of the results that different principles produce is key to intentionally incorporating them into your workouts.
For example, understanding things like the concentric and eccentric portion of your reps can help you increase your time under tension.
Increasing your time under tension, which is the time you spend in the eccentric portion of your rep, helps increase the intensity of your workouts.
Therefore helping you train for hypertrophy and stimulate more muscle growth.
See how everything you do in the gym is connected? And how this attention to detail goes right down to even the tiniest movements, ones you do in every single rep?
All of this is the intention you bring into every movement, and is what contributes to more effective workouts and better results.
Know Your Sets and Reps and What Results They Produce
Different numbers of sets and reps in your exercises produces different results.
Understanding how different numbers of sets and reps correlate to different results is key to thoughtfully selecting your ideal set and rep ranges.
I previously published this post, How Many Sets and Reps You Should Do to Achieve Your Fitness Goals that I really recommend checking out.
It’ll help walk you through all the different set and rep ranges and how they correspond to different styles of training and different results.
Helping you understand how many sets and reps you should do corresponding to the results you want to achieve.
Once you know how to train to achieve the results you want, you can implement that style of training into your routine.
This is another instance where your goals guide your decisions for your routine. And assures you that every exercise you do has a purpose and intentional thought behind it.
Takeaways
Training intentionally is key to seeing any type of results from the gym.
Understanding your goals, different training principles, and how these all correspond, allows you to create a routine with purpose and intention behind it.
Otherwise, you could have a good plan for achieving your goals, but still not be training correctly to achieve them.
It’s important to keep in mind that although your routine is important, it’s not the only factor that plays a role in your gym results.
More of My Post’s on Women’s Weightlifting and Fitness:
The Best Strategies to Progressive Overload in The Gym
When You Should Be Using Clips While Weightlifting
Why You Need to Start Tracking Your Workouts [And How to Do It]