By VAHVA Fitness on July 13th. 2019

Bringing intensity (effort) to your workouts is one of the secrets to results. Learn the 3 secrets behind smart and productive training. 

All styles of training have some benefits. We want to avoid black and white thinking where we label something as completely negative and don't see any positives.

It's human nature to do this (especially in politics!) but if you can see past this, your training can become something amazing and extraordinary. 

For example, we would consider the modern bodybuilding and the fitness scene very unhealthy and damaging but they are not all bad.

A bodybuilder called Max Sick was among the first ones to invent the mind-muscle connection in the early 1900s which is an incredibly powerful technique to develop the body and one of the core methods of Athlete 20XX. 

Likewise, many fitness trainers or CrossFitters may have plenty of negative sides but one thing they are very good at is knowing how to bring intensity and effort to the workouts. They know how to push themselves and SWEAT.

In training, knowing what to do is only the very first step. These are the 3 secrets to smart and productive training: 

1. WHAT to do. The exercise selection, how much, how often and how to balance all the forms of training into a proper system.

2. HOW to do everything. The quality of your training - how to perform the exercises. Training techniques and the quality of the form.

3. EFFORT AND INTENSITY. How to push yourself to make more results with the exercises. How to withstand pain to break mental and physical barriers.

The thing about these last 2 things is that they are not that easy to quantify. They are intangible and qualitative. 

For example, a good form is entirely relative and subject to the standards of the teacher. A good form for someone else can be bad form for someone who is more advanced. The progress in form is never-ending.

Likewise, the effort is a very personal thing. A trainer or a teacher can push you to levels you haven't experienced before but often the level of effort is only between you and you.

What might be lots of effort for you, can be a warm up for someone else. This is true believe it or not. 

In our programs, Movement 20XX pretty much covers the "what to do" aspect. Athlete 20XX thoroughly covers "how to do it". Our new program Warrior 20XX covers the "effort and intensity" part. 

Here's an intense "all-out" abs workout to really push everything to the limits. You shouldn't do this all the time but every now and then.

When should you stop? A long after when you feel like you cannot go anymore. When you feel like you have nothing left you still have MILES to go in the tank believe it or not.

Once you start to understand that nothing happens after the pain barrier and you still can perform when you thought you had nothing left, you will be reborn.

This barrier between giving up and pushing forward is the barrier that separates the champions from the rest. It's the ultimate "trick" behind the world champions and everyone who is not.

Straight leg sit up is quite an advanced movement if you do it with control and without raising the legs. If this is too hard for you, you can bend the legs.

The thing about conditioning workouts is that your form will inevitably deteriorate over the course of the workout. This is normal.

In conditioning workouts pushing yourself is the most important thing. In regular strength workouts the form is the most important thing. This is why both styles of training need to be done. 

Bicycle crunch is a very classic and common fitness exercise but superbly effective. It incorporates abs, obliques and hip flexors and trains them very effectively.

If you want to make the core burn, the bicycle crunch has been and may always be one of the best exercises to do so. This is why it's one of the core exercises of Warrior 20XX.

The lying leg circles will develop the hip flexors but it's primarily a core stabilization exercise. We are huge fans of training core stability because it transfers very well to athletic ability.

For a lot of people, this will be very difficult – you can bend the legs if you need to and you can also use the arms for support. 

Intensity alone is NOT enough. The training also needs to be smart in addition to being hard. 

Combining athletic exercises with the utmost intensity leads to distinct results.

You need multiple different squatting variations. Dynamic, explosive, unilateral, pulsating and static.

You need core exercises that contain multiple different rotations, stabilizing, crunching and holds.

Your shoulders need to be worked from all different angles with fundamental shoulder raises, presses and circles.

You need to combine all of these different elements to create the most functional results in performance and endurance.

Moreover, in addition to intensity and an intelligent exercise selection, you are also need to have the training methodology and training techniques set for success.

Warrior 20XX isn’t your traditional high-intensity program. It’s a high-intensity program designed to turn you into a real beast of a warrior.

Warrior 20XX is the program that will bring FIRE and intensity to your body and soul.

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