INTENTION vs. INTENSITY

DEFINITIONS:

When it comes to training—and life—it’s not only about how hard you go. It’s about why and how you go. Too often, athletes mistake intensity for progress. They push until they’re drenched in sweat, lungs burning, body wrecked. But without intent, that intensity may be wasted energy.

The Difference:

• Intent = Purpose, precision, clarity. Every rep has a reason. Every exercise or drill is connected to the bigger picture.

• Intensity = Effort, energy, drive. It’s the force you bring once the direction is set.

  
  

Think of intent as the GPS and intensity as the gas pedal. Without a clear destination, flooring it just burns fuel. And if the fuel tank is already on low coming in, you may run out of gas (or worse, run out of oil and catastrophically break the engine) prior to ever coming close to reaching the target. In order to reach the ultimate destination, it often requires refueling, an oil change, or a detour. If these don't happen, that destination may never be attainable.

WHY ATHLETES MUST TRAIN SMARTER, NOT JUST HARDER

When it comes to athletic development, intent and intensity are not “either/or.” They are both/and. A high-quality strength and conditioning coach/trainer knows these two forces must always be entertained together, but with one critical truth: Intention must always lead.

Intensity can often amplify results, but intention MUST ALWAYS direct them. Without clear intent, intensity is just chaos. With clear intent at the forefront, intensity becomes a strategic tool that elevates—not derails—an athlete’s performance.

WHY INTENTION MUST COME FIRST

What we do matters. How we do it matters more. But here’s the reality: our athletes aren’t competing in max squats, hang cleans, bench press, deadlift, or rule-based agility drills on the field. They’re competing to win in dynamic, chaotic environments—on the field, court, or ice.

This means that our training must translate. A weight room PR is nice and fun, but it doesn’t mean anything if it doesn’t result in maxing out when and where it truly matters—in sport on game day. At ALTIUS, our aim is not just stronger lifts; it’s stronger performance, greater resiliency, and higher passion in sport.

THE MISCONCEPTION OF "GO UNTIL YOU DROP"

There’s a widespread misconception that unless an athlete leaves the gym gasping for air, drenched in sweat, shaking with fatigue, or nauseous, the session was wasted. We disagree.

At ALTIUS, the goal is for every athlete to leave feeling better than when they walked in.

• Sometimes, that means intensity is sky-high—we crush them, and they need 10 minutes on a foam roller or the vibe plate and an additional 10 minutes sitting in the lobby before even attempting to drive home.

• Other times, intensity must take a back seat to intention.

  
  

If an athlete comes in beat up, stiff, sore, or exhausted, it would be reckless to blindly follow a rigid program. A skilled coach adapts—they gain the subjective (how the athlete reports feeling), they analyze and assess the movement patterns in the warm-up to determine what should come next. Often, this may lead to a 180* directional change on what was originally planned for the day: perhaps swapping heavy back squats for something that intentionally meets the athlete where they are at: recovery protocols, (p)rehab, mobility, activation, technique refinement, light-grade plyos, and patterning aimed to flush soreness and engrain proper mechanics. The best program isn’t always what’s written/planned—it’s what the athlete needs in that moment, what they are capable of performing successfully at a high level, and what will yield the greatest ROI in the big picture.

CNS PRIMING: GAME-DAYS' BEST KEPT SECRET

Another myth we actively dismantle: athletes “shouldn’t train” before competition. The research states otherwise. Central Nervous System (CNS) priming—the strategic activation of the body’s neural pathways before competition—is one of the most powerful tools we employ.

Studies show CNS activation improves motor unit recruitment, reaction time, and coordination, ultimately allowing athletes to process, anticipate, and perform as if the game is moving in slow motion.

Some CNS priming strategies we leverage include:

• Core-led mobility and activation

• Rapid-fire footwork and plyometric reaction drills

• Hand-eye and foot-eye coordination tasks

• Multi-joint power movements (explosive med ball throws, jumps, Olympic lift variations)

When done correctly, these sessions don’t fatigue an athlete—they elevate them. The result: injury resiliency, heightened readiness, sharper reaction times, and peak performance exactly when it matters.

BEYOND LINEAR PERIODIZATION

The textbook model of linear periodization—slowly progressing load and volume over neatly divided off-seasons—has long been considered the gold standard. But for today’s athletes, “off-seasons” often don’t exist. Between year-round club sports (off-season only during school season) and multi-sport schedules, the classic linear periodization model often collapses under real-world demands.

Current research shows multi-modality training (layering strength, power, speed, recovery, and skill concurrently) is equally effective—and in many cases, more sustainable—for modern athletes.

Why? Because overuse injuries and burnout are skyrocketing in youth/adolescent sports. Our approach must be intentional not only for performance gains but also to preserve health and longevity, build the lifelong skills and excitement for working out (because they see tangible results), and to maintain passion for sport.

EDUCATE THE ATHLETE, ELEVATE THE GAME

At ALTIUS, our mission goes beyond stronger lifts and faster sprints. Though these are both important elements that can increase performance, we value something more: We teach athletes to be intentional.

We don’t just coach—we educate. Every session is designed to build layers of understanding, so our athletes learn:

• How to self-analyze movement.

• How to self-correct inefficiencies.

• How to recognize when to push vs. when to recover.

• HOW to effectively push and HOW to effectively recover.  Our athletes learn the right things (mobility, exercises, etc.) and not just what to do, but HOW to do them the right way.

Our ultimate goal? That they won’t need us. They’ll want us—because they recognize the intentional growth they achieve here, and because they know every rep in our gym adds another layer to their foundation for success.

THE ALTIUS WAY

Intent ALWAYS. Intensity graded. ALWAYS both.

That’s the formula for real performance enhancement. Not chasing weight room numbers for their own sake, but making sure every rep, every drill, every ounce of effort translates to winning in sport.

At ALTIUS, we don’t just train athletes harder—we train them smarter. And smarter athletes don’t only perform better. They stay healthier, play longer, and love the game more.