Coaching With Intention
Written by Conquer Athlete Coach Jason Leydon, CSCS
The Magic Isn’t in the Movement—It’s in the Intention
There’s a big difference between working out and training. I say this often, and I’ll say it again: a workout without purpose is just sweat. But a training session—when executed with clear intention and thoughtful design—is a step forward toward your goals.
At Conquer Athlete, we believe the magic of progress doesn’t lie in fancy programming or random intensity. It lives at the intersection of athlete understanding and coach precision.
Let me break that down.
The Coach’s Responsibility: Crafting with Intention
Programming isn’t about throwing random rep schemes on a whiteboard or chasing soreness for its own sake. My role as a coach is to understand the big picture—where the athlete is starting from, where they want to go, and how we’re going to get there.
That means I’m not just assigning movements—I’m selecting stimuli. Every movement, rest interval, and set/rep scheme has to serve a greater purpose. Am I trying to elicit strength gains? Improve aerobic capacity? Build durability in high-skill gymnastics under fatigue? My job is to align the right scheme with the right intention and then communicate that clearly to the athlete.
The best program in the world means nothing if the athlete doesn’t understand why they’re doing it.
The Athlete’s Role: Understanding the Assignment
Too many athletes chase fatigue, thinking that the harder they push, the more progress they make. But intensity without context is just noise.
As an athlete, your responsibility is to know what you're training for. If your coach programs a 10-minute EMOM of strict gymnastics, that’s not just filler—it’s an opportunity to build positional strength and body awareness. If you treat it like a race, you’ve missed the point.
When you know the intention behind the session, you can give the right kind of effort—whether that’s holding back to build aerobic efficiency or pushing your threshold to develop grit. That’s what separates high performers from those who plateau: they train with awareness.
Intention + Execution = Results
When coach and athlete are aligned, the training process transforms. Every session becomes a stepping stone. You’re no longer guessing, blindly grinding, or hoping something sticks. You’re learning, adapting, and building toward something greater.
This is what we do at Conquer Athlete. We train with purpose. We educate athletes on the “why.” And we build systems that aren’t just about progress in the gym—but about performance in life, sport, and competition.
So whether you’re a coach writing programs or an athlete chasing growth, remember this: The magic isn’t in the movement—it’s in the intention. And when intention meets execution, that’s where greatness begins.
Want to train with intention? Join our individual design program or get on the waitlist for the next Conquer Coaching Mentorship Program. Let’s build something great together.
