Someone asked me:
“Coach Adam, what’s your workout playlist?
What music pumps you up?”
My answer surprised them:
“I don’t listen to music when I train.”
“I listen to nothing.”
They thought I was joking.
But I’m completely serious.
No pump-up music.
No motivational podcasts.
Here’s why…
Most people train with the wrong focus.
They pump loud music.
Check themselves in mirrors constantly.
Look around the gym at what others are doing.
Think about their phone, work, or what they’re eating later.
This is external focus.
Your attention is everywhere EXCEPT your body.
And when your attention is external, you can’t connect with your muscles properly.
You end up just mindlessly moving.
Going through the motions.
Not actually feeling the muscles work.
This is why gym culture produces mediocre results for the vast majority of people.
Because the environment demands external focus:
- Loud music pulling your attention
- Mirrors encouraging appearance focus
- Other people to compare yourself to
- Social performance pressure
Your mind is scattered.
Not connected to your body.
Internal focus is the opposite.
All attention directed inward.
On the muscle you’re targeting.
On the sensation of contraction and stretch.
On the squeeze at the top of each rep.
On your breathing.
This is true mind-muscle connection.
And it’s how you actually build lean muscle effectively.
So why nothing at all?
Because training in my own space at home with a suspension trainer creates a meditative state.
I’m not thinking about:
- The track or which fav song I want next
- What I look like
- Who might be watching
- How many reps I’m doing
- What exercise is next
- Work stress
- Life problems
I’m just… present.
In my body.
With one focus: Feeling the target muscle work.
This might sound weird.
But it’s based on a real principle:
Meditation is classed as holding one focus for an extended period of time.
When you consistently focus ONLY on the muscle you are targeting..
Through every single rep…
Every set..
You are meditating.
One focus – the muscle.
Compare this to loud pump-up music:
Loud music activates your sympathetic nervous system.
Gets you amped up.
Aggressive. External.
Good for:
- Powerlifting (need aggression to move heavy weight)
- Sprinting (need explosive energy)
- Competition (need to psych yourself up)
Not good for:
- Muscle-centric technique (need calm control)
- Mind-muscle connection (need internal awareness)
- Isolation work (need to feel the muscle)
Loud music pushes you to move FAST and HARD.
But effective muscle building requires SLOW and CONTROLLED.
The best training sessions I’ve ever had:
Quiet environment.
Ideally outdoors in Mother Nature (weather permitting in the UK :/)
Complete internal focus.
Feeling every millimetre of muscle movement.
Squeezing powerfully at the top.
Controlled negative.
Mind fully present.
I finish workouts feeling:
- Zen-like calm
- Mentally refreshed
- Physically worked but not destroyed
- Confident I stimulated muscle growth
Training becomes meditation.
Not a chore. Not a performance.
A mindful practice.
Using my body to master my mind.
This is what I mean by “Fitness Freedom.”
Not just freedom from gyms.
Freedom from the ego-driven, external-focused approach that makes training stressful.
You don’t have to go cold turkey like me.
But try SOMETHING calmer that occupies your surface mind (monkey mind) without pulling you external.
The main point is:
Remove external stimulation.
Create space for internal awareness.
Train with internal focus.
You’ll build better lean muscle AND better mental health.
Here’s to your Fitness Freedom!
Coach Adam
P.S.
If you’re in a loud gym and can’t escape the music, use noise-cancelling earbuds with calming sounds. Create your own environment even in chaos. Don’t let the gym culture dictate your focus.
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