Balancing School and Fitness: Interview with Leo Garcia

Disclaimer: Please note that none of the individual(s) named in this interview are professionals. Everything stated is based on their personal opinion and may not reflect the views of industry experts. Please do your own research on all advice given.

This week we had the pleasure of interviewing Leo Garcia, a 22-year old rising fitness influencer, student, and avid gym goer who has used his creativity and knowledge of the gym to help motivate his viewers to start their discipline journey and become a better version of themselves. As he wraps up the last few classes of his degree in Media and Entertainment, Leo has fixed his focus on building his personal brand. He has been heavily invested in finalizing his portfolio and curating a job list to secure himself a full time position by the time he graduates. In between his time studying and developing his brand, he dedicates himself to a hybrid training routine and has even begun training for a 5k set to take place November 9. With such a busy schedule and a dedication to his routine, we were determined to find out how he maintains it all.

As a hybrid trainer, Leo has a routine that he consistently does every week:

• Monday: Push Day (Weights)
• Tuesday: Morning Run + Evening Weight Training
• Wednesday: Running
• Thursday: Leg Day
• Friday: Long Run & Recovery (e.g. stationary bike)
• Weekends: Plan for the week and rest

With such a dynamic routine, he uses a combination of Google Calendars and Google Sheets to plan out his days, exercise, reps, and sets. He finds that this process is the best way to maintain balance throughout his weekly routines. On days where he’s running low on time, if he chooses not to do a 20-minute run, he uses those routines to act as a guide that he modifies by reducing the number or exercise and increasing repetition to keep the intensity of the session. He stressed throughout the interview the importance of being active -even if it's just for 20 minutes- rather than skipping that day entirely. He added on saying “Things change, but that is why it is so important to schedule things out beforehand.

A major factor into how Leo is able to do all that he does inside and out of the gym is because of the mindset he has and his take on discipline. In a book he read by Jocko Willinks, he quoted from the first chapter called mind control, stating you have to control your mind and tell it what to do. He goes on to say “Your mindset is all discipline really. No matter the day’s performance you just have to remember that at least you’ll feel 10% better.” He finds this extra important to remember when having bad days in the gym. One thing he chooses to focus on is the fact that he showed up.

In addition to Jocko Willinks, Leo takes a lot of inspiration from fitness influencers in and outside of the US such as Lucus Mulla (Germany), Taha Sandu (India), and Chris Heria (USA). He enjoys content from a fitness perspective outside of the United States, because he has found a notable difference in the lifestyle. Not only is there more leniency in hours put into jobs, the nutrition in foreign countries are shown to be better than those in the US. Leo agrees that cultural differences in portions and preparation in food play a huge role in nutrition for other countries. He considers nutrition ittself 100% important to a fitness routine. He has his own meal prep strategy of preparing the ingredients for his dinners so they are ready to cook when he needs them. One of many valuable tips he shared in our time with him.

For the full interview make sure to tune in to our podcast, where we will be digging deeper into Leo’s backstory, what motivates him, all of his helpful tips and many more. Also be sure to check out all Leo’s Instagram and follow to keep up with all of his content!

Until Next Time! Stay Fit!