I have written on the topic of fitness vacations before. I am very passionate about the necessity of always having an event to train for. You should always have an event with a deadline that will force you to pay attention to the level of fitness you need for that event, or the look you are trying to achieve for an event. It could be a mountain hike, or it could be a wedding. It doesn’t matter what the event is, but it needs to be motivating enough to get your mind right for consistency in the gym. Otherwise, your “why” in the gym will be diminished, and you will be working out with no purpose other than maintaining what you have. If you want to take it beyond that plateau, then always have an event to “train for”.

Recently, my climbing partner, Jeremy Harwell and I set a goal to climb the tallest mountain in Central America, a dormant volcano. Volcan Tajumulco stands at the western edge of Guatamala just south of the Mexico border. With the goal of scaling Tajumulco in one day, we set our minds to training for the event. My training consisted of weights in the morning followed by HIIT in the sauna and Hot Yoga, Hot Pilates or Hot Stretch in the evenings at HOTWORX, of course!

Thank God I have been religiously consistent with my infrared training because it saved me by lessening the impact of a very recent injury that happened just three weeks before the climb. I sustained a level 2 MCL strain that would normally take six weeks of recovery. But with encouragement from my beautiful fiancée/training partner Ashley, and with regular HOTWORX infrared training and TENS therapy I was able to bounce back in three weeks for the climb. So, when the day came for the ascent, we were ready.

Every HOTWORX workout—from Isometrics, to HIIT, to the FX Zone—is built around the “you get what you put in” principle.

Controlled discomfort creates unstoppable strength.

You have to be willing to go through some pain to get to the gains. Nowhere is that more true than on the slopes of Volcán Tajumulco, the highest peak in Central America. Climbing that volcano in a single day is the outdoor version of multiple HOTWORX sessions at the extreme edge. Basically, it’s a HIIT workout that lasts for 8 hours.

High intensity, focus and grit = high payoff.

A one-day ascent of Tajumulco becomes a mindset laboratory, where the same mental skills used inside the infrared sauna are tested in a raw, unforgiving environment.

On a mountain like that you have to start before the comfort kicks in. Just like walking into a 120–130°F HOTWORX sauna before your brain has a chance to talk you out of a 30-minute session, a one-day climb begins at dawn, in the cold, in the dark, before comfort has a chance to negotiate. Remember the old saying?…”There is no growth inside the comfort zone!” The nighttime drive to the trailhead of Tajumulco early that morning was one of getting your mind right!

The mental shift has to happen. You begin before the excuses appear. Take the action. Start before your mind has time to resist. Let action lead and motivation follow. That’s HOTWORX mindset training in its purest form.

Philosophy is nice, but it has never produced a thing. Massive action towards the accomplishment of a goal is what produces results!

The climb was a real-world isometric hold in motion and a test of balance. The trail up Tajumulco is a relentless incline. There were no switchbacks designed for your comfort going up that volcano. There were no plateaus to rest on going up. Your heart, lungs and legs enter a battle that feels like a constant peak moment of a HOTWORX session for multiple hours in a row. It felt like:
The final minute of Hot Warrior.
The last high interval of HOT HIIT.
The FX Zone finisher where everything in you wants to stop—but you don’t.

This is where the HOTWORX mindset takes over:
Breathe. Lock in. Execute. One posture at a time. One rep at a time. One step at a time.
Just like inside the infrared sauna, when you keep your composure in discomfort, your body unlocks a new level of resilience as it adapts towards improvement.

Altitude is the external version of heat stress training. Inside a HOTWORX sauna, heat stress pushes your cardiovascular system to adapt. On Tajumulco, altitude does the same. Reduced oxygen creates: higher heart rate, fatigue under stress, elevated breathing demand, and mental fog that you must override with discipline.

Sound familiar?

It is the same physiological principle you embrace inside the HOTWORX sauna:

Hormetic Stress + Intentional Focus = Adaptation

Altitude is just another form of environmental conditioning, or another “3D Training” stimulus that sharpens your mind and strengthens your body.

The Final Push: Where the HOTWORX Mindset Separates You
In every HOTWORX session, there comes a moment…the point of maximum resistance where your brain whispers, “slow down”, “cut the set short”, “you’ve done enough”. On Tajumulco, that moment hits during the steep final ascent above 13,000 feet when your legs tremble, your lungs burn, your heart pounds and your altitude-affected mind questions your decision-making.

This is the HOTWORX moment of truth…the same psychological battle we train for daily at HOTWORX. Do you listen to resistance or do you lead yourself through it? The summit isn’t conquered by strength so much as it’s conquered by self-discipline and command of self.

Scaling all the way to the summit is the HOTWORX mindset reward. Standing on the summit of Central America’s highest point delivers the same feeling you get walking out of the sauna after a perfectly executed session, albeit magnified a few times.

On Tajumulco you climb your internal limits and the mountain is just the workout tool.
You didn’t beat the mountain. You beat the voice that wanted to quit. That is the HOTWORX mindset: EARN the BURN… Don’t avoid the work! If you want to build personal and professional productivity, then adopt the right mindset.

Raise your work ethic to an ALL IN level and watch what you will accomplish.

Upon descent of the mountain you have to keep composure when fatigue is highest. One wrong move could be catastrophic. Every HOTWORX Virtual Instructor reminds you:
“The most dangerous reps are the sloppy ones at the end.” Stay focused!

Tajumulco proves this. Descending miles of loose volcanic rock on fatigued legs requires focus, precision, and patience…the same discipline you use to execute the final isometric hold or last HIIT sprint safely and effectively. The mission isn’t complete until you reach the trailhead.
Just like the session isn’t complete until you own the cooldown/landing phase.

Mindset Takeaways: Why This Climb Mirrors HOTWORX Training
A one-day ascent of Volcán Tajumulco reinforces every major mental strength principle HOTWORX is built on:
🔥 1. Start before the excuses appear.
Action first, comfort later.
🔥 2. Focus sharpens under controlled stress.
Heat in the studio, altitude on the mountain.
🔥 3. Discipline is more powerful than motivation.
You won’t “feel like it” at 13,000 feet, or at minute 28 of a HOT Isometrics session.
🔥 4. Momentum beats hesitation.
One rep, one breath, one step, over and over until you reach the top.
🔥 5. The real summit is internal.
The mountain is just the stage for proving who you are to yourself. It’s You v. You!

Here’s a final thought. Train your mind like you train your body. Climbing Tajumulco in one day isn’t about speed. It isn’t about perfect technique. It’s about mindset. The same mindset you build every time you step into a HOTWORX studio and choose:
Heat over comfort
Focus over distraction
Consistency over excuses
Effort over ease
Discipline over doubt

Every HOTWORX session strengthens the exact mental muscles needed to take on a challenge like Tajumulco. Discover your inner warrior…Because HOTWORX doesn’t just train your body.
HOTWORX trains your mind to summit anything.

👊🔥