Personal trainer Luis Leonardo knows a thing or two about pushing his body to the limit. His background in endurance sports began when his love of running landed him on a sprint triathlon team at the age of 13, where he completed the 5k running portion of the event. By the age of 16, he completed his first full triathlon on his own and at 20 he completed his first Ironman race – an even more intense endeavor involving a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, followed by a 26.2-mile run. 
 
The Importance of Recovery
As important as it was for Leonardo to learn how to push the boundaries of his limits, the key thing he learned was the importance of recovery. “I have over-trained many times in my life,” he says. “I have injured myself and it happened through not understanding the importance of recovery. There were times when I’d wake up on a given day and my legs were super tired from a hard workout the day before and then I’d go do another very hard workout without understanding that my body was asking me to recover right now.” 
 
Training in the Flow 
These experiences led Leonardo to his philosophy for personal training, which is to help people learn how to train in the “flow” in order to avoid injury. As the owner of Tres Sports, a fitness studio located in Edina, MN, Luis encourages his clients to push themselves and explore the boundaries of their capabilities, while respecting their bodies and their limits. Leonardo says the most common thing he sees as a trainer is people overdoing it while training. “They’re doing way too much,” he says. “I try to teach them how to make it a little more balanced and to be consistent over a longer period of time. That way they’re going to get a lot farther.” 
 
Training in the flow means that if you’re training at an exertion level between 1-100, you’re trying to stay within the 60’s and 70’s most of the time. Through time, as you continue to workout consistently –  for three months, six months, one year – that 70% is going to continue to grow, so before you know it your 70% is going to be what once was your 90%. “That way you’re less likely to get injured,” says Leonardo. “You’re more mindful of your own body, you’re having more fun, and things come a little slower, but the end result is much bigger.”  
 
Listening to Your Body
Training in the flow is counterintuitive to a lot of common messages regarding fitness because it’s not about following a strict plan. It’s about doing what’s right for your body on any given day. “That’s what has helped me become a better version of myself as a trainer is to not always have a strict plan,” says Leonardo. “When my client walks in the door I ask them how they’re doing. Based on that response the workout plan for the day unfolds. It’s based on how the client feels. I’m just a big believer in listening to your body one day at a time and trying to build consistency,” he adds. 
 
Building Consistency 
“With consistency and not trying to rush things, you start to develop that mental capacity, that mental awareness. And I think the more mature you get and the more comfortable you get with yourself you begin to understand, ‘Okay this is way too much for my body to handle right now.’ Because your body’s always going to tell you through pain or through an injury what it needs.” That sounds like good advice from someone who is all too familiar with going the distance.

These days Leonardo is testing his limits by doing his signature 30-minute high metabolic style training from tr3smethod.com, where he checks how much his mobility, strength and endurance are improving. His goal these days is to feel fit every day, to own his own body and not to abuse it, in order to achieve longevity. He is also providing personal training, individualized training plans, and group fitness classes at Tres Sports.