Are you exercising or are you training?
People will use these terms interchangeably, but there is a difference between them, and it can affect your progress and even your satisfaction with your fitness experience.
“Exercise” is what most people do. They head to the gym with no real plan and just do what feels right in the moment for that day. Maybe they sweat, maybe they lift a little more weight, or maybe they just hop into a new group class that’s being offered. This is better than sitting around: Any physical activity is good!
“Training” is much more specific, and it produces the desired results fast. When you train, you have a precise plan to accomplish specific goals. You know exactly what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Exercise selection, sets, reps and loads are all predetermined, and there is no guesswork. It’s not random; it’s systematic—and the results are incredible.
Results Keep You Moving!
From a health perspective, both approaches are much preferred to inactivity. I love seeing people in gyms regardless of what they’re doing. People need to move! If your preference is to just exercise and keep things varied with little to no structure, then that is what you should do. The risk is that you’ll never see any clear progress and quit moving.
Even when people exercise, they generally have a goal, even if it’s loosely defined. “Feel better” and “look better” are two examples. More specific goals include ‘“lose 10 lb.” or “add 10 lb. of muscle.” But if you exercise and make little to no progress toward any goals, it can be very frustrating.
This is often the case when someone wants to lose body fat and gain muscle. They take a haphazard approach, fail to see any progress, become less consistent and then eventually quit, blaming their slow metabolism and terrible genetics (which is not the issue).
Another problem: It’s hard to start exercising without a plan. A major barrier to movement comes when people don’t know what to do when they’re at the gym. When I worked at the front desk of a gym, it was common to see new people shyly wander around trying to figure out how to use the equipment. Inevitably, some of them stopped trying after a few sessions. Gyms can be intimidating if you don’t have someone to guide you.
Training for the Win
If you have specific goals with fitness, you should focus on training, not just exercising. You’ll derive way more satisfaction from this approach because you will actually experience success.
A good first step is hiring a coach. Find someone who has an exercise philosophy that aligns with your own and has the professional experience to help you reach your goals. Ask a prospective coach, “Exactly how will you help me accomplish this goal?” A great trainer will have an answer.
When clients reach out to me for help with training, we discuss their exercise history, what has worked in the past, what they enjoy and what they don’t ever want to see in their program. I also factor in their injury history, how much time they have to train in each session and what equipment they have access to.
We always set up specific metrics to evaluate progress so we know if we’re moving in the right direction with the program. I want clients to know they’re winning so they’re fired up to keep going.
The benefits of training cannot be understated. They include structure, clarity, accountability, efficiency and measurable progress.
And the best part is you’re still free to exercise as well. Hit a clearly laid out strength workout designed to help you do your first pull-up, then head to the park and play some frisbee or go for a swim. It doesn’t have to be just training or just exercising. Often, people who train find that they can include exercise in their lives more regularly because they have the strength and endurance to do so—because they train, of course.
If you’ve been spinning your tires with fitness and find that you keep quitting different exercise routines, it might be time to hire a coach and get into some training.
You might discover that you’re not “stuck” or “broken” at all. You just need a specific training program to help you reach your personal goals. And when you start crossing goals off the list, you might discover that you love training.
If you’d like to talk about training to reach your goals, give me a call or send me a message!
