Exercise vs Training

Most people who go to the gym are exercising.

Exercising is what the doctor says you should do in order reduce your risk of heart attack.

Move your body until your heart rate goes up, keep it there for a while, get a bit sweaty, feel better, go home. Repeat.

Very good.

Training involves planning for a specific outcome and programming accordingly.

For example, if you want to run a 5k, you don’t turn up at the gym and jump around until you’re tired then go home.

You prepare a schedule of how far you will run, by when and in what time, and each time you go to the gym you follow your schedule.

Exercise gives you an immediate feel good factor, because you leave feeling like you did something, but nothing really changes long term.

Training requires patience because – while you take away a feeling of immense satisfaction from each session – you must wait until you have completed the required process in order to achieve the desired result, but it gives you much more reward in the end.

Getting strong comes with many benefits; increased metabolism, fat loss, a desirable shape, more confidence.

But you don’t get strong by doing exercise.

You get strong by training.