Are you training or just working out?

Anyone that has spent enough time around me knows that I am extremely analytical. It occurs naturally since both of my brothers are engineers.

This mind set is great for some things (We usually think things through before we act) and not so good for other things. (make a decision already will you) Being so analytical is what makes me different than most trainers I know. It is also the reason I train my clients instead of just exercising them. When my clients work on something there is a reason it is done the way it is.

I was recently reading an article that made a lot of sense to me. Rippetoe explains the difference between training and exercising.

When the public pictures a Personal Trainer they tend to picture someone who pushes them harder than they can push themselves. (This can be a good or bad thing) They might think of Boot Camps, Crossfit, etc. where the trainer is there to make sure you can do a few more reps. What do most people talk like when describing their workouts? (Time for my workout, exercise, run, walk, bike ride, etc)

They are talking about exercising.

I want more people to focus on training instead. What is the difference IMO?

Just like Rippetoe, I think most people workout without having the correct kind of goals. When exercising the goal might be to burn so many calories, walk or run so many miles, lift a certain amount of weight, etc. The results of an exercise session tend to be easy to measure. After the workout you feel great about what you accomplished that day.

When training the goals can be things like: increase hip mobility, work on the foundation of strength required to squat correctly, spend 20 minutes with your heart rate near threshold level, etc. The goal of training is to improve performance. The results of a training session tend to be more difficult to measure. It might take weeks, months or even years to see the results.

Quoting Rippetoe: ("Since Training is a process designed to produce an adaptation, this process necessarily entails more than a short period of time, because the adaptations necessary for high-level performance take time to accomplish."

"It must be said that not everybody is interested in Training. For many, Exercise is good enough. They just want to burn some calories, get a little conditioning work, and have better abs. This is fine, for those people. But the second you want more – when you decide that there will now be a goal to accomplish with all this gym time – you've graduated to Training.")

Rippetoe is not a big fan of unilateral exercises. (He is primarily a power lifting coach.) I realize that his ideas don't apply to everyone. I disagree with a lot of his ideas, but not his explanation of the difference between training and exercising.

Like I have told many clients in the past, the key to success is your mind set. The training mind set is going to have greater long-term results than the exercise mind set.

The next time you decide to workout, are you exercising that day or training for the long term?