Training Vs. Exercise - What's the difference
The words exercise and training are used so interchangeably now that you can be forgiven for thinking that they are the same thing. When in fact they're not. Although they are both great, depending on your goals and what you want to achieve, whether you exercise or train that is going to determine whether you reach those goals.
Exercising, such as going for a walk or run on the beach or playing a game of basketball, is something that you do for fun, where-as it's consistent training, and adhering to a specific plan that is going to get you the results that you desire.
What is training?
What is exercise?
What is the difference between training and exercise?
Why training is better than exercise
Consistency is key
What is training?
Training, is when you perform exercise with a specific goal or purpose in mind e.g. training for a marathon or triathlon. For example for either of these you would generally have a specific training plan in place that you would have to complete each day/ week that would ensure that you are improving your fitness and strength. This would then ensure that you are able to complete the event on the day.
What is exercise?
Exercise, like training, is when you perform physical activity that gets your heart rate above normal and you break a sweat. Exercise can be going for a walk or swimming, going for a run, something really enjoyable that you love, but with exercise unlike training, you don't have goal that you've set or are are working towards. It's just something fun that you feel like doing at that point in time.
What is the difference between exercise and training?
The difference between training and exercise is that with training you have a specific goal in mind. Each of your sessions are targeted towards reaching your goal and helping improve your fitness and strength.
Going for a run for training you are going to track you pace, how far you ran, how fast you ran it and try and improve upon this each time. Where as with exercise, yes going for a walk or run is no doubt going to improve your fitness, but just running for the fun of it you generally wouldn't track, how far you went, your pace and try and improve on your time and distance
Why Training is better than exercising
As discussed above, when you train you have a specific goal in mind and a dedicated training plan to follow to achieve that goal. When you go to the gym, having a plan of what you are going to do will not only make your session more efficient but you will reach your goals much quicker. No matter what your goal, you can adapt your training plan to help achieve it.
Consistency is key
As i've said many times, motivation is what gets you started, but it is discipline and being in a routine that is going to keep you at the gym or going running day after day. When you have a clear focus what you want to achieve and how you are going to feel when you achieve it is going to have with that extra push when you motivation is low.
