Training vs. Working Out; Two Valuable Mindsets
When I was a senior in high school my strength coach didn’t allow us to say we were working out.
We were training.
It was serious. He told us that athletes train, and working out is what most people do when they go to the gym.
His favorite example was riding the elliptical while watching the news. He would say, They’re just going through the motions!
We were training because we had a specific intent. We wanted to improve in our sports. We wanted to get stronger and build muscle. We wanted to become better athletes.
These days I frequently use ‘work out’ to describe a training session, although the delineation between the two has stuck with me, and it might be helpful for you to think the same. Instead of thinking about it in the short term like a single session, I expand out and think of phases of the year as training or working out phases.
When in a training phase, I have a strict program to follow, complete adherence to the plan and will make daily decisions around that plan. i.e., I need to wake up and train tomorrow morning because I won’t have time otherwise, or my macros are more dialed in to match my training intensity.
In a workout phase, I don’t follow a strict program. Instead I do what feels right. I’m more open to variety and more willing to skip a session here and there. I spend half the year in this mode, sometimes more. I had to learn to not chase progress, but after spending enough time in the gym it becomes impossible to always keep your foot on the gas.
The good news for you is that if you come to the gym, you’re always training. Even on easy days, by having a coach design your workouts, we can always sneak a little something in to help you improve your movement skill or mobility or strength. However, this is a still helpful thought experiment for you to play with.
Are you in a training or working out phase of life right now? If you have a race on the calendar, a meet to prepare for, never miss a workout or are really pushing the weights for a big strength number, you’re training.
If you don’t have a big event or goal and just want to move your body, maintain or slowly improve your strength, conditioning and flexibility, you’re working out. Maybe work is busy or it’s a time of year when you travel a lot. You just need to check the box and move on.
Both are valuable mindsets and understanding how to utilize both will keep your exercise habit on a steady course.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain