There's a Difference: Working Out vs. Training

Working Out vs. Training

Are you just working out or are you training? May be you do not know the difference between the two. Working out is just getting some exercise in, whether it's cardio work or strength work. The usual goal of someone working out is usually just to create some fatigue. To make it feel like you did something. Or may be you're one of those searching for soreness. The funny thing is, it's not that hard to create fatigue or soreness. I could have you do box jumps for a half hour straight and I'm sure you would want to throw up at the end and could barely walk the next day. And fatigue and soreness are really not measurable, significant goals. Working out is going from one workout to the next without any real, significant goals in mind. Basically there is no direction. It gets you nowhere.

Training is comprised of workouts. You have a particular goal in mind. It could be to drop 10lbs or knock a few points off your bodyfat percentage. It could be the ability to do a chin or pull up. Whatever it is, each training session or workout is structured towards getting you to that goal. Each session builds off the previous and takes the next one into account. It's not just about creating fatigue or soreness. As I mentioned before anyone can do that without any real logical thinking. Training is logical. There is direction. There are specifics. There is an end result in mind.

One more thing to think about when debating the difference between training and working out. What do athletes do? They train. Unless your name is Brett Favre of course. In that case you just do what ever you want to do.