#22 - Stop Working Out and Start Training

Working Out is a short term thing. It is an event. Working out is great for burning some calories, getting rid of stress, or getting out and being active. The problem is that this isn’t fulfilling or meaningful enough to motivate most people. Training is working toward a goal – Strength, Speed, Power, Competition, Sports.. Training for something means that every individual event is part of a bigger whole, working toward that end. Each practice or session is important as part of the bigger picture. Skipping sessions and practices is like taking bricks out of a wall of a house. Sure you can miss a few, but over time the missing pieces will add up to a bigger problem of instability. The other half of this conversation is the fact that success is build on consistency. It does not matter what you are trying to do, you need to be able to maintain a commitment over time. If you workout consistently for a long period of time you will accomplish something. The question is, what is that something? This is where goal setting comes into play. Being healthy can be a goal, but that may mean that some forms of exercise are unnecessary Being well balanced physically can be a goal, which means that you need to have a variety of methods Being Strong, muscular, lean, explosive, athletic, fast, or in great endurance shape are all goals, but they each have their own requirements for training to optimize the result. Take a few minutes to think about what you actually want. And just because you pick a goal does not mean your life’s mission is set. Training goals should last at least 4-6 weeks to start to see results from your efforts and they can last a lifetime if you find a passion. But if you’re struggling to stick to a routine, set a goal and then work backwards from that place to create a schedule and daily routine that works for you! Doing short terms challenges with a trainer or coach, or friend can be a great help too to build in accountability. Big point here is that exercise doesn’t have to be miserable because it should be based around building to an outcome that YOU want.  If you don’t set goals and end up doing one-off workouts with this underlying guilt about “needing to go to a gym” then you’ll inevitably end up frustrated and in the same place you started. So begin with the end in mind!