Moving from Exercise to Training
I often have people say to me, “You must exercise a lot”. In as tactful a way as possible, I tell them I really don’t exercise anymore, but I do train a lot. They then quip, “Well, same thing, right?” But actually, it’s not the same thing at all. Exercise is defined in a thousand different ways by each individual’s point of view, with everything from how much you sweat, to how much you puke being the main determinant of intensity.
No, training is something very different. Apart from losing weight or looking better, there is often no ostensible objective for exercise outside of “getting your sweat on”. Training, on the other hand, typically has a specific goal in mind. While this is often a race, for you reading this book, it is likely a specific charity ride event, a big bike tour in Europe or any challenge that you know you’re are not quite ready for. It could also include the more ambiguous kinds of goals such as “I want to suffer less” on rides as well as in classes.
No ostensible objective for exercise outside of “getting your sweat on?” How about feeling strong and healthy, managing and overcoming pain, lowering stress, or simply being able to do the active (or even everyday) things in your life that you want to do? Seem like pretty good objectives to me.
Point very well taken. I stand corrected. Thanks for calling me out Jan. I’m always ragging on the racing community for taking themselves too seriously and looking down their noses at every other form of riding – I think I may have done the same thing on a different level. I’ll make sure to qualify my statements much more accurately in the future, and those are indeed laudible and tangible goals for every individual that turns a crank. It won’t necessarily prepare them to ride in Italy or do an MS150, but then again, that wouldn’t matter if it was not one of their goals. The world is made up of more than uping the ante for each accomplishment. Live well and prosper 🙂
Hey, no worries, Gene. The vast majority of my riders are exercisers and although I sneak in training principles and methods I know that most of them attend my classes to just improve and maintain their general fitness levels. And that’s just fine with me – people can have lots of different reasons for moving, sweating and breathing hard. But I do love and support what you bring to the fitness table.
yes, me too!!
Looking forward to the new e-book. thank you