TAKE YOUR FITNESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL! STOP EXERCISING AND START TRAINING!
There are 100s of ways to exercise, and there are 1000s of exercises! A current search on google for the term ‘exercise’ yielded 1Billion, 970Million results in 0.87seconds (November 3rd, 2019). As I typed the term, google suggested a slew of key words such as:
- Exercise for Butts
- Exercise for abs
- Exercise for lo back pain
- Exercise to lose body fat
These are terms that people are searching for on the internet. Page one of google for this term also displays the ‘People also ask’ dialogue box which has its own myriad of questions and answers, the 1st of which is:
- What are the 10 best Exercises?
Well, there is no such animal! 10 best exercises for accomplishing WHAT? No wonder people are confused, not only is there no answer to this question, the question itself is irrelevant!
It seems also that at this time, the top exercise class crazes are the following:
- Boot camps
- Zumba
- Barre
- Bikram yoga
- Cross fit
While these classes have huge followings, and are likely a supportive environment for anyone contemplating the first steps getting off the couch, they can as well be intimidating to the neophyte and create an unhealthy competitive environment among some devotees.
I’ve seen such behavior in certain classes I have taken, most notably in Spinning and Crossfit. I could certainly see this occurring in other classes as well. But to be fair, these classes provide a fantastic avenue to entering the ‘Fitness Continuum’.
These classes are great to introduce vast numbers of people to the world of fitness, and they are obviously a success at doing so. Each one has their own ardent followers who swear by their activity/class of choice. They all have a specific purpose in the greater fitness realm.
I have found though, that many, if not the majority of adherents, become activity-centric over time in their devotion of the classes they pursue. In other words, the fitness derived benefits these classes are supposed to impart to the participant take second place to the social environment found in the class setting.
For many reasons other than the fitness benefits, people will swear by their class of choice. They might like the teacher, they might like the energy of the class participants, they might like the convenience; or any number of reasons. All the above are valid parameters to participate and find the specific exercise class that suits you best!
I might point out at this time that I have been a private trainer all my adult life, both at clubs as well as in the private sector. If you are not one of my subscribers, you can read about my private training years here if you care to, which will put this Musing in perspective and provide more relevance.
TRAINING
As I said above, taking classes is great and very beneficial to many, and that is fine. For most, that is all that they require and are quite satisfied with that. Inevitably, some want to move beyond the repetitious environment of the class, as well as the fitness cap imposed by the constraints of a 50minute bout of exercise.
And we all know that with repetitive activities, the body becomes accustomed to the same demands and patterns, and desired results diminish, or even stall.
The most notable example of this is the response to dieting. Restricting calories over extended periods of time leads the body to adjust to a lower metabolism, thereby negating some of the results of caloric restriction, think reaching a plateau. Indeed, for the body to be stressed to adjust to the next level of fitness, training is the next step.
The exercise class, while high energy, is static by its inherent design. It is constrained by time frame, and once the exercise is mastered, the class merely becomes a 50 minute repetition of the last.
Training however, is dynamic in nature, and an activity that is continually evolving to the next level of fitness. It is not constrained by time nor schedule. A training session is not ‘everyone else’s workout’, it is particular to your needs, and conducted at your convenience.
Unlike the class exercise that is designed to practice and master that activity, training has the never ending purpose of making you a more fit version of yourself than your were yesterday.
An example might be that if you run a mile in 10 minutes today, following a training regimen over a certain amount of time could lead to running that mile in 8 minutes. Then, of course, comes the 7 minute mile and so on.
This can be applied to many of the class activities above. It certainly applies to CrossFit, Spinning, and Boxing.
The next question of course is, why would I, or anyone, want to train in these activities? Why can’t It just be ok taking classes?
It is absolutely ok to just take classes!
In fact, while I was training for Triathlons all through the 1980s, 90s, and early 2000s, I would infuse classes into my training here and there.
Most applicable to me were of course, Spinning classes. I also took aerobic classes, stretching classes, and in the end, I taught classes as well.
So why would there even be a reason to contemplate an individual training program, as opposed to simply attending classes?
Because training for an activity or sport usually implies that it is a long term engagement grounded in pursuing a passion.
Comes to mind, of course, are sports that are pursued early in life, and that may In many instances be life long pursuits. These pursuits foster a mind and body development that grows with the individual, around and through the developmental stages of the human body and mind.
This invariably implies that as the human body develops to maturity, and subsequently progresses through life’s decades, continual adjustment to training will occur to allow for advancing age.
CONCLUSION
The main difference between the benefits derived from classes, and that derived from organized training, is a matter of exploring the limits of your particular individual human performance.
Besides thirsting to be at the starting line of Ironman Hawaii in 1981, I had a true desire to unravel and discover the limits of my individual human ability.
As I said, I would partake in spinning classes at times, but spinning classes, no matter how brutal, will not get me or anyone else ready for a 112 mile bike race.
So, the bottom line really is rooted in the interests of the individual contemplating the class exercise setting, or the training regimen designed to push the limits of human endurance.
The physiologic benefits of training however, engenders an avalanche of positive adaptations to the human organism.
This is not to say that the class setting does not also illicit these responses, it just does so on a reduced scale and at a finite level of fitness.
Again, using the cycling example, the fitness response to a 50minute spinning class is dwarfed by the physiologic adaptations derived and required to train and race 112 miles, or even just completing the distance. There just is no comparison between the two.
Of course however, not everyone desires to participate in an Ironman Triathlon.
For that matter, it is likely a majority of people have zero desire to even run a 5K, or even participate in a racing event of any kind.
The proverbial mountain climber is asked: Why do you want to climb that mountain? Many answer: because it’s there!
So what would validate the draw to training?
Simply because of the desire to explore what version of you you can become!
Oh, and because going to Hawaii, New Zealand, France, and Canada to compete is kinda cool!
You really don’t need anymore reason than that; but, in fact, there are dozens upon dozens of health-promoting, life-saving, longevity-driven reasons to train at some athletic endeavor or sport, preferably as a life long pursuit.
Follows are 10 reasons you should train at something athletic:
Training is a natural way to manage stress
Training demands discipline to progress to the next level
Training builds muscle strength and muscle mass system wide
Training fosters a sense of accomplishment and motivation as goals are reached
Training establishes quickness, speed, and agility applicable beyond the athletic arena
Training increases flexibility, agility, and proprioceptive awareness
Training improves the ability to recover from stressors
Training improves cardiovascular health
Training lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and degenerative diseases
Training improves joint flexibility and range of motion (ROM).
This is by no way an exhaustive list, there a 100s of health benefits to training for your passion as relates to a lifelong pursuit.
In closing, unlike the gym setting that dictates a dependence on the gym being always available and never going out of business, or you moving away, training is universal and can be practiced anywhere, anytime, anyhow.
If, for instance, running is your thing, it’s just about a pair of shoes and the street beyond your front door.