Get stronger, lose weight, look better, feel better- whatever it is- the goal you have requires training.
Training is different than exercising- and exercising is different than activity.
Activity is stuff like going for walks, easy bike rides, walking the dog- that nature.
It’s not really going to stimulate change. You wont really get sore from it (not that that’s the mark of a good workout either…).
Exercising on the other hand would be a step up from activity.
Going for a run. Doing the stairs. Recreational sports. Walking the golf course even.
These will elevate the heart rate. They’ll probably stimulate some muscle building. Done with consistency, you should so some improvements in overall capacity.
Now training- training is exercising with intention.
It’s attemping to hold a certain pace or hit specific splits while out on that run. It’s timing how long each set of stairs takes, taking two minutes to recover once you hit the bottom and attempting to repeat in the same time. It’s executing specific lifts to target specific areas of the body (squattting and deadlifting are going to give great neurological responses). It’s setting micro goals throughout a workout to keep yourself working at the best you’ve got on that given day.
Training will bring on fatigue (what, you mean I can’t be at 100% all the time!?), and likely some soreness from time to time- and especially during the first couple of weeks.
There’s a phase in between exercising and training though.
I like to call it “training to train”.
It’s starting to pay attention to the little things I noted above, but maybe not all the time. It’s getting yourself into a routine of consistency.
It’s the JUST.SHOW.UP. I always talk about with new folks in their first few months.
It maybe means training 2 days of the week, and exercising 2 or maybe 3.
Not taking a full day off- but showing up and seeing what you’ve got. Keeping your body in the rhythm of moving.
Not getting used to rest. Not getting used to lazy or excuses.
I suspect a lot of people reading wrestle with that stage- either on or off.
Try just showing up and getting started and making the decision of how much you’ve got in the tank once you’ve spent 5 minutes warming up.
It’s gotten me through a lot of what-would-have-been rest days- and I’m better off for it.