When you hear the phrase, "working out" or "work out", what immediately comes to mind? First thing. What is it? Be honest. I'll bet that for a lot of you, working out is not a positive thing. Maybe it's something you feel you should do, you have to do but you don't look forward to it. If you go to a gym, it's an impersonal, self-serve sort of experience. Yep. There are exceptions. Spin classes, Body Pump classes, Pilates, Yoga can be a much more enjoyable "work out" although I would argue that those experiences are incomplete when it comes to preparing for something like skiing.
I don't think of working out that way. I think of it as practice.
My definition of "workout" or "working out" is: a form of exercise without a specific focus or goal. "I'm going to the gym to workout."
Why is it that when you lift your arm or move your trunk or do some stretch in a gym, it's part of a work out but if you do virtually the same thing in yoga, it's practice?
Because yoga is purpose driven.
Why is it that when you go to the driving range you practice your golf swing; not work out your golf swing?
Because on the driving range, your practice has purpose.
Why is that if you perform dips on rings in a gymnastics class, it's practice but dips on a dip bar in a gym is a workout?
Because dips on rings in practice has a purpose.
The difference is purpose; to perform at your best; to create something you and or others will enjoy.
You practice to create something special; great; even beautiful.
Thinking of your work outs as practice creates a subtle but important shift in your mind. You practice on purpose for a purpose. This is why, too often, that "working out" or "exercising" becomes tedious, boring, routine, and why many people quit. Practice is a state of mind that is focused and present to help you achieve some greater purpose. Practice will improve you and inspire you; working out will bore you.
It's not just a label though. You can't just say to your self on the way to the gym, "Ok, today I'm practicing!" and find that it makes one bit of difference. What you need is purpose. You practice on purpose for a purpose. Your purpose is both your anchor and the wind beneath your wings. It doesn't have to be a sport although it can be. Your purpose just needs to be something meaningful to you (One of the best ways to get clear on your purpose is to fill out one of these: a goal map from Brian Mayne. It's much more difficult than it seems but very clarifying.).
Practice includes drills or exercises. You're training your self to do certain things a certain way to become more proficient. So, you'll find me using the words "exercise", "drill", and "training" but as a subset of the broader theme of practice. And, speaking of drills, sometimes the drills are very difficult to do but this is how I transform my self (and how you can do the same thing) to achieve something special; something that I really want. Soon, what was difficult becomes relatively easy. I have become more proficient.
When I started playing guitar two years ago, I could barely play the thing for 5 or 10 minutes before my hand ached and my fingers cramped up so badly I had to stop. I was the Tin Man on guitar. All I could play were major scales and very slowly and with a sound that was closer to a cow wailing than something like Stevie Ray Vaughn. It was hard and I found my self feeling discouraged with words in my head like, "How will I ever play in a band? This is going to take a century!" But, my teacher, Jim Collard, pointed something out to me. He said, "Play each note with all of your self. Really hear it and feel it. It doesn't matter how fast you play or how many scales you know. It's being in the moment with the music and just really enjoying it. And when your hand aches and cramps, you know you've really done something!" He's right. I enjoy the process of practice and look forward to someday playing in a band. I'm a better guitar player now than I was a year ago and I'll be better still in a month, six months, or a year from now. I practice to play something special that moves me and those who hear it.
I don't work out any more.
Do you?
My core health philosophy is simple: life is movement. When you can't move freely or in a way you need or want to, suddenly your life seems a lot smaller. So, I promote movement through the fundamentals first: know your abilities and weaknesses, work on the weakness, build your stability, balance and endurance, then your strength, then power, then stamina.
If you've tried just about everything under the sun to get healthy & fit or are fed up with programs that leave you feeling worn out, frustrated with lousy results or worse, injured, then I'm your guy - Fusion can help you.
Why? I make complex, sometimes even contradictory, health & fitness concepts dead simple to understand and use.
Doug Kelsey PT, PhD
Fusion Performance Training
http://fusionperformancetraining.com/
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