Training vs exercise

Exercise is physical activity done for the effect it produces today. This could be burning calories, heating up the body, feeling sweaty and out of breath, getting an arm pump, or even stretching. Exercise is physical activity done for its own sake and often simply for how it makes you feel today.

Training is physical activity done for purposes of serving a long-term performance goal and is more about the process in place of the individual workouts which make up the process. The basis of training is the stress/recover/adaptation cycle which is the basic biology of all organisms' relationship to what's around them. So if the training stress of a phase of workouts does not progressively increase either a weight being lifted, distance being covered or the time spent under the stress load, then adaptation can't occur, the activity can't cause a measurable physiological adaptation and the program is not training. Training results in the satisfaction of working towards and achieving a goal and any positive feelings in the body for a single workout are a side-effect. Obviously, training is a necessity for a competitive athlete, but if one competes with oneself for personal goals then training also is required. Some of the many benefits include looking, feeling and performing at your best in your physical endeavours and life in general.