Workout vs Training

‘I already know exactly how this is going to play out.  He’ll do 10-20 minutes walking on the treadmill, then he’ll do three sets on the Lat Pull-Down machine using a load well above what he can control,  move four feet to this left and do three sets on the machine seated row…also using a load he cannot control, then hop over to the seated machine fly (making sure to slam the weight stack) and then the machine chest press (also slamming the weight stack.)  He’ll finish off with seated dumbbell “curls” ( closer to cleans actually) to press.”            

These were my thoughts as I watched a persons weekly work out. I’ve also noticed odd looks he shoots my direction when I bring in my own barbell or when I attach bands and chains to things.  I suppose he has his own thoughts on what I’m doing as well, and frankly I don’t blame him

“It’s HIS WORKOUT,,Why do you care?” is the question I can hear people asking themselves, and its a good question. My answer is short: I don’t, but it did provide this weeks material.

“The purpose of training is to train with purpose” 

Some people confuse the terms “workout” and “training” and this includes personal trainers. There are some key differences between them, and page 123 of the CPT book didn’t spell it out.

FACT: Some personal trainers live off of putting people through workouts.  They might have an idea of how to train, but not how to train other people.

A “workout” is singular. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, but when taking a longterm view they can fall short when it comes to improving performance measures.

Training links individual sessions to form a bigger picture.  The collection of sessions over time is what gets you to your goal.  Workouts have no such goal, or if they do it is often generic.

The goal of every powerlifter at Westside Barbell is to get their name on the record board. Members of the gym have broken over 140 world-records and didn’t reach those heights purely from “working out.”

Training could be considered practice.

In fairness, I will say that workouts can be considered  a necessity at times for at least two reasons: (1) They can serve as a test, and (2) Too much time spent training at high intensities and volumes can negatively affect a person.

Two recent personal examples of workouts being used for positive effects…

12.31.18 “Record Breakers” I wouldn’t normally have three maximum effort lifts in a training session. This was set up to test my training, and I tend to do well with targets.

1.Flat Bench Press up to a maximum double for a 2018 record. Simply get the record and shut it down.  If nothing else gets done, THIS is the most important thing as it directly relates to my competition numbers.

2. Loaded Pull-Ups for a targeted rep count (new rep record), then complete remaining reps for the tarted volume.

3. Assisted One Arm Push Ups for a targeted rep count (new rep record) starting with the non-dominant arm. My stronger side will not exceed whatever my less strong side can complete.

1.17.19 “Rough Day”  I woke up feeling out of sorts and the universe told me that it wasn’t the day to Squat or Deadlift…and quite frankly putting anything heavy overhead or over-chest didn’t feel like a great idea either.  Rather than simply skipping training, I decided on working out with a purpose.

1. Dumbbell Chest Press  15-12-10-8-6-4-2

2. Plate Raises to face 15-12-10-8-6-4-2

3. Dips at 75% Bodyweight 15-12-10-8-6-4-2

4. Barbell Drag Curls 15-12-10-8-6-4-2

5. Extension Bench 3×5 with Isometric Hold  superset with 5 Ab-Wheels from the knees and greatest extension I could control.

This was an example of a small workout, but when considering its general exercise composition you can spot exercises that assist in the Bench Press, Squat and Deadlift.  The higher initial rep counts meant I had little choice but use lighter loading schemes and the rest period dropped according the the # of reps completed, making the weight more challenging.

 

The difference between these workouts and random workouts?  The vision and purposes behind them.  If I were to continually repeat “Record Breakers”  I would quickly stall completely neglect other fundamental movements and potentially injure myself.  If I were to continually repeat “Rough Day” I would improve only to an eventual point and still face overuse injuries….plus I’d get bored out of my skull.