The Three Categories of Fitness

When we walk to the store, we often say that we are “getting our exercise.” When we go to the gym, we go there to exercise. When we are training for a marathon, we again are doing some sort of exercise. While all of these statements are true, to a certain extent, I think this line of thinking gets us in trouble. So I propose that we look at fitness in a different way.

To that end, let me introduce you to three (not so) new categories: Movement, Exercise, and Training. In that order.

I know, there is nothing all that new or revolutionary here yet but hang on. Let’s look at each one separately.

Movement

It is no secret that our lives have become increasingly sedentary and our health as a population has obviously suffered for it. Even the World Health Organization has been ringing that warning bell since at least 2002. Well, movement is the antidote to sedentarism.

Walking to the store, cycling to work, playing with the kids or pets, gardening, carrying your laundry up the stairs, lifting heavy household objects into high cupboards, getting up off the couch to change the channel on the TV—movement is the baseline for good health.

Good health is achieved first and foremost through movement that happens all day, every day.

The vast majority of us need more movement in our lives. Constant and consistent movement is truly the foundation for health and fitness. And this is non-negotiable. We have already seen first hand what happens when we try to negotiate our way out of this. How is that 7-minute workout working for you when you spend the rest of the day sitting on your butt? Not great, right?

The great thing about living an active life is that if at the end of your active day, you are happy with your fitness level, you have made it. Keep it up! It is possible to be fit, strong, and healthy from simply moving.

But many of us know there are holes in our daily movement patterns that need to be filled. That is where exercising comes in.

Exercise

First, let’s face it, humans have not exercised throughout our history on this planet. This is a new development. Much like a multivitamin is a nutritional supplement to an otherwise healthy diet, exercise is a physical supplement to a movement filled lifestyle. In the same vein, we know that supplements should not be the way we try to achieve a healthy diet, so exercise should not be the only way we try to stay fit.

If we have a desk job, and simply use our fingers, wrists and forearms to earn our living (like I am right now—ha!), then we know that we need to get some vitamin E (for exercise) into our day. That is where hitting the trail for a run, throwing...

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