The difference between fitness and exercise

Sports is a general term for all behaviors that have physical activity attributes and can consume energy, covering scenarios ranging from daily commuting and walking to Olympic competitions; and fitness is a vertical branch of sports, specifically referring to clearly planned training behaviors with the goal of actively improving body shape and enhancing specific physiological functions. Simply put, fitness must be exercise, but exercise is not necessarily fitness.

Don’t laugh, I’ve actually seen someone count the two hundred steps he takes when he goes downstairs to get takeout into his “fitness KPI”. If you say he didn’t move, he did move, but if you say this is fitness, it’s really a bit reluctant.

The scope of exercise is actually wider than many people imagine: running three hundred meters to catch the bus after get off work is exercise, rolling on the lawn with the baby for half an hour on weekends is exercise, and the aunt downstairs dancing to "Little Apple" is exercise. Even if you stand up and stretch for two minutes after sitting for a long time, or you slap your thighs in excitement while playing mahjong, these are all behaviors with sports attributes. Its core attribute is "energy-consuming physical activities". There are no additional goal requirements. It is enough that you move, feel good, and achieve the purpose of leisure or transportation.

If sports are compared to all means of transportation with wheels, then fitness is like a racing car specially used for running competitions - bicycles for transportation, tricycles for delivering couriers, and SUVs for home use are all wheeled. However, only racing cars designed and tuned specifically for racing can be considered a track-specific category. The essence is that the goals are different, and there is no distinction between high and low.

When I first came into contact with training two years ago, I thought that as long as I sweat, I am working out. Until I chatted with my brother who has been practicing powerlifting for eight years in the gym, he gave me a clear explanation: "If you go to the court and play basketball for two hours and are as tired as a dog, that is called exercise; in order to improve your jumping ability, you practice squatting, core training, and touching heights three days a week with intervals between each set. You also have to control your diet and drink less iced Coke. That is called fitness." The core of fitness is to have a clear goal orientation, and the basic logic of "progressive overload" must be followed behind it - you have to consciously and gradually increase the intensity and capacity of training in order to move towards your goals of building muscle, losing fat, improving cardiopulmonary, and recovering from injuries. These requirements do not exist in ordinary sports. You can't force the auntie who dances square dance. She has to dance "Little Apple" twice more this week than last week, and she has to add a two-pound sandbag on her hand, right? It's not necessary, people are just here to join in the fun.

Interestingly, the fitness circle is now quite quarrelsome about the boundaries between the two.

One group is bloggers and practitioners who promote mass fitness. They support the "general fitness theory" and feel that there is no need to raise the threshold so high. Walking, climbing stairs, and aerobics can all be counted as fitness. The essence is to lower the threshold for everyone's participation. After all, when many people hear the word "fitness", their first reaction is to apply for a card, buy classes, and eat boiled vegetables. They immediately give up. Broadening the boundaries can encourage more people to get active. This is actually a very good starting point.

The other group are professional training coaches and senior enthusiasts who adhere to the "narrow fitness theory" and feel that "planned training" and "casual movement" must be separated, otherwise it will be too easy to take the blame - I have seen someone run five kilometers a day without warming up or stretching, and injured his knee after running for half a month. People say that "fitness hurts the knees", but his kind of activities without evaluation, no plan, and relying only on willpower are essentially unplanned exercises and cannot be regarded as scientific fitness at all. This statement does make sense.

After I injured my knee last year, I followed the doctor’s advice for rehabilitation. Going out for a half-hour walk every day counts as rehabilitation exercise, but only the 20 minutes spent focusing on the number of sets and reps while doing straight leg raises and side steps will be counted in my fitness time. Last week, I went camping with my friend and played Frisbee for two hours. I was so exhausted that I was sweating. My friend said, "You've done enough exercise today." I laughed and said it didn't count, it was just fun. I haven't touched the barbell yet for the back exercises I planned to do this week. For people like me who have clear training goals, Frisbee is a sport for relaxation. Only strength training that involves sets, weights, and intervals is fitness that needs to be taken seriously.

Of course, the boundary between the two is not black and white. I once had a colleague who just ran two laps after get off work to relieve stress. It was a typical leisure sport. After running for three months, he felt that he was in good condition and wanted to challenge a half marathon. He started to check information and make plans. He practiced interval running and core strength every week. Even the milk tea was changed from full sugar to three-thirds of sugar. Unknowingly, he transitioned from "casual exercise" to "targeted fitness."

Oh, by the way, if you have to argue and say, "I just walk the dog every day as exercise, it's not okay." Of course, no one will stop you. The definition is set by people, and your own comfort is the most important. To put it bluntly, you don’t need to worry about which category today’s activity belongs to. Moving is better than lying down. If you have more specific body or functional goals, then spend more time on planned training. If you just want to have fun and have fun, there is no shame in moving casually.