With all of the information in the media with regard to working out, the line between fitness and performance enhancement has been blurred.  Check this out for some helpful info, you might be surprised at what you find out.

Despite the fact that statistics indicate that people are getting fatter, sedentary and unhealthier by the year, there is no shortage of fitness related info available through the various forms of media.  And with all of this information, there is a lot of confusion over how people should exercise, and get the most out of their exercise.

I’m going to try and straighten that out for you.

First of all, I’ll bet that most people don’t even realize that there is a big difference between training for fitness and training to increase performance.  And not only is there a big difference between these two training philosophies, this difference can be put under the heading of “Apples and Oranges.”

But for those of you with short attentions spans who want to cut right to the chase, performance-based training is the way to go.

Fitness training has nothing to do with training to improve performance.  If you are a distance runner – recreational or otherwise – and you are working out on leg extension and leg curl machines, military press, leg press and biceps and triceps machines you are not training for performance.  If anything, you are retarding your progress and training in a manner contradictory to your activity and your goals.

Fitness training is suitable for those folks that are just starting out and trying to embark on a healthy lifestyle.  Going for 30-minute walks, riding your bike, jogging and training on aerobic equipment are all forms of fitness training.  Working out on machines and performing a variety of single joint exercises as I mention above is fitness training.

Fitness training is beneath the capability levels of most people who train regularly and for those recreational athletes who take their activities seriously.

Performance-based training involves performing ground-based, multi-joint exercises like the squat, the lunge, the dead lift and explosive exercises like the hang clean, high pull and split jerk.  These are all exercises that push the body to work to its fullest and require that every muscle in the body work together to achieve the desired movement, and will raise your overall fitness level in the process.

Performance-based training is suitable for everyone once they have established a baseline level of conditioning.  Performance-based training is the most efficient and effective way to train for people of all ages and ability levels; everyone can benefit from the principles of performance-based training. 

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written by Erin, February 24, 2007

I totally agree. Performance-based training makes working out more interesting and rewarding. The benefits often appear in areas outside the sport you are training for.

I enjoyed your article.