Stonewall Fitness: I Don't Just 'Work Out'

By David Smith 

When talking to someone, how they describe themselves can really tell you a lot about who they are - their goals and motivations, both good and bad. 

People will often describe their visit to the gym as "going to workout, do cardio or lift weights." The popular thing now days seems to be splitting your body into days, “leg day, chest and back day, arms and shoulder day” and the such. 

In my experience, such a perspective makes it easy to consider your “workout” as a chore, another errand or something that sounds absolutely tedious and boring. The program is essentially a to-do list and a tour of the machines at the gym. Not only is this lame and boring but it also makes it easier to pass it off to the side and skip when something more interesting comes along. If your “workout” isn’t important to you, then what’s the point?

I can train on my own up to 4-5 hours a day. This sounds a bit excessive to most people and I constantly have people who ask me how I can get through that without going crazy or getting bored. It’s all about perspective; what some people may see as two hours of cardio, I see as a bike ride to Lookout Mountain and back. 30 minute break? To me it’s a 30-minute power swim, trying to get as much as I can in such a short period of time. It’s 4-5 hours of training but not necessarily at once, at the end of the day I don’t even realize I put so much time in, thinking instead how productive it was.

So why do I “train” as opposed to “work out?" When I am training for something, I am working toward my goal, pushing my limits and challenging myself to be stronger both physically and mentally. Training gives me focus and direction on what is important to me. I am more motivated to make it to the gym, get on the bike run in the rain or get in the pool on a cold day. Even on the days when everybody else stays in, I still get myself up and out the door because unlike those who are “working out” I am still in training and every day is a new opportunity to be better than I was yesterday.

Training not only gives you more focus and direction in your fitness but also more substance, people who “train” tend to have more substantial goals. 

Fitness isn’t and shouldn’t be about losing weight, looking good, being skinny or any of those aesthetic goals. Fitness is about being able to do more, growing and working toward the things you’ve always wanted to accomplish., being better able to perform in your own individual strengths. Most importantly it’s for you, not anybody else. If I tell someone they can climb a mountain, they might look at me and laugh. That person will fail at fitness. The mountain is irrelevant. Because they think such a challenge is above them, they will never realize that they can in fact climb that mountain. (For the record I have already climbed 12 14ers in three years). 

In addition when interacting with people I think saying, “I worked out ” or “I went to the gym,” sounds boring and uninteresting. It’s a bit difficult to expand a conversation off that. It shows that you don’t seem to place much value on the experience, that it's something you’ll quickly forget about. If you aren’t doing something worth talking about, what’s the point?

I always talk about my adventures in exercise and training - to some extent maybe even bragging - but to me it’s important. It’s an aspect of my life I choose to share and hope to inspire people with. 

The hours I spend training, whether it’s one hour or four hours each contribute to helping me succeed in my goals and give me a reason to get up and go every day. It makes me happy and excited, it’s what gives me purpose and most importantly it’s what I love. I am not trying to prove anything to anybody. Sure, I share the experiences but if someone chooses not to listen, it does not affect me in any way. The only people who do listen are the ones who truly care and want to see me succeed. 

Many of the people in my life are starting to discover this for themselves; they might not train at the same level as me but what they’re doing is important to them. They are challenging themselves and getting excited over the prospect of accomplishing their goals, anything from finishing a 10k to competing at the Gay Games, being able to compete as a body builder to training for the AIDS Lifecycle, or even just being able to continue to function and live independently as you age. I am always inspired to see people undertake such a profound and exciting step forward on their journey. When you begin to see progress, it gives you a new sense of motivation and you realize you truly can do more, as you inch closer to your goals and gain a whole new perspective on the world around you. Whatever your goals are they need to be personal for you.

You can truly accomplish anything but you will not succeed until you truly believe in yourself.
David Smith is the owner of Stonewall Fitness, holds a degree in exercise science from Metropolitan State University of Denver and holds several fitness certifications including ACSM Personal Trainer and Group Fitness.

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