Fitness establishments are popping up left and right these days. It’s a good sign that people are finally realizing the importance of being physically fit.

Everybody has a certain goal, be it to lose weight, add muscle, or improve in their sport. All of these goals can only be achieved by TRAINING for it and not mindlessly working out.

With today’s everyday traffic and hectic lifestyle you cannot afford to waste time and just go to the gym and move without a purpose. Every single exercise that you do should mean something. This is the only time that you can say that you are TRAINING for your goal and not just working out.

Here are three things that you can check with yourself if you are training or working out.

1. Having short and long term goals – It sounds cliché, but not having goals will derail you from any significant progress. How can you achieve single digit body fat percentage if you go to the gym with having the intention to just be “payat?” You have to be specific. Ask a fitness professional to gauge you and provide you with a realistic timeline. If you are training with a specific goal in mind, you are TRAINING.
2. Plan of attack – Not having a plan is a recipe for failing. You cannot just go to the gym and do 100 chest exercises and expect to bench 200lbs. You have to have a plan of attack. A program. Look, you won’t pass your accounting mid-term exam by just reading accounting statements, right? You need to study how to compute and how formulas work. Have a plan of attack, then you can say that you are TRAINING.
3. Having the right gym – Look around your gym. Are people working out or just looking at the latest update on Instagram? Sadly, there are gyms that focus more on socializing than helping you out to reach your goals. You worked hard for your money and you should get what you need whether you like the workouts or not. Sweating buckets should not be a measure of a successful training session. TRAINING towards a certain goal should be. Find a gym that promotes TRAINING and not working out.