Fitness or Wellness: discover the differences
No matter the level of dedication you invest in your workout routine or dietary choices—whether you’re preparing to conquer Kilimanjaro, tackle a marathon, or simply shed a few extra pounds—the ultimate goal is to achieve overall wellness. We all aspire to lead a long and healthy life, free from both physical and emotional discomfort. And, of course, there’s nothing wrong with desiring a six-pack to complement the journey, right?
The thing is, since the 80’s – when the “workout scene” left the backyard GYMs of the good-old days to become mainstream -, living a healthy life and looking shred became a single, undistinguishable thing in PEOPLE’s minds and expectations and in the services of commercial gyms and trainers.
Alongside that, the “fitness” universe became quite popular, although its original concept was not fully understood. Probably because, for an unwary observer, it seems to balance “looking good” with “feeling good”, healthy wise.
Lucky for us, there’s a huge change HAPPENING in the “workout” landscape, bringing commercial GYMs and health professionals to a much more interesting place. “Fitness” is becoming closer and closer to its original meaning, while also making room for the whole new concept of “Wellness”.
And there’s two reasons for that. First, our knowledge of the intricacies of the human body is advancing fast, and so is the technology and technique applied in training centers. Secondly, customers WORLDWIDE are changing their interest and expectations when they come looking to train.
A society’s vision of beauty is always changing. And fortunately ours seems to be – slowly but surely – moving towards a more diverse and interesting one. So, it’s only fitting that gyms become more and more inclusive, prepared to offer more interesting and diverse kinds of training.
But we digress! Let’s head to training and discover, after all, what’s the difference between “fitness” and “wellness”.
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The fitness lifestyle
While both fitness and wellness refers to kinds of lifestyles, with more balanced routines and diets, there are important differences between them.
Contrary to the more widespread notion, fitness has no direct relation with healthy – usually diet or zero calories – food. It’s actually more literal than that. Fitness is about being (or getting) fit, or being ABLE to perform certain moves and exercises.
Is it fitness to fit those jeans? Well… sure. But it’s usually focused on essential BODY features, such as stamina and strength, physical conditioning and flexibility and so on… That’s why many professionals today prefer to say “physical fitness” when talking about Fitness’ original concept.
If you’re aiming towards a specific physical goal – like gaining muscle mass, or improving your performance in another sport… or just want to move some furniture around the house with more efficiency, you should try training practices more aligned with the concept of Fitness, like:
- crossfit or functional training;
- weight lifting;
- running.
Discover natural supplements to improve your diet.
Wellness: the new fitness
On the other hand, wellness is not directly linked to a specific physical aptitude. Broadness is the basis of this concept. Wellness refers to a personal quest for wellbeing and general fulfillment, combining “healthy body” with “healthy mind”.
Of course, having a routine of exercises and a balanced diet is part of wellness, but with less focus on the aesthetical part of the body and more on the “keep it running like a clock” part. And being so, wellness also includes parts of our daily lives that Fitness doesn’t, like our JOBS and sociability and romantic life…
But, again: there’s nothing wrong with looking good while feeling good. Fitness and wellness are not adversarial concepts, they rather complement each other: wellness as the path and fitness as one of the vehicles available for you to get there.
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