What is the relationship between fitness and exercise?

The essence of the two is the relationship between inclusion and being included. Fitness is a more purposeful branch of exercise. However, in different contexts, the boundaries between the two may overlap or even be interchanged. There is no absolutely clear demarcation standard.

Just like if you meet up with friends to play basketball for two hours on the weekend and get sweaty, it's absolutely fine to say that you "went to exercise." If you say "went to the gym," no one will argue with you. But if you say to a bodybuilder who is preparing for a competition, "Your exercise is very interesting," the other person will most likely add, "I am preparing for a special fitness competition, and it is different from just doing it casually." The current definition of the two in the academic community is not completely unified. Some exercise physiology researchers believe that any physical activity that involves skeletal muscles and can increase basic energy consumption belongs to the category of exercise, even daily unconscious activities such as climbing stairs and mopping the floor. Fitness is a systematic activity with clear goals such as muscle gain, fat loss, and improvement of sports performance. It is a highly target-oriented subdivision in sports. However, in the field of mass fitness, many practitioners and enthusiasts will broaden the boundaries of fitness and believe that any behavior aimed at improving health is considered fitness, and even includes non-physical activities such as diet adjustment and mindfulness relaxation. At this time, the coverage of fitness is broader than the narrow sense of physical exercise.

I have been practicing for almost six years. When I talk to the enthusiasts around me, by default, "exercise" basically refers to leisure activities, such as hiking or playing Frisbee on weekends. I am as happy as I want throughout the whole process. I don't deliberately care about whether the standard of the movements is not standard or whether the consumption is enough.； But if you say "I have been working out recently", it definitely means that you are doing strength training and controlling your diet. Most likely, you are working towards the clear goal of reducing body fat by two points or gaining 5 kilograms in three major categories. The time and energy spent and the movement requirements are completely different. To use an inappropriate analogy, exercise is like any flavored drink. As long as it is not tasteless and cold, it can be counted whether it is carbonated drinks, milk tea, pure tea, or black coffee. The core is that it is different from the resting state of "completely motionless". ； Fitness is more like a category specifically labeled "health-oriented". It is either a low-sugar and low-calorie functional drink or a protein shake that focuses on nutritional supplements. The core goal is to improve the physical condition, and it is rare to try it casually without purpose.

A while ago, I took my cousin who had never been to a gym to try fixed equipment. After practicing for half an hour, she came out and sighed. It turns out that fitness is completely different from the 800-meter run she usually does in school for the physical test. She only needs to pass the 800-meter run. She will even take the initiative to stare at the equipment when she is practicing. Look in the mirror to see if the movements are correct, and you are afraid that if you practice wrongly and injure your knees, the effect will not be effective. You see, the core difference between the two in ordinary people's perception is actually whether there is a clear goal for improving physical condition. This is also the main reason why everyone subconsciously distinguishes the two concepts.