72 Weightlifting Terms You Need to Know

To the neophyte, energy coaching is simple: choose up a weight, put it down, get sturdy.

Spend a number of weeks or months on the web or chatting up your new fit-buddies, and also you come to understand there’s an entire lot of science, artwork, and jargon behind the obvious simplicity: compound workout routines; plyometrics; supination; RPE; 1RM; ATG.

That will help you determine what the health club bros and health nerds are yapping about, we’ve put collectively a cheat-sheet of weightlifting phrases that breaks all of it down for you.

So subsequent time somebody recommends that you simply “Attempt to PR on the ultimate pyramid set of your compound actions the ultimate mesocycle earlier than deload,” you’ll know what they’re speaking about.

FORM/MOVEMENT

Ass to grass

A motion carried out in squat variations whereby the knees and hips flex absolutely, and the glutes are shut as potential to the ground. Usually abbreviated as ATG.

Compound motion

An train that entails vital motion of two or extra main joints. Examples embody squats, lunges, deadlifts, pull-ups, and presses of every kind.

Concentric motion

A sort of muscle contraction through which a working muscle goes from a lengthened to a shortened place. In energy coaching, it’s the a part of the transfer at which the burden (or your body weight) strikes upward, as within the ‘pushing’ portion of an overhead press.

Eccentric motion

A sort of muscle contraction through which a working muscle goes from a shortened to a lengthened place. In energy coaching, it’s the a part of the transfer at which the burden (or your body weight) strikes downward, as within the ‘reducing’ portion of an overhead press.

Flexion

A motion through which a joint goes from an open to a closed or bent place, as in a biceps curl or sit-up.

Extension

A motion through which a joint goes from a closed to an open or lengthened place, as in a triceps extension or a deadlift.

Purposeful motion

A motion, train, or drill that resembles, or helps to enhance, actions usually encountered in on a regular basis life. For example, carrying groceries or hoisting baggage into an overhead bin.

Grip energy

The capability to know, maintain, pinch, carry, and grasp from objects of assorted shapes, sizes, and weights utilizing primarily the energy of your fingers and arms.

Grip energy is a part of many various health club actions, together with farmer’s carries, rows, deadlifts, pull-downs, pull-ups, and, to a lesser extent, presses, and is taken into account an indicator of normal well being and a dependable predictor of longevity.

Hip hinge

A motion through which each hip joints flex (bend) whereas the backbone stays braced and inflexible. A Romanian deadlift is an instance, as is the set-up place for the standing row.

Isolation actions

Workouts that contain vital motion of only one main joint. Examples embody lateral raises, triceps extensions, and biceps curls.

Isometric train

An train that locations stress on a number of muscle teams, however requires minimal motion at any main joint. Examples embody the wall sit and the plank.

Lengthening

The act of extending, stress-free, or releasing a muscle or muscle group. Within the ahead bend stretch, for instance, the hamstring muscle group on the backs of the thighs lengthens as you fold ahead.

Shortening

The act of tensing or contracting a muscle or muscle group. Within the curl train, for instance, the biceps muscle tissues of the higher arms shorten as you increase the burden.

Lifting to failure

Performing an train till you’re unable to finish one other repetition.

Technical failure refers to performing an train till you’re unable to finish one other full repetition with good type.

Absolute failure refers to performing the train till you possibly can now not transfer the burden in any respect, and often entails performing a number of partial repetitions — generally with the assistance of a coaching accomplice — till your muscle tissues are fully exhausted.

Supination

The act of turning your hand or foot upward or outward in order that the palm or sole is pointing up. In a dumbbell curl, supinating your hand as you increase the burden ends in higher stress in your biceps muscle tissues.

The time period additionally applies to the entire physique, when an train is carried out on one’s again (supine).

Pronation

The act of turning your hand or foot downward or inward in order that the palm or sole is pointing down. The time period additionally applies to the entire physique, when an train is carried out on one’s abdomen or dealing with down (inclined).

Time below stress (TUT)

The time taken to finish all phases of a strength-training train, generally expressed as a four-digit quantity, with every digit referring to the time taken to finish a particular portion of the motion.

So a pushup with a 4210 tempo can be a set of pushups through which you’re taking 4 seconds to decrease your self in direction of the ground; two seconds holding the “down” place; one second to push your self again up, and nil seconds — no time — within the “up” place. Every rep of the pushup would give your chest, shoulders, and triceps seven complete seconds below stress.

WORKOUT DESIGN

Energetic restoration

Gentle, simple motion carried out on non-exercise days — or between or after coaching periods on exercise days — supposed to stimulate circulation, relieve soreness, and improve restoration. Examples embody foam rolling, simple swimming, strolling, stretching, dynamic warmups, and yoga.

Bulking

A coaching block targeted on constructing muscle mass, often involving heavy, compound workout routines, further protein and energy, and a give attention to relaxation outdoors the health club.

Calisthenics

Repetitive workout routines involving body weight solely. Examples embody push-ups, squats, leaping jacks, and sit-ups.

Reducing

A coaching block targeted on dropping fats, often involving lowered energy, continued give attention to protein consumption and energy coaching, and an emphasis on extra low-intensity train outdoors the health club.

Deloading

A brief interval — often per week — of lowered quantity and depth in a strength-training program, often following per week or extra of high-intensity and high-volume coaching.

Density coaching

A coaching type targeted on finishing as many reps, units, and/or workout routines as potential in a given time frame. Instance: performing as many rounds as potential of 10 reps every of push-ups and squats in 10 minutes.

Drop set

A set of a energy coaching train carried out instantly after a number of medium to heavy units through which you drastically cut back the burden used with a purpose to additional exhaust a muscle.

Dynamic stretching/warmup

Gentle warmup strikes, carried out with body weight solely, to extend core temperature, loosen joints, enhance circulation, and cut back damage. Examples embody excessive kicks, leaping jacks, and strolling lunges.

Full-body coaching

A coaching block or program through which you’re employed all the foremost muscle tissues of the physique in every exercise.

Muscular endurance

The capability of a muscle to contract repeatedly below stress earlier than fatiguing.

One-rep max

The quantity of weight you’re able to lifting, for a single repetition at maximal depth, in a given strength-training train.

Overtraining

In energy coaching (versus endurance coaching), figuring out at a stage of quantity and/or depth from which you’re unable to get better from one exercise to the subsequent.

Signs embody elevated resting coronary heart charge, lowered coronary heart charge variability, lack of motivation, and hampered progress.

Periodization

An method to coaching which focuses on completely different objectives — energy, energy, endurance, restoration — in coaching blocks lasting 4 to 12 weeks, all through the coaching 12 months.

An instance is the Tremendous Blocks idea, through which you’re employed out in three-week blocks, every targeted on a specific side of health, separated by one-week deloads (see above).

Energy

The capability to precise energy rapidly. A 100-meter dash or a protracted soar are assessments of energy. In physics, energy is expressed as power x acceleration, so the stronger you’re and the quicker you progress the extra highly effective you’re.

Plyometrics

Jumps, throws, and calisthenics strikes designed to develop athletic explosiveness and energy, and improve energy.

PR (Private document)

A person’s efficiency in a raise or different train that represents their finest effort up to now. Examples in energy coaching might embody performing extra pull-ups in a row than you’ve ever completed with out dropping from the bar, or lifting extra weight for a single repetition than you ever have in a deadlift.

Progressive overload

Systematically growing the reps, weight, and/or quantity of a energy coaching program over time with a purpose to increase energy, muscle mass, endurance, and different elements of health.

Pyramiding

A energy coaching technique through which the burden will increase incrementally in an train over a number of units whereas repetitions inversely lower, usually culminating in a single all-out set of 5 or fewer reps.

Reps

A single cycle of a strength-training motion, together with — if relevant — reducing, lifting, and/or isometric holds.

Units

A rep or group of reps of an train carried out in succession to extend some side of health. Normally expressed together with the rep rely of the train, as in, “Three units of 10 reps,” or, merely, “3 x 10.”

Cut up coaching

Versus full-body coaching (see above) a cut up program focuses on completely different muscle teams or actions on completely different days of the week, or days inside a cycle of exercises.

Some examples embody “push-pull” through which the lifter performs actions that contain pushing workout routines on some days, and pulling workout routines on others; “upper-lower,” through which the lifter works higher physique some days and decrease on others, and “physique half splits,” through which the lifter works only one or two particular person muscle teams — say, arms or again or legs — every exercise.

Energy

The flexibility to exert power to beat resistance. In physics, energy is expressed as power x distance — so the extra power you possibly can exert, and farther you progress the resistance, the stronger you’re.

Tremendous setting

Alternating units of no less than two workout routines, again to again, often to avoid wasting time, or to extend the workload on a given muscle group.

Undulating periodization

A variation of the usual periodization (see above) mannequin through which you fluctuate the main target of the exercises throughout the identical coaching block with a purpose to cut back stress, and create a stimulus for broader adaptation.

So, as an alternative of specializing in endurance for 4 weeks, hypertrophy for 4 weeks, and energy for 4 weeks, you may carry out two endurance exercises, two hypertrophy exercises, and two energy exercises every week for a six- or eight-week interval.

Quantity

The whole quantity of labor carried out in a given exercise, week, or coaching block. Generally expressed as “weight lifted x units x reps,” however usually brief handed as “variety of working units.”

METABOLISM/ENERGY/NUTRITION

Amino acids

The constructing blocks of dietary protein, which type the uncooked supplies for muscle- and tissue-building throughout the physique.

Anaerobic vs. cardio

In biology, cardio reactions are people who require oxygen, and anaerobic ones don’t. So, many trainers and exercisers confer with endurance actions (working, swimming, biking, and so forth.) as cardio, and energy and energy actions (energy coaching, sprinting) as anaerobic.

In fact, few if any bodily actions are purely one or the opposite; most actions lie on a spectrum someplace between the 2 extremes.

ATP (Adenosine triphosphate)

The first gasoline that powers organic exercise within the physique. Vitality in meals (carbohydrate, fats) is transformed by metabolism into this vitality to carry out work.

Broscience

Scientifically unproven coaching and dietary recommendation, usually delivered by folks with few if any official credentials, in particular person or on social media.

EPOC (Extra post-exercise oxygen consumption)

The tendency for the physique to proceed burning vitality above your baseline metabolic charge after the conclusion of a exercise.

EPOC is considerably greater after high-intensity actions like sprints and circuit coaching than lower-intensity ones, however, opposite to some older analysis, not a serious contributor to caloric burn or fats loss.

Hypertrophy

Muscle development.

Lactate

An often-misunderstood and mischaracterized gasoline supply for muscle contraction, produced and burned throughout extended high-intensity energy or endurance coaching.

RPE (Price of perceived exertion)

A subjective scale, expressed as a quantity from six to twenty or one to 10, of how onerous an individual is working relative to their maximal capability.

ANATOMY

Biceps

The muscle tissues on the fronts of the higher arm, liable for flexing (bending) the elbow.

Glutes (gluteals)

The “butt muscle tissues” on the backs of the hip joints liable for extending the hips.

Lats (latissimus dorsi)

The thick muscle tissues on the perimeters of the torso liable for drawing the arms again and down, and serving to to increase the decrease again.

Pecs (pectorals)

The chest muscle tissues, liable for drawing your higher arms in direction of, and previous, your heart line.

Quads (quadriceps)

The muscle tissues on the fronts of your thighs, liable for extending your knee joint.

Traps (trapezius)

The kite-shaped muscle in your higher again, liable for drawing your shoulder blades upwards, backwards, and downwards.

Triceps

The muscle tissues on the backs of your higher arms, liable for extending (straightening) your elbows.

Abduction

The act of shifting an arm or leg away from the middle line of the physique.

Adduction

The act of shifting an arm or leg towards the middle line of the physique.

Anabolism

All metabolic actions that contain development, or the assembling of smaller organic elements into bigger ones. Muscle development, which entails the development of recent muscle tissue from amino acids, is one instance.

Atrophy

Muscle loss or breakdown.

Physique composition

A measurement or the proportion of physique fats in an individual relative to their total physique mass.

Muscle fiber sort

A approach of categorizing the lengthy, parallel, hair-like fibers that comprise muscle tissue. (See additionally quick twitch and gradual twitch).

Recomposition

Altering the relative proportion of physique fats and muscle tissue within the physique, with minimal change in complete physique mass.

Catabolism

Metabolic actions that contain breakdown, or the breaking of bigger organic elements into smaller ones. Fats loss, which entails the breaking of fats tissue into triglyceride gasoline, is one instance.

DOMS (Delayed onset muscle soreness)

Soreness in muscle tissues felt many hours — or generally days — following a tough train session.

Quick twitch

A sort of muscle fiber, also referred to as sort II, that’s giant and light-weight in colour, and liable for quick, high-effort, high-exertion actions like all-out sprints and heavy lifts.

These are distinguished from slow-twitch, or sort I, fibers, that are slimmer and darker, and liable for slower, decrease effort actions like jogging and lighter, quicker lifts.

Midline

An imaginary heart line that bisects the physique vertically.

Thoughts-muscle connection

The psychological consciousness of the motion of your muscle tissues as they lengthen and contract, proven to enhance the effectiveness of a strength-training program.

Muscle imbalance

A distinction within the relative energy of muscle tissues on two sides of the physique or two sides of a joint, believed to play a task in posture and susceptibility to damage.

Vary of movement

The path and diploma to which a joint or a sequence of joints transfer — or are able to shifting — in a specific train or stretch.

Sarcopenia

Lack of muscle mass stemming from illness, getting older, or disuse.