FITNESS AND TRAINING GLOSSARY

[Kate]

The more you know, the better you’ll feel – that’s true in and out of the gym. Below are all the most commonly used words and terms you’ll hear trainers say, and read in programs you purchase.

Rep

A repetition (“rep”) is a complete motion of a particular exercise.

Ex: one push-up = one rep. Three push-ups = three reps.

Set

The total number of reps to execute before you rest, and how many times to repeat.

Ex: Three sets of 10 push-ups means you’d execute 10-push ups, three times. In between each set you’ll rest for the prescribed amount of time.

Rest

The amount of time you rest between working sets. There is no set research to say what’s best as it’s unique to the individual, however, most rest sessions tend to last as little as 20 seconds to as long as 4 minutes – depending on the effort exerted.

A set and rest are written like this:

3×10 R45

Where the 3 is the SET, and the 10 are the REPS, and the Rest in between is for 45 seconds.

Weight (Resistance/Load)

The weight is the amount of resistance that you are lifting, such as a 10 lb dumbbell.

When you’re totaling your load, you’ll take the summation of EVERYTHING you’re lifting.

Ex:

*A 20lb dumbbell is 20 pounds

*A set of 20lb dumbbells is 40 pounds

*A load that consists of plates and barbell would total the weight of each individual plate PLUS the bar (it’ll say on the bar itself).

*For machines you’ll only count the plates and not take the machine itself into consideration.

Split

How many times you workout per week, and how you organize those workouts.

Ex:

* 3 workouts per week – full body 1, full body 2, full body 3

* 4 workouts per week – upper body 1, lower body 1, upper body 2, lower body 2

* 5 workouts per week – bicep/triceps, glutes/hamstrings/quads, chest/back, shoulders/calves/abs, full body

Tempo

The time it takes to perform each phase of the rep – there are four phases total.

* The time you hold at the top of the rep (starting position) (ex: 2 seconds)

*The time it takes you to complete the negative or eccentric phase (usually the time going DOWN) (ex: 2 seconds)

* The amount of time you spend at the bottom of the rep (ex: 4 seconds)

*The time it takes you to complete the concentric phase (usually the time going UP) (ex: 1 second)

If the above tempo were to be written it would look like this 2241

Hypertrophy

Hypertrophy is an increase and growth of muscle cells – aka the process of growing muscle!

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