There’s an ever increasing amount of fitness terms being used at the gym, in program routines, or in fitness classes. It’s important to understand what you’re doing and why. Here’s a list of some common terms:
Gym Terminology
- EMOM (every minute on the minute) – perform a given number of reps at the top of every minute and then rest for whatever time remains until the next top-of-minute
- AMRAP (as many rounds/reps as possible) – completing as many rounds or reps as you can within a given amount of time
- HIIT (high intensity interval training) – short, intense exercise mixed with brief low intensity rest period
- Tabata – HIIT workout consisting of 8 rounds of 20 seconds of high intensity work followed by 10 seconds of rest
- Superset – completing 2 exercises back to back with no rest between
- Drop-Set – performing a set to failure, then removing a small percentage of the load and continuing with that set to failure
- Compound – exercise that involves more than one joint and muscle group
- Isolation – exercise that involves one joint and focuses on one muscle group
- DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) – soreness you feel after doing a new exercise or activity
- Posterior Chain – the combination of lower back, glutes, hamstrings, and calf muscles working together as a whole
- Progressive Overload – gradual increase of stress put on the body in exercise either by increasing weight/speed/volume or decreasing rest
- Bulk – the process of adding muscle mass to your body through progressive overload and eating in a surplus
- Cut – the process of stripping body fat from your body through progressive overload and eating in a deficit
- Aerobic – exercises that rely on your body to use oxygen for its energy supply aka cardio
- Anaerobic – exercise that requires your body to use high energy compounds found in muscle cells and glucose for its energy supply
- Hypertrophy – an increase of muscle size
- Eccentric (Negatives) – refers to the motion of an active muscle while it’s lengthening
- PR – personal record
- Mind-Muscle Connection – conscious and deliberate muscle contraction aka thinking about the muscles your using while you complete the exercise
Nutrition Terminology
- Organic – product of a farming system which avoids use of man-made fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators and feed additives or use of genetically modified organisms
- Glycemic Index – measure of how slowly a carb is digested and absorbed: lower GI will cause a slower rise in blood glucose and lower insulin level
- Superfood – any food that contains an extremely dense concentration of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, healthy enzymes, etc.
~Paulina Le
Health Fitness Specialist
