Gym and training glossary

Gym talk is full of abbreviations and slang. Each term below gets a short, plain-English definition, with a link to the full guide where we have one.

75 terms

#

1RM (one-rep max)

The heaviest weight you can lift for a single rep with good form.

A

Accessory exercise

A smaller exercise that supports the main lifts, such as curls, leg curls or face pulls.

Active recovery

Light activity such as walking or easy cycling on a rest day.

Adductors

Inner thigh muscles that pull the legs together and help extend the hip.

AMRAP

As many reps as possible, usually with good form, on a given set.

Anterior chain

Muscles on the front of the body, such as the quads, abs and chest.

B

Barbell

A long bar, usually 20 kg (about 45 lb) for a standard men's Olympic bar, loaded with plates.

BMR

Basal metabolic rate, the energy your body uses at complete rest. See TDEE and calories.

Bracing

Breathing into the belly and tightening the trunk to keep the spine stable under load. See the plank.

Bulk

A phase of eating above maintenance to support muscle gain. See cutting and bulking.

C

Calorie

A unit of food energy; food labels show kilocalories, commonly just called calories.

Clean

An Olympic weightlifting movement that brings the bar from the floor to the front of the shoulders.

Compound exercise

An exercise that moves more than one joint and trains several muscles, such as squats and rows.

Concentric

The lifting part of a rep, where the muscle shortens.

Creatine

A compound that helps supply energy for short, intense efforts; one of the best-studied supplements. See supplements.

Cut

A phase of eating below maintenance to lose body fat.

D

Deadlift

Lifting a loaded bar from the floor to standing. See the deadlift.

Deload

A planned week of easier training to reduce fatigue. See deloads.

DOMS

Delayed onset muscle soreness, the ache that peaks a day or two after hard or new training.

Double progression

Adding reps until you hit the top of a range, then adding weight and starting at the bottom again.

Drop set

Continuing a set with a lighter weight immediately after reaching failure.

Dumbbell

A short bar with weights on each end, held in one hand.

E

Eccentric

The lowering part of a rep, where the muscle lengthens under load.

F

Failure

The point in a set where you cannot complete another rep with good form.

Form

The technique used to perform an exercise.

Frequency

How often a muscle or lift is trained each week.

Full-body workout

A session that trains all major muscle groups. See beginner full-body.

G

Glutes

The muscles of the buttocks, the main hip extensors.

Glycogen

The stored form of carbohydrate in muscles and liver.

H

Hamstrings

The muscles on the back of the thigh that bend the knee and extend the hip.

HIIT

High-intensity interval training, alternating hard efforts with rest. See HIIT vs LISS.

Hinge

A movement pattern where the hips move back and forward with a neutral spine, as in deadlifts.

Hypertrophy

Growth in muscle size. See hypertrophy vs strength.

I

Isolation exercise

An exercise that moves one joint and targets one muscle group, such as a biceps curl.

Isometric

A muscle contraction with no movement, such as a plank hold.

K

Kettlebell

A cast iron ball with a handle, used for swings, carries and presses.

L

Lats

The latissimus dorsi, large back muscles that pull the arms down and back. See back training.

Linear progression

Adding a fixed amount of weight every session or week; ideal for beginners.

LISS

Low-intensity steady-state cardio, such as brisk walking.

Lockout

The end of a lift where the joints are fully straight.

M

Macros

Short for macronutrients: protein, carbohydrate and fat.

Maintenance calories

The intake at which your body weight stays stable over time.

Mind-muscle connection

Focusing attention on the muscle you are training during a set.

Mobility

The ability to actively control a joint through its range of motion. See mobility and warm-ups.

N

NEAT

Non-exercise activity thermogenesis: energy burned through daily movement outside workouts.

Negative

A rep focused on slow lowering, often with help on the lifting part.

O

Overhead press

Pressing a bar from the shoulders to overhead. See the overhead press.

P

Periodization

Organizing training into phases with different goals over time.

Plate

A weight disc loaded onto a barbell.

Plateau

A period where progress stalls. See breaking plateaus.

Posterior chain

Muscles on the back of the body: hamstrings, glutes and back.

Power rack

A steel frame with adjustable safety bars for squatting and pressing safely.

PPL

Push/pull/legs, a common training split. See push/pull/legs.

Progressive overload

Gradually increasing the demands of training. See progressive overload.

Protein synthesis

The process of building new muscle proteins.

PR (personal record)

Your best ever performance on a lift for a given number of reps.

Q

Quads

The quadriceps, four muscles on the front of the thigh that straighten the knee.

R

Range of motion (ROM)

How far a joint moves during an exercise.

RDL

Romanian deadlift, a hinge that starts from standing. See the Romanian deadlift.

Recomposition

Losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time.

Rep (repetition)

One complete movement of an exercise.

Rest day

A day without hard training.

RIR

Reps in reserve, the number of reps left before failure.

RPE

Rating of perceived exertion; in lifting, a 1 to 10 scale of set difficulty. See sets, reps and RPE.

S

Set

A group of reps done without rest.

Split

A program that divides muscle groups across different days.

Spotter

A person who watches a lift and helps if the lifter fails a rep.

Superset

Two exercises done back to back with little rest.

T

TDEE

Total daily energy expenditure, the calories you burn in a day.

Tempo

The speed of each part of a rep, often written as four numbers such as 3-1-1-0.

Training volume

The amount of work done, often counted as hard sets per muscle per week.

Trap bar

A hexagonal bar you stand inside, often used for deadlifts.

U

Upper/lower split

A program alternating upper-body and lower-body days. See upper/lower.

W

Warm-up sets

Lighter sets before the working weight to prepare the body.

Working sets

The sets at your target weight that count toward your program.