Training Terminology

This article has been created with people who have never been to, or are just beginning to go to a gym or start a training program. This is by no means a definitive list of all the terms used in the fitness industry but rather focusing on the most common and frequently used terms.

Form

Exercise form is the first, and most imporant thing that you will need to learn. Each and every exercise has a set of definitive guidelines about how to perform it in a correct and safe manner as well as being able to perform the movement through its FULL range of motion. While there will always be some variation to exercise technique due to the differences in the individual performing the exercise (as an example where a bar is gripped) the exercise form will always remain relativly the same. For the most part we see poor form being utilized when too much weight is being used - causing the trainee to either use momentem, bouncing or swinging to keep the weight moving, or to restrict thier range of motion during the exercise. A very common example of bad form would be on a bench press when young boys are trying to lift more weight then each other yet they are unable to bring the bar down to their chest because if they did they would not be able to push it back up. Their answer is to lower the bar only until it sits a handspan above the chest because leverage is strongest at this point for them to push the weight up - giving the illusion that they are benching a heavy weight. The end result of this kind of bad exercise form is strength and muscle development is limited, and the potential of injury increases greatly.

Reps and Repititions

One rep (short for repitition) is the performing of the exercise movement throught its full range of motion from start to finish. When you have completed the desired number of repititions for that exercise and stop for a rest you have completed one 'Set'. An example can be seen as below:

To perform 1 set of 10 reps for a bodyweight squat:

Standing with your hands on your hips and feet shoulder width apart, toes slightly out and keeping your eyes looking straight ahead, breath in and slowly squat down until your thighs are parrallel with the floor, then push through your legs to bring yourself back to the starting positing - you have performed 1 rep, repeate this movement 10 times with no rest then stop. You have now completed 1 Set of 10 Reps for bodyweight squats.

Sets

Sets are made up of repititions. After you complete the desired number or reps you generally have a short rest period before performing your next set of exercises. An example for 3 sets of 10 reps of push ups would be as follows:

Set 1. Perform 10 pushups with no rest. Stop and rest 90 seconds

Set 2. Perform 10 pushups with no rest. Stop and rest 90 seconds

set 3. Perform 10 pushups with no rest. stop. 3 sets of 10 reps for pushups complete.

Rest Periods

Rest periods are the amount of time you allocate yourself to rest between sets, or to move to another exercise. The shorter the rest period the greater the intensity of the training session. As a general rule of thumb for most resistance training programs rest periods would be from 1-2minutes and no longer. Powerlifters on the other hand may rest for up to 5 minutes between sets.

Training Split

Your training split is the breakdown of what you train on what days. There are many ways to split up your training each one with its own purpose and benifit.
Here are some common training splits:

3 day full body split (train your whole body 3 x a week usually mon, wed, fri)

2 day split upper body, lower body workout ( train your upper body 1 day a week and your lower body another day during the week)

4 day upper, lower split (mon, thurs train upper body - tue, fri train lower body)

5 day split (mon-chest, tue-back, wed-quads and calves, thurs-shoulders and triceps, Fri-biceps, hamstrings) This kind of split is typically used by professional bodybuilders

There are many different variations to use for your training split depending on your training goals, your time and your recovery abilities.

Intensifier

An intensifier technique is used to shock the muscles and nervous system into new growth. Our bodies always adapt to the workload placed upon them so in order to keep progressing we must 'trick' the body by doing things its not used to. This is why usually around every 6 weeks its a good idea to change your training routine or your results will begin to plateu. There are many different intensifier techniques out there here are some common ones:

Supersetting - performing 2 exercises with no rest between

Tri setting - performing 3 exercises with no rest between

Drop sets - perform the desired number of reps till failure, and with no stopping drop some weight so you can continue performing more reps

Forced reps - perform the desired number of reps till failure then have a workout partner help you lift the weight through the sticking points for another 3-5 reps

Decrease the rest time between sets or exercises

Increase the weight

Increase the number or reps

Increase the number of sets

All of these are ways to chock your body into continued results but this is only a fraction of the number of techniques you could use.

Spot or Spotter

A spotter is a person (usually your trianing partner) that overseas you perform the exercise. Thier role is to enure you use the correct form, to help you lift the weight on and off the rack when using free weights, and to help you if you get stuck with a weight that you can't lift back up. They are NOT there to lift the weight for you. Many inexperienced spotters make the mistake of trying to lift to much of the weight for the trainee, thereby reducing the effectivness of that set for them. The sole exception to this is where they are helping to perform an intensifier like forced reps.

Recovery Period

When ever you use resistance training you are breaking down and damaging your muscle cells. You are not 'building' muscle in the gym when you are training. Your muscle 'builds' or 'grows' after you have supplied it with the proper nutrition (protein) and you are resting. If you train a muscle to frequently (over training) or too infrequently (undertraining) you will not acheive the desired results. We must all therefore take the time to learn what our recovery abilites are. Each person will have varying recovery abilities. There are a few general rules of thumb to follow here:

Bigger muscles take longer to recover then smaller muscles

Bigger muscles can take greater training loads (sets x reps) then smaller ones

Training a bodypart very heavy or intensly will require a greater number of rest days before training that body part again.

You could also use these as general guidelines for resistance training: (again the number of reps and sets depend on your training goal)

Legs: 8-12 sets and 4-7days rest

Back: 8-12 Sets and 4-7days rest

Chest: 8-12 sets and 4-7days rest

Shoulders: 4-8 sets and 3-5days rest

arms: 4-8 sets and 3-5 days rest

Calves: 4-8 sets and 3-5days rest

Once again we are all different and these are just guidelines, you must work out what rest and workload you require for each of your bodyparts for optimal results.

So those are the most common and frequently used terms you will find in your local gym and by your trainer. Once you are familiar with these terms you will proceede onto how to program which takes a more in depth look at rest and recovery, what sets, reps and splits to use for your desired result.