Be your own trainer when you learn these terms!
Beginning to weight train, but you don’t want to invest in a personal trainer? It may seem difficult at first to understand all of the terms associated with the regimens, so here it is, your little black book of definitions.
Key Terms:
Weight Training: This includes any physical activity or exercise that uses the force of a muscle against some form of resistance to build muscle strength, endurance, and size.
Repetitions (Reps): Doing a movement 1 time. For example, with sit ups, 15 reps is just 15 sit-ups.
Sets: The completion of a series of repetitions. A “set” is made up of a number of the same exercise performed without stopping.
Terms you should know:
Abduction: The movement of a body part away from your core. For example, lifting your arms from your side to level with your shoulders.
Barbell: A steel bar measuring 4 –6 feet in length. The bar is used for weight training and body building exercises. Some barbells have a fixed amount of weight on the sides, while other barbells allow you to add and remove weight as you desire.
Body Fat Percentage: The percentage of fat your body has in comparison to muscle.
Body Mass Index (BMI): This is an assessment of your weight relative to your height. The formula is: weight in kg / (height in meters x height in meters).
The results of the BMI calculation are categorized as follows:
• Underweight: below 18.5
• Normal weight: 18.5-24.9
• Overweight: 25-29.9
• Obese: 30-39.9
• Morbidly obese: 40 and above
Cheating: A method to complete your workout without really focusing on the muscle that should be used. For example, swinging instead of a steady slow lift with weights. You will sweat just as much, and nothing will be achieved in the time you wasted. You are only cheating yourself.
Circuit Training: Utilizing a group of 5 to 10 exercises one after the other. Each exercise has a designated amount of reps and time before moving on to the next. There is only a few seconds between the completes of your reps on each exercise, but a longer break in between circuits.
Clean: Using your legs, arms, shoulders, and back to lift a barbell from the floor to your shoulders in one smooth motion to prepare for an overhead lift.
Free Weights: These are any barbells or dumbbells that are not attached to a machine.
Lean Body Mass: Everything left in the body when all of the body fat has been eliminated. This includes bones, organs, skin, nails, and all body tissues including muscle. About 50-60% of your lean body mass is water.
Max: Maximum weight you can do for one repetition of an exercise.
Overload: The amount of weight that you force a muscle to use that is over its normal strength capacity. Overloading a muscle causes the muscle to grow.
Volume Training: Doing a very high number of sets for each body part when weight training with lighter weights. This is to enhance shaping.
Why do none of you include the definitions of squats and equipment used in lifting?
Debby, Point well taken. I think a post with the most common exercises will soon be added to our site. 🙂