GYM JARGON

A FUN & PRACTICAL GLOSSARY FOR GYM-GOERS.

Don’t know your Burpees from your Fartleks?

If you are new to the gym, I’m not going to lie, you are going to hear some seemingly weird things while you’re working out at NV2 Fitness.
Gym jargon can be a tricky language, but with this glossary, you’ll be able to understand what all of these terms mean and more importantly – know how they apply in the gym.

Burpee

Not a little belch, but rather a simple yet challenging full-body move. Here’s how it’s done: From standing, squat and place your hands on the floor; jump your feet backwards to bring your body into a plank; do a pushup, jump your feet back up into a squat, and then jump up into the air. If it sounds hard to do, try explaining it.

Downward Dog

A yoga pose; along with many other poses, such as cat, cow, camel, cobra, crow, dolphin, eagle, and pigeon, downward dog is yet another position in yoga inspired by the animal kingdom.Sometimes referred to as downward-facing dog, it places your heart above your head, increasing bloodflow and improving circulation.

Failure

Those who train to “failure” are not failures. It means giving the exercise all that you have. When you go to failure, you perform the exercise until you can no longer go on. In the gym failure is a good thing.

Metcon

(Sadly) Not a convention where like-minded comic book fans dress up as their favourite superheroes, but rather an abbreviation for metabolic conditioning — a form of high-intensity cardio and strength-training workout that often includes full-body moves such as pushups, squats, and burpees.

Plateau

You’re eating right, exercising regularly, and seeing the results. Suddenly, for no apparent reason your progress stalls. Welcome to a plateau; a frustrating phase during which you temporarily stop making progress to your goals. But don’t worry we aim to keep your body guessing so the plateau is but a blur on your fitness journey.

Super Sets

A form of strength training where you do 2 or more exercises without rest periods in between them to push targeted muscle groups to the limit resulting in hypertrophy(muscle growth).
For example: bench press set – no rest – tricep extensions – no rest – tricepdipsset – THEN rest.
I know what you’re thinking… “why would someone do that to themselves?” but trust me, it happens.

Free Weights

These weights are not giveaways.They’re just not attached to a machine and can be moved freely. Forcing you to use your muscles in a way that stabilises movement. Great for helping you build strength, powerand co-ordination.

Fartlek

I can’t stress this enough… not a weird fetish! Swedish for “speed play,” a form of interval training for runners, in which the pace is continually varied.

Muscle Hypertrophy

A complicated terminology for muscle growth which refers to an increase in muscle mass. This can manifest itself as an increase in muscle size and strength or looking Swol.
Hypertrophy is also an oddly difficult word to say… try it.

Cardio

Eccentric Motion

Not “eccentric” like a slightly strange old aunt, or Phoebe from Friends, but rather an exercise (sometimes called a negative motion) that lengthens the muscle under load, such as slowly lowering the dumbbell in a bicep curl.

HIIT

An acronym for High-Intensity Interval Training, a form of training that alternates short bursts of intense activity with less-intense recovery periods. Often pronounced “HIT” training, it certainly packs a punch.

Gains

“Gains” can be used in multiple ways: to refer to an increase in muscle size, lifting more weight (though the two usually go together) or increased stamina and fitness.
They’rea result of hard work and dedication – and regardless of which one, ALL gains deserve high-fives.

Sets

A set is a cycle. You will perform a number of reps for each set, and you will perform several sets for each exercise.
For example: You do 3 sets of 10 reps for squats. 3 sets x 10 reps = 30 squats.

Max

The maximum amount of weight one is able to lift for at least 1 repetition of a specific exercise.
Sentence: “What’s your deadlift max?” …Could also be the name of a fellow gym member.

Machines

These are the odd-looking contraptions that take up the majority of space in most gyms.
Gymequipment designed to work your muscles by guiding you through a controlled exercise.
Not to be confused with torture devices or an Arnold Schwarzenegger from the future sent back in time to enslave humanity.

Swol

Short for the word swollen, this is how you describe an extremely well-built, muscular person whose muscles are busting out of their sleeves. Or at least how you feel you look after a great session.

Pump

Not a little break of wind while exerting yourself but rather the warm, fuzzy feeling you get after exerting a lot of strength. Increased blood flow in your muscles causes them to contract full and tight.
Sentence: “Dude,I got a really good pump on that last set!”…Yeah, maybe stay away from this term.

DOMS

An ominous-sounding acronym for “Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness,” the muscle pain you feel (often up to several days) after an intense workout.

Form

The act of performing an exercise in the appropriate way. You always want to maintain your form and perform exercises correctly.
Sentence: “Woah, take some weight off. You’re killing your form—you look like a fish!”

PB

Easily confused with peanut butter ( a good source of protein by the way) but not in this case.An acronym for “Personal Best.” This is similar to “max”, but it can also refer to PB repetitions as well.

Warm-Up

Warm-up is the lighter lifting or movements you do before starting an exercise. It wakes up the muscles and lets them know they’re about to do some work so they don’t get a fright and hurt themselves.

Rest

This is less like a wee nap and more like a strategic break. In between each set, you rest for a short period of time to help maintain a high level of intensityto achieve maximum gains.
Depending on the intensity of the exercise, you might take 1-3 minutes of rest between each set.

Reps

Short for “repetitions.” Reps refer to the number of times you perform an exercise within a set. Not to be confused with someone trying to sell you beauty products.

Fun Run

A non-competitive run either to raise funds for a charity or just a great excuse to don a themed fancy dress costume. Fun runs are typically 5K. Depending on how you feel about running, the name may be misleading.

Junk Miles

A somewhat controversial running term that can be used to describe miles run at a slow, easy pace. Some believe these miles have no benefit, we disagree – if you’re moving forward you’re not standing still.

DON’T BE SHY

We understand that we all have to start our fitness journey from somewhere. If you are ever unsure about aterminology or exercise the NV2 team of personal coaches are always on hand to answer your question, no matter how weird or wonderful. All you have to do is ask.

Ready to get started?

Talk to us today

Let's talk

Locate Us

Unit 3 & 4, Muir of Ord Industrial Estate
Great North Road
Muir of Ord
IV67XR

Quick links

Services

Website Designed & Hosted by Adder Business Ltd | Privacy Policy