weight training

Compound Exercise

A compound exercise is any exercise that involves the use of more than one major muscle group at a time and crosses more than one joint. Typically, there is one larger muscle group that ends up doing the majority of the work, and then one or more smaller muscle groups that are recruited secondarily.

Tendon

A cord of connective tissue that attaches muscle to bone. They are the extension of the outer cover of the muscle and anchor the muscle to the bone. They have the appearance of white glistening cords or bands.

Synergist Muscle

A muscle that assists another muscle to accomplish a movement.

Antagonist Muscle

A muscle that can move the joint opposite to the movement produced by the agonist. (bicep-triceps, hamstring-quadriceps)

Agonist

A muscle that causes motion.

Stabilizer Muscle

A muscle that contracts with no significant movement to maintain a posture or fixate a joint.

Exercise Prescription

A recommendation for an exercise plan designed to meet an individual's fitness goals. This plan is usually prescribed using the FITT principle.

Spotter/Spotting

A safety technique that involves one person helping the lifter if he/she gets in trouble during the set.

Circuit Training

A technique involving a series of weight training stations. The weight trainer performs an exercise and rapidly moves to the next station with little or no rest. Circuit Training develops Cardiovascular endurance, though not as effectively as endurance exercises such as running, cycling or swimming.

Cross Training

A workout which mixes different workouts and training methods rather than focusing on just one type of workout.

Anaerobic Exercise

Anaerobic means without oxygen. Anaerobic exercise consists of brief intense bursts of physical activity, such as weight lifting and sprints, where oxygen demand surpasses oxygen supply.

Clamps

Clamps are a safety mechanism that holds weights in place at the end of a barbell.

Ligament

Connective tissue that attaches bone to bone. They are strong flexible bands or capsules of fibrous tissue that help hold the bones together at the joints. They play a significant role in determining the range of motion of the joint.

Atrophy

Decrease in the size of muscle tissue. A wasting process in which the muscle becomes smaller and weaker. This process is often apparent when a limb has been in a cast or immobilized for an extended period of time.

Dorsiflexion

Decreasing the angle between the foot and shin.

Plantar Flexion

Decreasing the angle between the toes and bottom of the foot (pointing toes)

Flexion

Decreasing the angle between two bones.

Power

Displaying strength quickly by "contracting a large amount of muscle units in a short amount of time."

Body Part Split Training

Doing routines for separate muscle groups on different days.

Isokinetic

Exercise done with a machine that regulates movement, velocity, and resistance. Force is applied equally throughout the exercise.

Isolation Exercise

Exercises that involve only one joint and a limited number of muscle groups.

H.I.I.T.

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a form of interval training, a cardiovascular exercise strategy alternating short periods of intense anaerobic exercise with less intense recovery periods, until too exhausted to continue.

Tempo

How fast or slow the movement is carried out.

T (Time)

How many sets and reps (ex. 3x8)? How much rest (2-4 minutes) How long you are physically active during your daily routine.

Repetition

How many times you can lift/lower a weight in one set of an exercise.

I (Intensity)

How much are you lifting (how much load)? What percent of your 1 rep max (1RM)? How hard your body is working during an exercise (light, moderate, vigorous).

Duration

How much time an exercise/workout takes.

F (Frequency)

How physically active you are in days per week? How many times per week you should do the exercise?

Extension

Increasing the angle between two bones

Aerobic Exercise

It strengthens your heart and lungs and trains your cardiovascular system to manage and deliver oxygen more quickly and efficiently throughout your body. Aerobic exercise uses your large muscle groups, is rhythmic in nature and can be maintained continuously for at least 10 minutes.

Elevation

Lifting a body part.

Abduction

Movement away from the midline of the body.

Adduction

Movement towards the midline of the body.

Isotonic

Muscle contraction in which the muscle changes length, usually done with free weights.

Type IIx Muscle Fiber

Often known as fast glycolytic fibers. short, fast bursts of power and rapid fatigue.

Plyometric Exercises

Plyometrics, also known as "jump training" or "plyos",are exercises in which muscles exert maximum force in short intervals of time, with the goal of increasing power (speed-strength).

Range of Motion (ROM)

ROM is the distance or range that a limb or joint can "safely" travel. It is best to lift through the full ROM so you gain strength throughout the entire muscle.

Hypertrophy

Refers to an increase in muscular size achieved through exercise.

Supination

Rotation of the forearm or foot so that the palm or sole is moved to face anteriorly.

Pronation

Rotation of the forearm or foot so that the palm or sole is moved to face posteriorly

Proximal

Situated close to the body's center.

Eversion

Sole of the foot moved to face laterally.

Inversion

Sole of the foot moved to face medially

Super Sets

Strength training where you move quickly from one exercise to another without a resting period.

Flexibility

The ability of each joint to move through the available range of motion for a specific joint.

Cardiovascular Endurance

The ability of the heart and lungs to work together to provide the needed oxygen and fuel to the body during sustained workloads.

Muscular Endurance

The ability of the muscles to perform continuously without fatiguing. Examples would be cycling, step machines and elliptical machines.

Speed

The ability to minimize the time cycle of a repeated movement or how fast you can perform a repeated movement.

Strength

The ability to produce or generate force

Agility

The ability to quickly change your body position/direction of your body.

Body composition

The amount of fat mass compared to lean muscle mass, bone and organs.

Muscular Strength

The amount of force a muscle can produce.

Posterior

The back side of the human body.

Anatomical Position

The erect position where the face is directed forward, the arms are at the side, and the palms are facing forward. This position is used as a reference when describing the body parts' relationships to one another.

Distal

The farthest away from a certain point of origin or attachment.

Anterior

The front side of the human body.

Midline

The imaginary line that separates your body's left and right sides.

One Repetition Max (1RM)

The max amount of weight you can lift in a given exercise.

Failure

The moment of an exercise where your muscles have become so fatigued that you can no longer complete any more reps of that exercise with perfect form.

DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness)

The muscle soreness you experience 12-48 hours after completing exercise. Caused by increasing intensity, resulting in microtears in muscle fibers.

Insertion

The place of attachment of a muscle to the bone, which the muscles move.

Joint

The place where bones intersect. Joints are often surrounded by joint capsules and are supported by ligaments and, to a lesser degree, by muscles

Origin

The point of attachment or end of a muscle that is fixed during contraction.

Sticking Point

The point when the weight feels heaviest.

Target

The primary muscle intended for exercise.

Load

The resistance used in any exercise, typically a weight. Add all of the weight on each side of the bar (plus the weight of the bar), or what the dumbbell says on the side.

Free Weights

These are weights that are not attached to a machine. Dumbbells and barbells are free weights. Free weights involve more use of the core and are safe if used correctly.

Cool down

This is a gradual reduction of the intensity of the exercise to allow the heart and muscles to return to normal slowly. Usually the cool down is 5-10 minutes in length.

Tabata

This is a popular high-intensity interval training protocol. It means 20 seconds of all-out effort followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated eight times for four minutes total.

Rotation

Turning movement of a bone about its long axis.

T (Type)

What exercise are you doing? The kind of activities that you chose for your routine.

Concentric Contraction

When a muscle contracts, causing it to shorten. You should exhale during this phase.

Eccentric (Negative) Contraction

When a muscle is under load, causing it to lengthen. This is the contraction of your muscles when doing a lowering movement. You should inhale during this phase.

Positive Phase

When force is applied to the body and the body moves in the same direction of the force.

Negative Phase

When force is applied to the body but the body moves in the opposite direction of the force.

Full Body Training

When you train your whole body as a system in one session.

Set

a group of reps.

Weight Machines

any exercise that works on a fixed path with the weight (and usually the entire movement itself) stabilized for you by a machine.

Free Weights

any exercise where the resistance is provided by a barbell, dumbbells, or any other free moving object.

Body Weight

any exercise where the resistance is provided by your own body weight.

Type IIa Muscle Fiber

fast oxidative fibres more prone to fatigue than type I fibers

Principle of Progression

implies that there is an optimal level of overload that should be achieved, and an optimal time frame for this overload to occur.

Dynamic stretching

incorporates movements that mimic a specific sport or exercise in an exaggerated yet controlled manner; often included during the warm-up or in preparation for a sports event. Ex: warm up on a court or field

Static stretching

involves passively stretching a muscle to the point of mild discomfort by holding it in a maximal stretch for an extended period. It remains a very effective, relatively safe, and popular method of stretching. Recommendations for the optimal holding time are varied, ranging from 10 seconds to 60 seconds. Ex: Class stretches

Preloading

occurs when a muscle is stimulated to contract in order to resist or control a weight before the actual exercise begins. For example, consider a Bicep Curl. When holding the dumbbell in a start position, your biceps are firing and prepared to lift the weight, and you are able to apply near maximal force when beginning the Curl.

Type I Muscle Fiber

slow twitch fibers. very resistant to fatigue

Principle of Overload

the body's ability to adjust to increased physical demands or to the amount of load or resistance, providing a greater stress, or load, on the body than it is normally accustomed to in order to increase fitness.

Isometric

the muscle doesn't noticeably change length and the affected joint doesn't move.

Ballistic stretching (bouncing)

the oldest technique of stretch which makes use of repetitive bouncing movements. It has been virtually abandoned by almost all experts in the field due to safety concerns.

Principle of Specificity

the principle of training that states sports training should be relevant and appropriate to the sport for which the individual is training in order to produce a training effect.

Principle of Adaptation

the way the body 'programs' muscles to remember particular activities, movements or skills. By repeating that skill or activity, the body adapts to the stress and the skill becomes easier to perform.