Fitness Terms

Warm-Up

5 - 10 minutes of light activity, such as ladder drills or light jogging, prior to a work out to prepare the body for more vigorous activity.

Cool-down

5 -10 minutes of light activity, such as walking or stretching, following a vigorous workout to return the body's core back to its near-normal temperature.

Physical Activity

Bodily movement produced by muscle contractions that increase energy expenditure.

Duration

Length of time spent in each activity session.

Hypertrophy

Muscles gain size and strength after being make to work repeatedly.

Sedentary

Physically inactive

Exercise

Planned, structured, and repetitive bodily movement that promote or maintains physical fitness.

Muscular Endurance

The ability of a muscle to contract repeatedly without becoming exhausted.

Muscular Strength

The ability of muscles to work against resistance.

Cardio-respiratory Endurance

The ability to perform large-muscle, exercise of moderate-to-high intensity for prolonged periods.

Overload Principle

The body will adapt to the stress placed upon it. The more you do, the more you are capable of doing.

Flexibility

The capacity of the joints to move through a full range of motion. The ability to bend and recover without injury.

Fitness

The characteristics that enable the body to perform physical activity. The ability to meet routine physical demands with enough reserve energy to withstand stress of various kinds.

Frequency

The number of activity sessions per week.

Progressive Overload Principle

The training principle that a body system, in order to make gains, must be worked at frequencies, durations, or intensities that gradually increase physical demands.

Atrophy

Without activity, muscles diminish in size and lose strength.