Just what do all those terms you keep hearing people talk about in the gym, or keep seeing on websites and in personal training manuals, actually mean?!
Well, here’s an (incomplete) guide to some of the terminology used in the world of health, fitness and nutrition…
1RM
1RM stands for ‘one rep maximum’, and refers to the heaviest weight you can lift for a single rep of a move. So if in a single bench press you can lift 150kg but not an ounce more then your 1RM for the bench press is 150kg.
However, it’s worth noting that whilst this seems like the sort of thing that only a bodybuilder or powerlifter would need to know, it does have uses and applications for people not trying to set a personal best, as you can use a 1RM to extrapolate the amount you should lift when performing a higher number of reps, using websites such as this: https://strengthlevel.com/one-rep-max-calculator
Abdominals
The abdominals, or ‘abs’, are the muscles on the front and side of the torso: the rectus abdominis (also known as the ‘six pack’ muscle), the internal and external obliques and the transverse abdominis.
They are used in movements where the torso goes forwards or sideways, and make up part of the core.
Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)
(A – DEN – oh – seen – try – FOSS – fate)
Adenosine Triphosphate is the basic unit of energy used by the human body, and fuels functions including movement and digestion.
It is produced from the breakdown of food, with energy being released when one of its phosphate molecules is broken off (leaving adenosine diphosphate, or ADP).
All or None Principle
The ‘all or none principle’ states that when a neuron stimulates a muscle, all the muscle fibres it attaches to will contract or none of them will.
It’s a seemingly obscure piece of anatomical information that somehow always seems to crop up in PT exams, but you can find a more detailed explanation here.
Amino Acid
Amino acids are organic compounds, or molecules, used to make proteins, sometimes referred to as the ‘building blocks of protein’.
There are twenty amino acids that the human body uses, and when it needs a protein to perform a particular task it will assemble it from the necessary ones.
‘Essential amino acid’ refers to an amino acid that the body cannot produce and must therefore be obtained from the diet, and there are nine of these.
You can read more about amino acids here.
AMRAP
Standing for As Many Rounds (or Reps) As Possible, this is a type of training where you try to do as many reps of a given move as you can in a fixed amount of time.
For example, you may try to do as many crunches as you can in one minute.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants are compounds found in various foods, including most fruits and vegetables, that can protect the body by reducing the damage caused by free radicals.
You can read more about the relationship between free radicals and antioxidants here.
Basal Metabolic Rate
Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR, refers to the number of calories a person needs per day in order to fuel basic bodily functions such as digestion, breathing and circulation.
Because BMR does not take into account calories burned through activities including exercise, it is often used as a starting point to calculate what your total calorie intake should be based on your fitness goals, ie losing weight or gaining muscle.
There are a number of ways to calculate your BMR; it can be done manually by taking into account factors including age, height and weight, but an easier way to find yours out is to use a body composition machine, which a lot of gyms have.
BCAA
BCAA stands for Branched-Chain Amino Acid. These are essential amino acids that have a different molecular structure than the others, with a chain branching off from the main structure, hence the name.
The three BCAAs are leucine, isoleucine and valine. Because these amino acids are involved in protein synthesis and energy production they are often taken as a supplement, as it is believed they improve performance and muscle growth.
You can read more about BCAAs here.
Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is a measure of the force exerted on the artery walls as blood is pumped around the body.
It is essentially a measure of how hard the heart has to work in order to do this, so is a good indicator of overall health.
BMI
BMI stands for Body Mass Index. It is a way of calculating whether or not an individual is overweight by comparing their weight with their height, but has been criticised as oversimplistic for not taking into account factors such as gender, body type or muscle mass.
Calorie
A calorie is a unit of energy used by the body as fuel. Whilst calories are burnt when performing exercise, they are also used in carrying out bodily functions such as breathing and digestion.
The three main macronutrients provide different numbers of calories, with fat providing nine calories per gram and protein and carbohydrate both providing four calories per gram.
The term ‘empty calorie’ is sometimes used to refer to foods that provide calories but otherwise have no nutritional benefit, such as alcohol and processed sugars.
Cardio
This refers to exercises where the aim is improving your cardiovascular health by raising your heart rate. It differs from resistance exercises (lifting weights) in that cardio focuses on getting you out of breath, improving your heart function and, usually, helping you burn fat. Common cardio exercises include running, cycling or rowing, as well as using machines that allow you to perform these actions. You can read about where to place cardio within your workout plans here.
Note: there can be grey areas between cardio exercises and resistance exercises. For example, a set of shoulder presses performed slowly and under control using heavy weights in order to work the muscles would count as a resistance exercise whereas the same move performed quickly with light weights in order to get you out of breath would count as cardio.
Cartilage
Cartilage is a type of connective tissue in the joints that sits between the bones to prevent friction between them as well as acting as a shock absorber.
Cervical Spine
The vertebrae in the neck. Usually used when referring to whether the neck should move during an exercise.
Chipper
Chipper is a training system where you choose a selection of moves and the number of reps you’ll perform each one for, then ‘chip’ away at that number until you’ve completed them all. You rest when you need to and do as many reps at a time as you can, but should aim to maintain the intensity and not let your heart rate go down too much.
As an example, if you chose to do a chipper involving fifty squats then fifty push-ups, you’d do as many squats as you could until you had to take a break, carry on with them as soon as you were ready, and keep doing this until you’d reached fifty. Then you’d do the same with the push-ups.
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a type of fat that plays a vital role in many bodily processes, including being involved in the production of hormones, vitamin D and cell membranes.
There are two types of cholesterol: High-Density Lipoproteins, or HDLs, also known as ‘good’ cholesterol, and Low-Density Lipoproteins, or LDLs, often called ‘bad’ cholesterol.
Excess levels of LDLs in the body can result from lifestyle factors such as smoking, inactivity and eating foods high in saturated fat. This leads to fatty deposits building up in the arteries, increasing the risk of health conditions such as heart attacks and strokes. However, increased levels of HDLs are believed to help lower ‘bad’ cholesterol by removing it.
If you want to know more about cholesterol, including how to lower it, this is a much better article than we could have written and also includes a very useful illustration.
Circuit Training
Circuit training is a way of structuring a gym session so that you complete a full-body workout by performing a series of exercises targeting different parts of the body in succession. Once the sequence has been completed, a rest is taken before starting the sequence again.
Circuit training using resistance exercises can be good for beginners, as each muscle group gets a longer rest, as well as being time-efficient because it allows a full-body workout to be completed in a single session. More experienced gym goers, however, may be less likely to undertake circuit training because it does not target a particular muscle group with sufficient frequency or intensity to assist with strength or hypertrophy gains.
Note: the difference between circuit training and giant sets is that whilst both involve performing a series of exercises in succession, circuit training targets different muscle groups whereas giant sets repeatedly target the same muscle group.
Compound Move
A compound move, or a compound exercise, is a resistance exercise where multiple muscles and joints are worked at the same time. Examples include the bench press (working the pecs and the triceps as well as the shoulders and elbows) and the deadlift (working the quads, glutes, hamstrings and erector spinae as well as the hips, knees and ankles). A compound move differs from an isolation exercise, where only a single muscle and joint are worked.
Continuous Training
A cardiovascular training system where you maintain the same intensity for the duration of the exercise.
In practice, this might involve running for ten minutes on a treadmill for the same speed the whole time.
Continuous training contrasts with interval training, where you vary the intensity at which you carry out the exercise.
Core
The core refers to the muscles surrounding the torso that support you and hold you in place, like a corset. These include the abdominals, the obliques and the erector spinae, along with several others.
Note: ‘core’ and ‘abdominals’ are not interchangeable terms; ‘abdominals’ refers to the muscles on the front and side of the torso whilst ‘core’ refers to the muscles all the way around the torso, including the abdominals but also numerous other muscles such as the multifidus, quadratus lumborum and erector spinae on the back.
Creatine
Creatine is a compound found in the human body (particular in the muscles) that is involved in the production of energy.
It can also be taken as a supplement, intended to provide additional energy during high-intensity exercise.
Developmental Stretch
A form of static stretch where the muscle is stretched beyond the point where it offers resistance in order to increase its flexibility, usually performed at the end of a workout.
DOMS
DOMS stands for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. It refers to the soreness and stiffness you feel in your muscles after a workout, usually the next day, or for the next two to three days.
It is believed to be caused by the microtears in the muscle fibres that result from weight training and, in particular, is thought to be caused by the eccentric stage of a lift.
DOMS is not to be confused with lactate build-up (Onset of Blood Lactate Accumulation), as this is the cramping you feel in your muscles during a workout whilst DOMS is the soreness you experience afterwards.
Dynamic Stretch
A stretch that involves moving a muscle, such as swinging the leg forwards and upwards in order to warm up the hamstrings and glutes, usually performed at the start of a workout.
Electrolytes
Electrolytes are minerals that carry an electrical charge through the body, and include sodium, calcium, magnesium and potassium.
Electrolytes play an important role in many bodily functions such as muscle function and controlling water levels.
Electrolyte imbalances can be caused by dehydration resulting from things such as excessive sweating, diarrhoea or performing exercise for a long period (such as running a marathon), and in such situations a drink high in electrolytes is commonly consumed in order to restore the balance.
EMOM
EMOM stands for Every Minute, On the Minute. It’s a type of interval training where you first choose an exercise, then decide the total amount of time you’ll perform it for. Within that, each minute will then be split into periods of work and periods of rest.
EMOM can be undertaken based on reps, where you perform the move a certain number of times then rest for the remainder of the minute before starting again, or based on time, where you perform the move for a chosen number of seconds then rest for the remainder of the minute before starting again. In both cases, this is repeated until the total amount of time chosen has passed.
An example of a rep-based EMOM would be performing ten press ups at the start of the minute then resting for the remainder of it, and an example of time-based EMOM would be performing press ups for twenty seconds then resting for the remaining forty seconds.
EMOM can be a good way to maximise your training time, due to the reduced rest periods, and can be used with just about any move you can think of including bodyweight exercises, kettlebell training and lifting heavy weights. It can be as easy or as challenging as you want it to be, as the difficulty will depend on the number of reps and time you choose to perform it for.
Energy System
The process by which the body makes energy to power its functions, of which there are three: the phosphocreatine system, the lactic acid or anaerobic system and the aerobic system, all of which are explained here.
EPOC
EPOC stands for Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption.
Put simply, the theory behind EPOC states that if you perform high intensity workouts then your body will continue to burn fat after you stop. This therefore makes it an efficient way to lose weight (though it should be noted that high-intensity workouts should not be performed by individuals who are new to exercise and/or out of shape.)
It’s a bit complicated, but the idea is that when you perform high-intensity exercise your body has to divert resources away from everyday bodily functions in order to cope with the additional demands being placed on it. Then, once the workout has finished and the body has returned to normal, it turns its attention back to those processes but, in order to bring them up to speed, it needs additional fuel. The fuel it uses to do this is fat, meaning the body continues to burn fat after the exercise has finished (but the body needs oxygen in order to burn fat, hence the name referring to ‘oxygen consumption’).
Fascia
Fascia is a sheet of connective tissue that surrounds the organs, muscles, nerves and bones, holding them in place and providing support to them.
As well as being able to sense pain, fascia can become damaged, with the places where this happens often referred to as ‘knots’ or myofascial trigger points.
Fibre
Fibre is a type of carbohydrate found in plants that is not digested by the body but keeps the digestive system healthy as it passes through it. There are two types:
Insoluble Fibre: found in foods such bran, wholemeal bread and nuts, this does not dissolve in water, and helps other foods travel through the digestive system as well as contributing to bowel health.
Soluble Fibre: found in foods such as apples, carrots, potatoes and barley, this dissolves in water and is believed to keep you fuller for longer as well as well as helping to lower cholesterol.
FITT
FITT is an acronym used by personal trainers to obtain specific details about a new client’s existing activity levels.
Standing for Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type, it encourages the trainer to find out how often the client exercises, the level at which they carry it out, how long they do it for and what sort of activity they undertake.
Free Radicals
Free radicals are unstable molecules produced by the human body that can cause damage to cells. Their effects can be mitigated by antioxidants.
You can read more about the relationship between free radicals and antioxidants here.
Free Weights
Free weights refers to dumbbells, kettlebells and barbells. Basically, they’re anything you lift during a workout that isn’t attached to a machine.
Gluten
Gluten is a protein found in grains such as wheat.
Gluten intolerance is an umbrella term for any condition whereby an individual has trouble digesting gluten, such as coeliac disease.
There is, however, an ongoing debate regarding whether there is any benefit in people with no known gluten intolerance switching to a gluten-free diet, with most reputable sources arguing there is not, and that many gluten-free products compensate for the removal of gluten by having excess fat and sugar added.
Glycaemic Index
(Gly – SEE – mick)
The Glycaemic Index (GI) is a way of ranking foods based on how quickly they release into your blood stream.
High-GI foods tend to be those higher in sugar, which provide short term energy, whilst low-GI foods are ones that provide a more slow and steady release of energy, such as brown rice or oats.
GI ratings can be used to help control blood sugar levels amongst diabetics, or to fuel exercise sessions based upon their intensity or duration, such as by consuming high-GI foods shortly before a high-intensity session.
Glycogen
(GLIGH – kuh – jun)
Glycogen is the body’s stored form of glucose, which it uses when it needs to produce energy.
It is stored in skeletal muscle (where around 400g is kept to provide energy during exercise) as well as the liver (where there is around 100g, which can be used to raise blood sugar if the individual has not eaten for a while).
HIIT
HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training, and is a type of interval training that involves performing short bursts of exercise at a very high intensity, having a rest, then repeating the process for as many times as required. It should not be attempted by beginners or out of shape individuals due to the strain it places on the body.
It has also been suggested that HIIT leads to higher incidences of EPOC, or Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption.
Homeostasis
Homeostasis refers to keeping the body in balance. This involves regulating things such as body temperature, blood sugar and the levels of different hormones in the blood stream, by reacting to changes in them and ensuring they do not reach dangerously high or low levels.
The human body maintains homeostasis using the nervous system and the endocrine system.
Hypertrophy
Hypertrophy refers to an increase in muscle size; therefore, anyone training in order to get bigger muscles is working towards hypertrophy.
You can read about the different types of hypertrophy here.
Fun fact: whilst most people pronounce it as two words – hyper and trophy – the correct way is to emphasis the second syllable, meaning it’s pronounced high – PURR – truh – fee. So now you know!
IDEA
Personal training qualifications are big on acronyms, and this one is used to remind you how to demonstrate a cardio machine to a client. It stands for: Introduce the machine, Demonstrate the exercise, Explain the exercise and Activity (where the client performs the move).
Interval Training
Interval training is a system of exercising where you alternate between working at a high intensity then either resting or working at a lower intensity. These two parts are usually each performed for a clearly defined amount of time, such as 40 seconds of work then 20 seconds of rest.
The principle behind interval training is that it is a more efficient form of training than continuous training, as you get more done in less time. It is also believed to be a way to make the body continue to burn fat after the exercise has ended, a phenomenon known as EPOC.
Types of interval training include HIIT, EMOM and Tabata. You can learn how to perform Tabata here and how to apply interval training to swimming here.
Isolation Exercise
An isolation exercise is a resistance move where a single joint and a single muscle (or muscle group) are worked.
Examples include a biceps curl (working the biceps muscles and the elbow) and a leg extension (working the quads and the knees). A move employing more muscles and joints is called a compound move.
Isometric Exercise
An isometric exercise is a move where a muscle is put under tension without moving, so an exercise where a position is held, such as a plank.
You can read more about the different types of muscle contraction here.
Lactate
Lactate is a chemical compound produced by the body as a by-product of it using glucose to create energy.
During high-intensity exercise, lactate builds up quicker than the body can dispose of it, causing the muscles to cramp (often referred to as ‘muscular failure’). When this happens, a rest must be taken until lactate levels have reduced, after which the exercise can be resumed.
It is worth noting that in the world of fitness the terms ‘lactate’ and ‘lactic acid’ are often used interchangeably, with some sources arguing that ‘lactate’ is the correct term, and not ‘lactic acid’. There is also disagreement over whether it is possible to ‘flush’ lactate/lactic acid out of the system any quicker than the rate at which the body would normally dispose of it.
It is also important to note that the soreness you feel in the days after a workout (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS) is not related to lactate levels.
Lactose
Lactose is a type of sugar found in milk. It is broken down during digestion by the enzyme lactase.
Lactose intolerance is a condition where an individual cannot properly digest lactose as a result of them not producing lactase. This appears to be more common in cultures where the consumption of dairy products is not widespread, with one possible explanation being that the human body stops producing lactase when it is no longer needed, so if an infant is not moved onto cow’s milk after breastfeeding finishes then their body will stop producing lactase and will subsequently not be able to digest lactose if it is consumed again.
Ligament
Ligaments are a type of connective tissue that attach bone to bone. They cross at a joint and contribute to keeping it stable.
An example is the ACL or Anterior Cruciate Ligament. This crosses the front of the knee from the femur to the tibia.
Lumbar Spine
The vertebrae of the lower back. Usually used to indicate that the natural curve in the lower back should be retained when performing an exercise rather than being flattened.
Macronutrient
Macronutrients include carbohydrates, fats and protein. They are eaten in larger amounts, mainly to provide energy but also to help with bodily functions such as tissue repair.
Maintenance Stretch
A form of static stretch where a muscle is stretched to the point where it offers resistance and then held, usually performed at the end of a workout to restore the muscle to its pre-workout length.
Metabolism
Metabolism is the complicated series of chemical reactions that take place in our cells in order to convert calories into energy to fuel our body.
Whilst a lot of people believe an individual’s metabolism slows down in their 40s, a large study found that metabolism actually remains stable between the ages of 20 and 60.
You often hear people say there are ways to ‘speed up your metabolism’, and whilst this is not strictly true in that you cannot change your metabolism on a cellular level, there are ways you can make your body burn calories more quickly, which has a similar effect.
Micronutrient
A micronutrient is a vitamin (A, B, C, D, E and K) or a mineral (such as sodium, potassium, zinc, calcium and iron). They are eaten in smaller amounts and are vital for supporting the body’s everyday functions.
You can read more about micronutrients here.
Mobility Exercises
Mobility exercises are warm-up moves where the joints are moved carefully and under control in order to lubricate them, performed at the start of a workout.
Motor Unit
The term ‘motor unit’ collectively refers to a motor neuron and the muscle fibres it attaches to.
Bodily movement happens when the central nervous system sends a signal to a muscle; this signal travels through the motor neuron, which stimulates the muscle fibres it attaches to, causing the muscle to move.
Motor units are often referred to in relation to the all or none principle.
Motor Unit Recruitment
Motor unit recruitment refers to the number of motor units used to lift a weight.
Put simply, the heavier the weight is the more motor units will be recruited in order to lift it.
Muscle Memory
The connection between the brain and the muscles that is developed and strengthened by repeatedly performing the same exercise, making it easier to perform over time as the body ‘remembers’ it.
Muscle Types
There are three kinds of muscle in the human body: smooth muscle, cardiac muscle and skeletal muscle.
Skeletal muscle is further broken down into three types: Type I, Type IIa and Type IIb.
NAMSIT
Another acronym used in teaching materials for personal training courses, this one is there to help you remember how to demonstrate resistance moves to clients.
It stands for: Name the exercise, explain the Area it targets, identify the Muscles it works, Silently demonstrate the move, Instruct the correct technique then Teach the form as the client carries out the move.
NASTY
Implausibly, this is yet another acronym used on personal training courses, serving largely the same purpose as NAMSIT in that it reminds you the order in which you should teach an exercise to a client.
This one stands for Name the exercise, Adjust the machine, Silently demonstrate, explain Teaching points and then it’s Your turn!
Neuron
A neuron is a cell that serves as a wire for carrying information around the body.
For example, a motor neuron carries a signal from the brain to a muscle telling it to move, whilst a sensory neuron carries information from the senses to the brain.
Neutral Spine
When the spine is in its natural, S-shaped position. Usually used to indicate the spine should be in this position when performing an exercise.
OBLA
OBLA stands for Onset of Blood Lactate Accumulation, and refers to the point at which lactate in the muscles builds up quicker than the body can dispose of it.
When performing exercise at a particular intensity it is OBLA that causes your muscles to start cramping, and prevents you from doing any more reps until you have taken a rest.
OBLA is not to be confused with DOMS, as OBLA occurs during a workout whilst DOMS occurs after a workout.
Osteoporosis
A condition where the bones become weaker and more fragile, sometimes due to age and/or a lack of calcium in the diet.
Osteoarthritis
A condition where the joints become stiff, painful and weaker.
PAR-Q
PAR-Q stands for Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire.
It is a series of health-related questions that a client is asked upon joining a gym or before working with a personal trainer in order to make the trainer aware of any issues the client may have, such as injuries or high blood pressure, that may need to be taken into consideration before embarking on a programme of exercise.
Progressive Overload
Progressive overload is a method used to increase strength and muscle size by making changes to the variables involved when performing an exercise, such as the reps and sets, the weights used and the amount of time the muscles are under tension for.
Making these changes helps you to work towards your desired goal by forcing the body to adapt to the ever-increasing demands being placed upon it and, because the changes are made gradually, it is a safer way to do this than by drastically increasing the weights or reps before the body is ready, and risking injury.
An example of progressive overload could be performing a move for three sets of twelve reps one week, then increasing this to three sets of thirteen reps the next, and a straightforward way to employ this principle is to use the 12-15 System.
Protein
Protein is a macronutrient with a great many functions in the body, one of which is to assist with muscle repair and growth.
You can read about how much protein you need here.
Pulse-Lowering Exercise
A short, lower-intensity cardio exercise performed at the end of a workout in order to return the body to its normal state by reducing the heart rate and slowing down blood flow.
Pulse-Raiser
A short, lower-intensity cardio exercise performed at the start of a workout in order to get the blood pumping and the heart beating faster.
Range of Motion (ROM)
This refers to the amount of movement permitted by a particular joint, or the distance between its largest angle and its smallest angle.
It is usually employed when referring to an individual’s flexibility, such as when ascertaining which exercises they will and won’t be able to perform, as well as how it can be increased with stretching, and is also used when discussing how far to go when performing a particular gym exercise. For example, performing a bicep curl using the elbow’s full range of motion means fully extending the elbow at the bottom and fully flexing it at the top.
Reps
Reps is short for ‘repetitions’, and simply refers to the number of times you perform a move, such as lifting a weight. If you do a bicep curl ten times in a row then you’ve just done ten reps.
Resistance Exercises
These are exercises that involve moving a weight in order to work a muscle or group of muscles. Resistance exercises are divided into:
Free weight exercises: where a weight such as a dumbbell, barbell or kettlebell is lifted.
Bodyweight exercises: moves where the weight of the body is lifted, such as press ups or sit ups.
Resistance machine exercises: where machines are used that involve shifting weight, such as a chest press or leg extension machine.
Note: there are a number of grey areas between cardio and resistance exercises. For example, a push up performed slowly would count as a resistance move, whereas a clap-push up performed explosively (pushing yourself off the ground and clapping your hands before you land) would also challenge your cardio. Therefore, the usual way to tell them apart is to think about the end game: is the intention to work the muscles or get the heart pumping?
RPE
RPE stands for ‘Rate of Perceived Exertion‘.
It’s a way of measuring how hard someone is working during exercise based on how hard they feel they’re working, such as by asking them to rate their own effort on a scale of 1 to 10.
A common way to measure RPE is to use The Borg Scale.
Saturated Fat
Saturated fats, also known as ‘bad fats’, are more commonly found in foods derived from animal sources, such as meat and dairy.
They are associated with a number of health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol and certain types of cancer.
The type of fat considered more healthy is unsaturated fat.
Sets
Sets refer to how many groups of reps you perform. So if you do ten reps, have a rest, do ten more reps, have a rest, then perform ten more reps, you just performed three sets.
SMART
This is another acronym used in the teaching of personal training courses, standing for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-framed. All it’s really there for is to remind you to set specific targets for a client when planning an exercise programme for them.
Rather than having vague goals like ‘get a bit fitter’ you should decide upon actual numbers, such as the amount of weight that is to be lost or the distance the client will work towards running, as these numbers not only give the client something specific to work towards but can be used to measure whether they’ve been successful.
Spot Fat Reduction
Also known as ‘spot reduction’, this is the widely-believed but unproven idea that you can burn fat in specific areas of the body by performing exercises that target them, such as doing crunches to burn belly fat.
However, it’s never been conclusively proven that this works; each individual’s body tends to have a preference as to where it stores fat, and it’s not believed an individual can either control where fat is stored nor prioritise the order in which fat in different parts of the body is burned.
Spotter
A spotter is your best gym buddy, who helps you out when you’re doing a move by helping get the weight where it should be in the first place (for a bench press, say), then watches you in order to make sure you do the move properly as well as being there in case you think you’re about to drop it.
However, if you don’t have any friends who can do this for you then we’re afraid we can’t help you.
Static Stretch
A stretch that involves holding a muscle for a designated amount of time, usually performed at the end of a workout. Can be performed as a maintenance or developmental stretch.
Subcutaneous Fat
Subcutaneous fat is the type of body fat located underneath the skin. It is believed to be less harmful than visceral fat.
Tabata
Tabata is a type of interval training where you perform an exercise at a high intensity for 20 seconds then rest for 10 seconds. This is done eight times, for a total of four minutes.
In practice, this could involve performing kettlebell swings as hard as you can for 20 seconds then resting for 10 seconds before repeating this seven more times. You can find some examples of how to apply Tabata to different exercises here.
Tendons
Tendons are a type of connective tissue. They attach muscle to bone, so that when the muscle contracts it pulls on the bone and creates bodily movement.
Trace Element
A micronutrient needed in the human body in smaller amounts (usually no more than 100mg per day). Trace elements include iron, zinc and selenium.
Training System
A training system is a method of performing an exercise that involves clearly choosing variables such as the speed at which it is carried out, how heavy the weights are or how long each section is performed for. A training system is selected based on how it will help with particular goals, such as developing strength, building muscle or improving cardiovascular abilities.
Training systems for cardio include interval training (where you alternate between working at a high intensity and a lower one, such as Tabata) and continuous (where you maintain the same intensity for the duration of the exercise, such as running on a treadmill at the same speed for ten minutes).
Training systems for resistance exercises include basic sets (where you use the same weights throughout and perform, for example, three sets of twelve reps), supersets (where you perform two exercises in succession that either target the same muscles or opposing ones) and pyramid sets (where after each set you either increase the weight and lower the reps or lower the weight and increase the reps).
Unsaturated Fat
Unsaturated fats, also known as ‘good fats’, can be polyunsaturated or monounsaturated, and are usually derived from plant sources such as avocados, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils, as well as from oily fish.
They are generally considered to be more healthy than saturated fats.
V02 Max
V02 Max is a way of gauging fitness by measuring the amount of oxygen you use during exercise, with a higher amount indicating a greater level of fitness.
Put more simply, it is a way of measuring cardiovascular fitness, and it’s also believed to be a good way to measure overall health.
It can be measured in a professional facility using a test where you run on a treadmill whilst wearing a mask, but if you don’t want to look like you’re going to a Halloween party dressed as Bane then there are websites where you can calculate it based on your results in fitness tests, such as this one: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/gentest.htm
Visceral Fat
Visceral fat is the more harmful form of body fat, linked to diseases such as diabetes. It is located at the abdomen and surrounds organs such as the liver and kidneys.
The other type of body fat is subcutaneous fat.
Functional Fitness PTS 