Strength training glossary
The words you meet on our exercise pages, in plain English.
- AMRAP
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Short for "as many reps as possible." You do as many reps as you can with good form in one set, then stop. Programs often use an AMRAP set to check progress or to estimate your one-rep max.
- Bilateral
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An exercise in which both arms or both legs work at the same time, such as the back squat or the bench press. Bilateral lifts let you move the most total load.
See: Barbell back squat
- Bracing
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Tightening the muscles all around your trunk, as if you expect a light punch to the stomach, without pulling your belly in. A brace keeps your spine stiff under load. A position stand on core training states that bracing gives more spinal stability than pulling the belly in. [source]
See: Plank
- Compound exercise
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An exercise that moves two or more joints and trains several muscle groups at once, such as a squat, deadlift, push-up or pull-up. Programs usually put compound exercises before isolation exercises in a session. [source]
See: Barbell deadlift, Pull-up
- Concentric
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The phase of a rep in which the working muscle shortens while it lifts the load, such as the way up in a biceps curl. It is often called the lifting phase. [source]
See: Dumbbell biceps curl
- Deload
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A planned short period, often a week, of easier training with less weight, fewer sets or both. It lets fatigue drop before you train hard again.
- DOMS
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Short for "delayed onset muscle soreness": muscle ache that starts several hours after a workout, often peaks a day or two later and then fades. It is common after new exercises or a lot of lowering work. Sharp pain or pain in a joint is not DOMS, so stop and get it checked.
- Double progression
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A way to progress in which you first add reps at the same weight until you reach the top of your rep range, then add weight and go back to the bottom of the range. The ACSM advises a small load increase once you can do one or two reps more than your target. [source]
- Eccentric
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The phase of a rep in which the working muscle lengthens under load while it controls the weight, such as the way down in a squat. A slow, controlled eccentric is part of good form. [source]
See: Goblet squat
- EMG (electromyography)
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A method that measures the electrical activity of a muscle through sensors on the skin. Studies use it to compare how hard a muscle works in different exercises. High EMG activity does not prove that an exercise builds more muscle. [source]
- Failure
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The point in a set at which you cannot complete another rep with good form. Training to failure is not required for progress; many programs stop a rep or more before it.
- Form
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The way you do an exercise: your body position, the path of the weight and the speed of each rep. Good form keeps the load on the target muscles and lets you add weight safely.
See: Exercise library
- Hinge
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A movement pattern in which you bend mainly at the hips with a neutral back and only a small knee bend. Deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts and kettlebell swings are hinges, and they train the glutes and hamstrings.
- Hip extension
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Moving your thigh back behind your body or driving your hips forward from a bent position, as at the top of a hip thrust. The glutes and hamstrings do this job.
See: Barbell hip thrust
- Hypertrophy
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An increase in the size of a muscle from training. A meta-analysis found similar hypertrophy with light and heavy loads when the sets were taken to failure, while heavy loads gave more gain in maximal strength. [source]
- Isolation exercise
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An exercise that moves one joint and targets one main muscle group, such as a biceps curl or a leg extension. Isolation exercises add work for a muscle after the compound lifts.
See: Dumbbell hammer curl
- Isometric
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A muscle action in which the muscle works hard but does not change length, so the joint does not move. A plank and a pause at the bottom of a squat are isometric. [source]
See: Plank, Side plank
- Lockout
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The end position of a lift, in which the working joints are straight and the weight is under control, such as standing tall at the top of a deadlift. Do not snap your elbows or knees hard into lockout.
See: Barbell deadlift
- Neutral grip
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A grip in which your palms face each other, as in a hammer curl. Many people find it easier on the wrists and shoulders than other grips.
See: Dumbbell hammer curl
- One-rep max (1RM)
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The most weight you can lift for one complete rep with good form. You do not need to test it directly: you can estimate it from the number of reps you can do with a lighter weight. [source]
- Progression and regression
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A progression is a harder version of an exercise, and a regression is an easier one in the same pattern. For example, a push-up on your knees is a regression of the push-up, and a decline push-up is a progression.
See: Push-up
- Progressive overload
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Making your training a little harder over time, so your body keeps adapting. You can add weight, reps or sets. A study in trained lifters found that adding reps at a fixed load and adding load at fixed reps gave similar results. [source]
- Pronated grip
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An overhand grip in which your palms face away from you or toward the floor, as in a pull-up or a bench press.
See: Pull-up, Barbell bench press
- Range of motion
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How far a joint moves during a rep, from the start position to the end position. In a 10-week arm training study, full range of motion gave greater strength gains than partial range of motion. [source]
- Rep
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Short for "repetition": one complete movement of an exercise, from the start position to the end position and back.
- Rep range
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The span of reps you aim for in each set, such as a low, middle or high range. Heavier loads go with fewer reps and lighter loads with more reps. [source]
- Rest interval
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The rest time between sets. A systematic review found that longer rest periods help trained lifters gain more strength, while untrained people did well with short to moderate rest. [source]
- RIR (reps in reserve)
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How many more reps you could have done with good form when you end a set. If you stop when you could do two more, that set is "2 RIR." It is a simple way to judge how hard a set is. [source]
- RPE (rating of perceived exertion)
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A score for how hard a set feels. In lifting, the RPE scale is often tied to reps in reserve, so a higher number means fewer reps were left at the end of the set. [source]
- Set
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A group of reps that you do without a rest, such as one round of squats. You rest between sets.
- Split
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The way a program spreads muscle groups across the week, such as full body, upper and lower, or push, pull and legs. A meta-analysis found that training each muscle twice a week gave more growth than once a week. [source]
- Spotter
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A person who watches your set and helps you lift the weight if you cannot finish a rep, most often on the bench press or squat. If you train alone, use the safety arms of a rack instead.
See: Barbell bench press
- Superset
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Two exercises done back to back with little or no rest between them, then a rest. Pairing muscles that do not compete, such as a press and a row, saves time.
- Supinated grip
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An underhand grip in which your palms face toward you or up, as in a chin-up or a biceps curl.
See: Chin-up, Dumbbell biceps curl
- Tempo
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The speed of each phase of a rep: lowering, pause and lifting. A slower lowering phase makes an exercise harder without extra weight.
- Unilateral
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An exercise in which one arm or one leg works at a time, such as a reverse lunge or a one-arm row. Unilateral work shows and trains differences between your sides and challenges your balance.
- Valsalva maneuver
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Taking a breath and pushing it against a closed throat, which raises pressure in the trunk. Lifters use a short version to stay stiff during a heavy rep. It also raises blood pressure for a moment, so ask your doctor first if you have high blood pressure or a heart condition.
- Volume
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The total amount of work you do, most often counted as hard sets for each muscle per week. A meta-analysis found a graded dose-response: more weekly sets went with more muscle growth. [source]
- Warm-up set
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A lighter set before your working sets that lets you practice the movement and get your joints and muscles ready. Warm-up sets do not count toward your training volume.
- Working set
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A set at your planned training weight and effort, after the warm-up sets. Working sets are the ones you count and progress over time.