Fitness Terms Explained: A Beginner’s Guide to Gym and Training Language

Getting started with fitness can feel like learning a new language. Whether you’re reading a workout guide or listening to a trainer, terms like “AMRAP,” “hypertrophy,” or “DOMS” can be confusing. This guide breaks down the most common fitness terminology so you can train with confidence and clarity.

A

  • Active Recovery – Low-intensity movement performed after a workout to promote muscle recovery, such as walking, stretching, or light cycling.

  • AMRAP – “As Many Rounds (or Reps) As Possible” in a set amount of time. Common in HIIT and CrossFit workouts.

  • Anaerobic Exercise – High-intensity activity performed in short bursts, such as sprinting or heavy lifting, where the body uses energy without oxygen.

  • Anterior Chain – Muscles on the front of the body, including quads, abs, and chest.

B

  • BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) – The number of calories your body burns at rest to maintain basic life functions like breathing and circulation.

  • Body Composition – The ratio of fat to lean mass (muscle, bone, etc.) in the body.

  • BMI (Body Mass Index) – A numerical value of weight in relation to height, often used to categorize weight status, though it doesn’t account for muscle mass.

  • Bulking – A phase of eating in a calorie surplus to gain muscle mass, often followed by a cutting phase.

C

  • Cardio (Cardiovascular Exercise) – Any exercise that raises your heart rate and improves heart and lung function (e.g., running, jump rope, cycling).

  • Circuit Training – A workout consisting of a series of exercises performed one after the other with minimal rest.

  • Cooldown – Gentle movement and stretching at the end of a workout to help the body transition to a resting state.

  • Concentric Movement – The muscle shortening phase during a lift (e.g., the upward phase of a bicep curl).

  • Cutting – A phase focused on fat loss, usually after bulking, to reveal muscle definition.

D

  • DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness): Muscle pain and stiffness that typically occurs 24–72 hours after intense or unfamiliar exercise.

  • Deficit: Consuming fewer calories than you burn, leading to fat loss.

  • Drop Set: A resistance training technique where you reduce the weight and continue the set after muscle failure.

  • Dynamic Stretching: Movement-based stretching that warms up the muscles (e.g., leg swings, arm circles).

E

  • Eccentric: The lengthening phase of a movement (e.g., lowering a dumbbell during a bicep curl).

  • EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute): A workout format where you perform a specific movement or rep count at the start of each minute.

  • Endorphins: Chemicals released during exercise that can reduce pain and boost mood.

  • Energy System: The body’s way of producing energy during exercise (aerobic, anaerobic, ATP-PC).

  • Explosive Training: Training focused on power output and speed (e.g. sprints, jump squats).

F

  • Failure (Muscle Failure): The point during a set where you can’t complete another rep with proper form.

  • Fast-Twitch Fibers: Muscle fibers designed for explosive, powerful movements but fatigue quickly.

  • Flexibility: The range of motion around a joint.

  • Foam Rolling: A self-massage technique to relieve muscle tightness and improve mobility.

  • Functional Training: Exercises that mimic real-life movement patterns, improving strength and coordination.

G

  • Gains: Slang for progress in muscle size, strength, or performance.

  • Glutes: The muscles of your buttocks (gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus) important for posture, power, and movement.

  • Grip Strength: The force you can generate with your hands; important in lifting, climbing, and injury prevention.

  • Gym Bro Science: Unverified or anecdotal fitness advice passed around the gym without scientific backing.

  • GPP (General Physical Preparedness): A broad base of fitness that supports more specific or advanced training later.

H

  • HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training): Short bursts of intense effort followed by rest or low-intensity periods.

  • Hypertrophy: The enlargement of muscle fibers due to resistance training.

  • Hinge (Hip Hinge): A fundamental movement pattern involving bending at the hips while keeping the spine neutral (e.g., deadlift, kettlebell swing).

  • Heart Rate Zones: Ranges that indicate exercise intensity, often used for cardio training (e.g., Zone 2 for endurance).

  • Hormonal Response: The body’s release of hormones like cortisol, testosterone, or growth hormone in response to training stress.

I

  • Isolation Exercise: A movement that targets a single muscle group (e.g., bicep curl).

  • Intensity: The level of effort or difficulty in a workout—can refer to load, heart rate, or perceived exertion.

  • Interval Training: Alternating periods of work and rest, used in both cardio and strength training.

  • Intra-Workout Nutrition: Supplements or snacks consumed during a workout to maintain performance, usually relevant for long or intense sessions.

  • IPF (International Powerlifting Federation): A major organization that governs international powerlifting competitions with strict standards.

J

  • Jump Training (Plyometrics): Explosive exercises like box jumps or bounding that develop power and speed.

  • Joint Stability: The ability of a joint to maintain proper alignment and resist injury during movement.

  • Junk Volume: Training sets that don’t meaningfully contribute to progress, either too light, too easy, or too much.

K

  • Kettlebell: A cast-iron or steel weight used in ballistic movements and strength training, great for dynamic, full-body work.

  • Knee Drive: The upward motion of the knee used in running, sprinting, and certain lifts (like high knees or sprints).

  • Kcal: Kilocalories, the energy units we refer to as “calories” in food. Important for tracking intake.

L

  • Lactic Acid: A byproduct of intense exercise that was once blamed for soreness, but actually plays a role in short-term energy supply.

  • Lateral Movement: Side-to-side movement important for agility, stability, and sports performance.

  • LISS (Low-Intensity Steady-State): A type of cardio done at a moderate, consistent pace (like walking or light cycling).

  • Load: The amount of resistance or weight used in an exercise.

  • Lockout: The final portion of a lift where the joint is fully extended, often in squats, presses, and deadlifts.

M

  • Macrocycle: A long-term training block, usually several months, often leading to a specific goal (like a race or event).

  • Macros (Macronutrients): Protein, carbohydrates, and fats (essential nutrients tracked to support training and recovery).

  • Maintenance Phase: A period where training and diet aim to preserve strength, muscle, or endurance rather than improve them.

  • Mesocycle: A medium-length training phase, typically lasting several weeks to a few months, designed to target specific adaptations like strength, hypertrophy, or endurance within the larger macrocycle.

  • Mobility: The active range of motion a joint can move through, often improved through dynamic stretching or movement-based work.

  • Muscle Activation: The engagement of specific muscles during a movement, often used in warmups to “wake up” sleepy muscle groups.

  • Muscle-Mind Connection: The ability to intentionally focus on and contract the target muscle during an exercise.

N

  • Negative Reps (Eccentric): The lowering portion of an exercise used to build strength and control (e.g., lowering slowly from a pull-up).

  • Neuromuscular Efficiency: How effectively your brain and muscles communicate to produce force or coordination.

  • Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT): Calories burned through everyday movement like walking, cleaning, or fidgeting.

O

  • Overload (Progressive Overload): The gradual increase of stress placed on the body during training to stimulate adaptation.

  • Oversplits: Flexibility training beyond a standard front split, where the hips go past 180°, often requiring elevated surfaces.

  • Overreaching: A short, planned increase in training stress to boost performance different from overtraining, which is unplanned and harmful.

  • Overtraining: A state of chronic fatigue, performance drop, or hormonal imbalance from too much training without enough recovery.

  • Oxygen Debt (EPOC): The increased oxygen intake after intense exercise that helps your body recover and burn more calories post-workout.

P

  • Plyometrics: Explosive exercises designed to improve power and speed by training the muscles to exert maximum force in short intervals, such as jump training.

  • Progressive Overload: Gradually increasing the weight, frequency, or number of repetitions in strength training to continuously challenge muscles and improve strength.

  • Proprioception: The body’s ability to sense its position, movement, and balance, important for coordination and injury prevention.

  • Protein Synthesis: The process where cells build new proteins, essential for muscle repair and growth after exercise.

Q

  • Quadriceps: A group of four muscles located at the front of the thigh responsible for extending the knee and important in movements like running, jumping, and squatting.

R

  • Range of Motion (ROM): The full movement potential of a joint, usually its range of flexion and extension.

  • Recovery: The period and processes after exercise during which the body repairs and strengthens itself, including rest, nutrition, and hydration.

  • Repetitions (Reps): The number of times you perform a specific exercise movement continuously.

S

  • Set: A group of consecutive repetitions performed without resting.

  • Superset: A workout technique where two exercises are done back-to-back with little or no rest in between, often targeting opposing muscle groups.

T

  • Tempo: In strength training, tempo describes the speed of the different phases of a lift: eccentric (lowering), pause, and concentric (lifting), which affects muscle tension and control.
    In running and endurance training, tempo refers to a sustained, comfortably hard pace just below the lactate threshold, used to improve aerobic capacity and endurance.

  • Tendon: The connective tissue that attaches muscle to bone, transmitting the force generated by muscles to enable movement.

  • Trigger Point: A tight area within muscle tissue that can cause pain in other parts of the body, often called a “muscle knot.”

  • Training Volume: The total amount of work done in a training session or period, commonly calculated as sets × reps × weight.

W

  • Warm-up: Preparatory exercises or movements performed before a workout to increase blood flow, raise muscle temperature, and reduce injury risk.

  • Workout Split: A training schedule dividing different muscle groups or exercise types across different days (e.g., upper/lower split).

  • WOD (Workout of the Day): A term from CrossFit describing the daily prescribed workout.

  • Weightlifting: Sport or training involving lifting heavy weights, either Olympic lifts or general strength exercises.

  • Wearable: Technology devices worn on the body (like fitness trackers or smartwatches) that monitor health and activity.

  • Weekly Volume: The total amount of work (sets x reps x weight) done in a week, used to track training load.

  • WR (World Record): The best performance recorded worldwide in a specific exercise or sport.

Z

  • Zone Training: Training based on heart rate zones to target specific energy systems (e.g., fat burning zone, aerobic zone).