Lifting Weights Lingo – 15 Terms Women Need To Know
If you are going to get stronger and lift weights then you have to learn the language of lifting.
There are certain words and terms that you need to know.
Once you start lifting we have a language that no one else understands.
If you lift you understand it.
Lifting Weights Lingo – 15 Terms Women Need To Know
Reps – Everything you do in the gym is a rep. A lot of people don’t realize that strength is practice, practice is repetitions. When you lift you don’t “workout”, you “practice”. There is a big difference.
Sets – Your sets are how many reps you do in a row after you rest. IE I just did 5 sets of 8 repetitions.
Rest Time – How long you take in between sets. Most women don’t take enough rest time.
Volume – Take the weight you lifted, times it by your sets and reps combined.
For example if you squat 185 pounds for 5 sets of 5 you get 185 x 25 (total reps) = 4,625 pounds of volume.
Compound Exercise – A multi joint exercise. Lets think about squats. They use the hip joint and the knee joint. Considered the best bang for your buck exercises.
Isolation Exercises – A single joint exercise. Think leg extensions, or bicep curls. Not a big movement of multiple joints.
Super Set – Combining two exercises of the same muscle group back to back. For example a bench press followed by a push up.
Eccentric – The “Negative” phase of a rep. The lowering. For example on a squat the eccentric is the lowering/downward phase of the squat.
Concentric – The “Positive” phase of the rep. The explosive/contraction portion of a rep. On a squat think of it as the coming out of the bottom of the squat phase.
Tempo – The speed at which you complete your sets. For example lets say you are doing a squat. You lower it for 3 seconds, pause at the bottom for one, come up fast and hold at the top for 1 second. This would be a 3-1-X-1 tempo.
Sticking Point – The Portion of the rep that you get stuck at or find hard during a lift. This could be locking out your bench press. The mid range of a squat, the deadlift lockout etc.
Spotter – Someone to help you during a set in case you need help lifting or taking the weight. A spotter will also help guide you through a hard rep, give you a lift off on bench press and more. A good spotter makes your lifting better for many reasons.
Tension – A big word in the strength and lifting community. The more tension (contracting your muscles) the stronger and safer you will be.
Power Lifting – A lifting based sport consisting of the three main lifts. Squat, Bench Press and Deadlift
Weight Lifting – An Olympic sport consisting of two main lifts. The Snatch and The Clean & Jerk.
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Thanks.
Coach Rob
Rob King is a Competitive PowerLifter, Coach and Writer.
