Gym Jargon Buster
Anyone who is new to the gym environment can find the whole experience a bit overwhelming and intimidating. This can be made even worse with all the different technical terms that you hear people talking about. Here, expert PT and competitive bodybuilder Simon demystifies gym jargon to help you understand just what it all means.
Reps
Short for repetitions. This basically means one complete movement of a particular exercise. An example of this would be the bench press. The rep would begin at the top with the arms locked out and would be completed when the bar has been brought down to the chest and pressed out to the start position. The user will decide how many reps they will aim to complete before they rest and this will often be dependent on the type of training they are doing.
Sets
This refers to how many times a number of repetitions will be performed. For example someone may decide to do 12 reps on the bench press before resting. They repeat this three times which will mean the user has completed three sets of 12 reps.
Rest period
This is the amount of time that a person will rest between each of the sets they perform. This again will depend on their individual goals and will be anything from a few seconds to several minutes.
Drop Set
A drop set is when the user finishes the reps on a particular set and then immediately reduces the weight and continues to exhaust the muscle until they are can’t carry on or the weight is reduced further.
Superset
This is generally two exercises performed back to back without rest. They can be different exercises for the same muscle group or they can be opposing muscle groups, for example chest and back.
Giant sets
Giant sets are usually three or four exercises performed one after another generally hitting different areas of the same muscle group. They are hard sets to perform and tend to only be used by experienced athletes and trainers.
Forced reps
Forced reps are ones that are carried out after your own strength has started to diminish and you struggle to complete any more. A training partner is needed to offer the slightest assistance with the exercise to help carry out one or two more reps. The aim is to push your body beyond its limits and encourage growth.
Rest pause training
This type of training is not for the novice or the fainthearted. RP training is done by completing a set to muscular failure then resting momentarily before trying to grind out a few more reps. This can be repeated again after resting for a few more seconds. This technique is a good way of pushing past a plateau in your training.
Spotter
A spotter is someone who will assist another during an exercise to ensure they are safe but also to offer encouragement and in some cases assist with forced reps. Finding the right spotter can be a real challenge if you don’t have a regular training partner. Not everyone fully understands what the role of a spotter is and having a bad one can be almost as bad as not having one at all. If you do use one make sure they understand what is expected of them and tell them exactly what you are hoping to achieve. If you are in any doubt as to the capabilities of your spotter then DON’T ask them!!!
Weight plates
No, not the things we eat off, this refers to the weights, which go onto a barbell. The weights can vary from around 1.25kg all the way up to 30kg.
Collars
These are normally metal type springs or screws that are placed on the barbell once you have put on the weight plates to secure them in place and stop them sliding off.
Pump
The ‘Pump’ is generally achieved when training with weights. It occurs when the muscle being trained is filled with blood causing it to swell and become bigger than normal. The term ‘Pumping Up’ is what bodybuilders do before going on stage to give the muscles the maximum visual impact. This effect can be maximized by using a Muscle Pump product like Gorilla Sports N02 Muscle Pump For more on on how Muscle Pump supplements work click here.
Getting ripped
This is a must for any bodybuilder but can be something that anyone can strive to achieve. It is the ability to reduce ones body fat to very low levels to allow the muscles to become more visible. If you are looking to drop body fat then taking a Fat Burner supplement can help, to find out how click here.
High Intensity Interval Training (H.I.I.T)
This is, as the name suggests, high intensity training during which the individual combines periods of maximal or near maximal exertion followed by bouts of low intensity exercise. These can are generally done during cardio exercise and are done using time or distance to measure each rep.