The Weight Training Dictionary

Weight training is more popular now more than ever before. But many people are still unfamiliar with terminology or types of training. I wanted break it down for those starting to weight training or to motivate others to start.

Types of Weight Training

• Bodybuilding/Hypertrophy: Is lifting to achieve maximum muscle growth and not necessarily maximum strength. Often focused one or two muscle groups per workout sessions. Bodybuilding competitions are focused on muscular symmetry, muscularity and conditioning.
• Power lifting: Is lifting for maximum strength and not so much for appearance. The sport is focused on 3 main compound lifts, the bench press, squats, and deadlifts.
• Weight Lifting (Sport): Similar to power lifting, it’s an Olympic sport focused maximum strength on 2 main lifts: the stanch and the clean & jerk.
• Circuit: Lifting several exercises in quick succession, for given number of rounds or time. Great for building endurance for athletes and those looking for maximum fat loss.
• Isometric: Holding a weight at one position for a given time, and not performing the entire motion. This is great to build strength at one position and stamina. Often used for athletes, rock climber, or gymnast.
• Strength Endurance Training: Hybrid training that promotes stabilization and strength. The form of training entails a stable exercise (ex bench press) followed by a stabilization exercise with similar mechanics (ex stability ball push up). Often focus on high volume, in order to produce and maintain force for prolong period of time. Great for those in sports and those looking to strengthen core and joints.

Training Terminology

• Sets: Is the number of consecutive repetitions
  • Bodybuilding: 3-5 sets
  • Max Strength: 4-6 sets
  • Circuit: 3-6 sets
  • Endurance: 1-3 sets
• Repetitions (reps): Is one complete motion of exercise
  • Bodybuilding: 8-12 reps
  • Max Strength: 1-3 reps
  • Circuit: 1-10 reps or based on specified time
  • Endurance: 1-20 reps
• Rest Interval: The time taken to recuperate between sets
  • Bodybuilding: 0-60 sec
  • Max Strength: 3-5 mins
  • Circuit: 3-5 mins
  • Endurance: 0-90 sec
• One Rep Max (1RP): Is the maximum amount of force that can be generated by maximum contraction, ie, the highest weight a person can lift at one rep.
• Training Intensity: The level of effort compared to the individual maximum rep (1RP)
  • Bodybuilding: 75-85% of max rep
  • Max Strength: 85-100% of max rep
  • Circuit: 10% of max rep
  • Endurance: 50-70% of max rep
• Repetition Tempo: The Speed with which rep is performed
  • Bodybuilding: Moderate
  • Max Strength: Fast/Explosive
  • Circuit: Fast/Explosive
  • Endurance: Slow
• PR: Personal Record (PR): If can be the maximum weight per lift or size gain
• Prime Mover (primary muscle): The muscle that is the initial and main source of power for a movement (ex chest muscle for bench press)
• Synergist: The muscle that assist the primary muscle during the movement (ex: shoulder for bench press)
• Stabilizer: The muscle that supports and stabilizes the body while the primary and synergist muscle perform the movement (ex: rotater cuff for bench press)
• Split Routine: A routine that trains different body part different days
• Peripheral Heart action: variation of circuit training that switches from upper body to lower body
• Range of Motion (ROM): Refers to the range that the body moves during an exercise:

These are training concepts used in bodybuilding, and sometime other types of training, to increase strength and build muscle.

• Supersets/Tri-Sets: Performing a set for two or three exercise in a rapid succession
• Drop Sets: Performing sets to failure, then removing a percentage of weight and continue with next set
• Pyramid: Increasing or decreasing weight with each set
• Negatives: Loading up weight on the eccentric phase of the lift, i.e. the part of the lift the muscle is lengthening
• Partial Range Reps (half reps): reps done in a specific range of motion instead of the entire movement.
• Twenty-Ones: Performing a set where seven reps are performed at the bottom half of the range of motion, seven performed at the top half, and last seven performing using the entire range of motion.
• Push Workouts: Workouts that focus on upper body muscles that are involved in the pushing exercises, such as chest, shoulders, triceps.
• Pull Workouts: Workouts that focus on upper body muscles that are involved in the pulling exercises, such as back, biceps, sometimes rear delts
• Leg workouts: Workouts that focus on leg muscles, such as quads, hamstrings, calves.