Getting into any new field means you’ll probably encounter some unfamiliar concepts and vocabulary, and it’s no different when it comes to working out. Understanding common weightlifting terminology can greatly help when you’re trying to pick up a new exercise, talking with others about your fitness routine, or even reading the posts here in this blog.
In this post, I’ll define and explain several terms you’ll frequently come across when you’re at the gym or involved in conversations about weightlifting. As a side note, all the terms you see, including those that are abbreviations or short for longer words, are shown as they’re typically used and pronounced.
Hypertrophy
In the realm of fitness, hypertrophy is when your muscles become larger. This is achieved through exercise, specifically strength training.
Although the size of a muscle isn’t quite the same thing as its strength, they’re highly correlated especially early on. Therefore, when you experience hypertrophy, you’re most likely also going to get stronger.
Rep
Short for “repetition”, a rep is one full execution of an exercise motion. It begins when you’re at the starting position and ends when you return to that same position. If you do 10 bicep curls, that means you’ve done 10 reps of bicep curls.
Set
A set encompasses all the reps of an exercise you do before you get tired and need to rest. If you do 10 bicep curls, rest for a few minutes, and then do another 10 bicep curls, then you’ve just done two sets of 10 reps of bicep curls.
Failure
Failure is the state of being so tired you can’t complete another rep of a given exercise without compromising technique. “Training to failure” and “reaching failure” are common phrases you’ll hear, and both of these describe the process of doing reps until you’re unable to do any more.
If you want to know whether training to failure has any practical applications, this is one of the topics I cover in my post How Hard Should You Train to Effectively Build Muscle?.
PR
PR is short for “personal record”. This refers to the heaviest weight you’ve ever lifted for a particular exercise.
One-Rep Max
Your one-rep max for a given exercise is the amount of weight for which you’re only able to perform one full rep before tiring out; essentially it’s the most weight you’re capable of lifting. This isn’t necessarily very useful in day-to-day training, but it can be a reference point as well as something you occasionally test to track improvements in strength.
Frequency
Frequency refers to how often you train; specifically, how many times you train per week.
Volume
Volume generally refers to how much exercise you do in a single workout session. The specific way to calculate this can vary based on context, but a popular measurement of training volume is sets x reps x weight, which would measure how much total weight you lift during a particular exercise.
For example, according to this method of calculation, if you do three sets of 10 reps using a 30-pound dumbbell, that’s equal to a training volume of 900 pounds. No matter how you calculate it, though, if you’re looking to gain muscle your goal should be to increase volume over time.
Plate
Technically, plates are the circular, disc-like weights that can be put onto and taken off of barbells. They often come in weights of 2.5, 5, 10, 25, 35, and 45 pounds.
However, in conversation the term “plate” is often used to specifically refer to a 45-pound plate. If someone says they can bench press a plate, that means they can bench press a barbell that has a 45-pound plate on both ends of the bar.
Bench
Speaking of bench pressing, to bench is to perform the act of bench pressing. Going back to the previous example, instead of talking about being able to bench press a plate, it’s probably more common that you’ll just hear someone say they can bench a plate.
Spot
If someone asks you to spot them during an exercise, they’re asking if you can assist them. They’re not asking you to help them perform the movement, but rather to supervise them and support the weight in the event they get tired and can’t lift the weight by themselves. In these situations, your job is to help the lifter complete the rep and bring the weight back to a stable position.
This is something easier said than done. If you want to learn more, I recommend checking out my guide on how to properly spot someone, where I go into the main dos and don’ts of being an effective spotter, because it’s definitely a useful skill in the gym.
You also shouldn’t be afraid to ask others for a spot. Especially if you’re trying to reach a new PR but don’t know if you’ll actually be able to lift the weight, it’s very reassuring to know that someone is there to help you so you don’t end up getting stuck under the weight or hurting yourself.
Work In
Working in with someone else at the gym means you and another person are simultaneously sharing a machine or piece of equipment. This is done by having one person use the equipment while the other is resting and then alternating.
This is very common, especially if the gym is busy and you don’t want to spend a lot of time waiting for others to finish using a piece of equipment. In addition, unless it poses a great inconvenience, it’s rather frowned upon to not let someone work in with you if they ask.
Workout Split
Your workout split is how you break up your workouts across multiple sessions. You’re likely not training every part of your body every time you go to the gym, so you might follow a structured split in which you work different muscle groups on different days of your routine. This means you don’t need to spend hours in the gym each day, but you’re still training every muscle group on a consistent basis.
Push Pull Legs
On the topic of workout splits, push pull legs is a widely used workout split. This split involves doing all your pushing exercises (which recruit the chest, triceps, and front delts) on the first day, all your pulling exercises (which recruit the back, biceps, and rear delts) the next day, and then doing all your leg exercises on the last day, before repeating the cycle again.
It’s an efficient way to cover all your muscle groups at least twice a week, but that being said, it’s not the only acceptable way to go about your training.
Leg Day
No matter what workout split you follow, you’ll probably have a leg day, or a workout session dedicated to lower-body training, built into your routine.
It’s a common joke that everyone hates leg days, and that many people try to avoid them altogether. Though this can be a bit exaggerated, there are some valid reasons why training legs isn’t as enjoyable to many people as training other parts of the body.
Some of these reasons include the fact that doing lower-body exercises is often more cardio-intensive and exhausting than upper-body workouts, and that some leg exercises, such as certain variations of squats, can be a bit complex and difficult to execute. Growing your leg muscles typically also requires a lot more concentrated effort, and yet it’s not as rewarding to many people as is building up other muscles like the arms and chest.
However, working out your legs is crucial for building overall strength and having a balanced physique, so you definitely shouldn’t skip leg day!
