Every occupation has its own terminology and wording. I’m sure you’ve been in conversation circles with people discussing their job and you acted like you knew what they were talking about. You were trying to be nice by not interrupting them or you may have been embarrassed by not knowing what they were discussing.
Now think about the gym setting. You hear the trainer speaking about one repetition max, HIIT exercises, failure (just love hearing that at the gym), recovery, negatives and selectorized machines to name a few words used by trainers. Speak English already! Right?
Let me help you understand what these gym words mean. Here’s a few examples of trainer speak and their definitions.
Spot: When someone assists another person with an exercise. It’s always good to have a spotter if you’re lifting heavy weights at low reps to try to improve your strength and power. Lighter weight lifting with higher reps usually doesn’t require a spotter.
Reps: This is short for repetitions and refers to how many times you do a single exercise in a set. I teach a lot of group strength training classes and I get tired of counting reps so I rely on capable trainees to help me count. Love that!
Set: A set is a group of repetitions done without stopping.
Super Set: This is a combination of exercises done back to back with little to no rest. For example, doing a super set of shoulder presses (pressing resistance up over your head) and lateral raises (raising resistance up at your side).
Circuit: This is a series of different exercises that are performed back to back with little to no rest. Working out on a chest press machine then going to an upper back machine and then on to the next machine. Or it could be cardio (aerobic) exercises of jumping jacks then jogging in place then step ups.
Intervals: Training at low intensity for a period of time followed by high intensity.
Tabata: This is a type of interval training where you do an exercise for 20 seconds on and 10 seconds of rest for eight rounds (four-minute round of exercise).
HIIT: High-Intensity Interval Training is another form of interval training that alternates short, intense exercise with less-intense recovery periods.
Resistance Training: This could be any exercise that uses resistance (dumbbells, bands, machines, body weight).
One Rep Max: This is the maximum amount of weight a person can move in a single repetition.
Negatives: This is when the muscle lengthens with resistance. The easiest exercise to think of is the elbow bending bicep curl with a dumbbell. As the arm extends back down with the dumbbell, the bicep muscle is in negative training. Another word for this is eccentric contraction.
DOMS: Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness is the pain and stiffness felt in muscles hours or days after strenuous exercise - usually felt the most 24 to 72 hours after the exercise.
Failure: When you cannot do one more rep.
Now you can trainer speak with the best of them! Here’s to your continued success at eating well, sleeping well and exercising.
Jonathan Souder is the Fitness Director at Manor House, an Acts Retirement-Life Community in Seaford, Delaware. This column appeared in the October 27, 2016 edition of the Seaford Star.
