Ass to Grass – term used to describe someone doing squats and wanting them to drop to as low a position at the bottom of the squat as possible.

B’s…

Bar – equipment used to perform all free weight exercises. Used in conjunction with plates to increase or decrease resistance.

Belt or Lifting Belt – a thick leather belt usually 4 inches in width for Olympic lifting, 6 inches in width for Powerlifting to support your core while doing heavy lifting.

BMI – Body Mass Index, The BMI is a number that reflects the percentage of body fat in proportion to lean body mass. This is a height-weight system of measurement that applies to all gender.

Boulders or Boulder Shoulders – term used to describe a person with big broad shoulders and deltoids. They look like a pair of boulders hanging off the shoulder.

Buff – someone with low bodyfat, also used interchangeably with shredded, jacked, ripped, lean.

Bulk or Bulking Up – term used to indicate putting on extra weight to get bigger.  When one bulks up they usually have an increase of muscle mass plus fat, the goal being to have the minimum amount of fat increase while bulking up.

Burn – the burning sensation caused by a build-up of lactic acid from high intensity exercise.

Breakdown Set – Lifting a certain weight for a prescribed number or reps and when complete you lower the weight (breakdown) and continue for a prescribed number or reps with no rest and repeat these breakdowns for a certain number of sets.  For example, I am going to perform a three set breakdown. Also known as a Drop Set.

C’s…

Cables or Cable Machine – any machine in the gym where cables are attached to selectorized weights and you adjust the resistance by moving a pin to the weight desired.  Cable machines exist for just about every bodypart and are usually more passive on the joints.

Cheat or Cheating – doesn’t mean having a fling! It is when you move the body out of its normal form of performing the exercise in order to do more weight or reps.  Usually accomplished by swinging the body.  Example, I did several cheat reps at the end of my set.

Chicken Legs – a not so complimentary term to describe someone that spends most or all of the time working out the upper half of their body and they have scrawny thin legs in comparison.

Circuit Training – also known as Circuit Program, moving quickly from one exercise station to another and doing a prescribed number of exercises on each station in order to keep pulse rate high and promote overall fitness.  Popular with those that wants a quick workout or don’t have more time to spend in the gym.

Compound Exercise or Movement – exercise or movement that involves multiple muscle groups like a clean and press.

Cool Down – Lowering of body temperature following vigorous exercise. The practice of cooling down after exercise involves slowing down your level of activity gradually.

Cut or Cutting Up – same as leaning out except with the added goal of adding definition and striations to your muscles.

Cycle or Doing a Cycle – indicates when someone is taking steroid, the period of time they are taking it and with a certain combination of steroids and other PED’s. Example, I am doing a cycle over the next 12 weeks. Can also be used to mean cycles in a weightlifting program. For example, a Prep, Pre-Contest and Contest cycle preparing for a competition where each cycle has a different way and method of training the body.

D’s…

Dime – reference to a 10 pound plate.

Dip Belt – a weightlifting belt with a strap or chain in front of it where you can hang weights off of to add additional resistance when performing dips or pull ups.

DOMS – Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, muscle soreness or discomfort that appears 12 to 48 hours after intense exercise. It is usually caused by micro-tears within muscles as part of the body rebuilding phase

Drop Set(s) – continuing an exercise with a lower weight once muscular failure has been reached at a higher weight.  Also known as Breakdown set.

Dumbbell – equipment used to perform exercises with each hand independent from each other.  It is a very short bar with weights permanently attached to it.  A series of dumbbells would have an increasing weight range.

E’s…

EZ Curl Bar – a bar used primarily for bicep and tricep work that has several angles along the length of the bar to relieve stress on the wrists and/or hit the muscles at a unique angle while performing the exercise.

F’s…

Failure or Going to Failure – performing any exercise for as many repetitions that you can until your body just gives out, it cannot perform any more, it has failed.  A spotter should always be used when going to failure on squats and benches.

Fat Burn Zone – the heart rate you want to keep in order to have your body in a fat burning condition.  Usually measured by the formula 220 minus age times .70 for the low end heart rate and .80 for the high end heart rate.  You may also see the low end set at .65.  See Target Heart Rate.

Feeling Flat –used to describe when you are not getting a good muscle pump from your workout.

Flat Bench – bench that sits parallel to the floor on a frame. May or may not be adjustable to convert to an incline or decline bench.

Forced Rep(s) – regardless of exercise, when you have done all the reps you can do by yourself, you have a spotter assist you with additional reps thus forcing them.

Freak – a complimentary term to describe someones overall physique or particular body part.  For example, that guy has some freakish legs.

Free Weights – no this doesn’t mean that they are giving away weights for free!  It is the act of using barbells or dumbbells where plates are loaded and unloaded as opposed to using a machine where the weight are part of the machine, they do not freely come on or off.

Fried – term used to indicate that you gave it all you had in  your exercise routine that day and you have nothing left to give.

G’s…

Gain – reference to someone increasing or trying to increase muscle size and weight.

Giant Set – a series of several exercises done with little or no rest between movements and a rest interval of a couple of minutes between each giant sets. You can perform giant sets for either two antagonistic muscle groups or a single body part.

Good Form or Form – when someone does an exercise using perfect technique with no cheating (swinging) involved.

Gravity never has a bad day – the struggle to lift when you are feeling down and you know gravity is a constant!

Gravity Storm – a phenomenon that occurs in the gym when weights feel extremely heavy!

Guns – no it does not mean there are weapons in the gym.  It is a term used to describe someones biceps, i.e. that person sure has some guns on them.

Gym Kryptonite – not it doesn’t mean Superman is in the building!  It means someone that is so good looking, that people stare at them and it interferes with performing your workout due to loss of concentration!

Gym Rat – someone that spends hours and hours in a gym.  Always in the gym.

Gym Widow – a subset of gym rat.  Usually the spouse or significant other of a gym rat that is always by themselves because the person is in the gym so often.

H’s…

Hammer Machines – gym equipment that is a hybrid between free weights and selectorized machines.  The exercise is performed within a guided path of the Hammer Strength machine but you add or decrease resistance via the use of plates.

HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training, cardio strategy involving short bursts of very intense aerobic exercise followed by very short intervals of rest.  Also see Tabata.

How Much Do You Have Left – term used while encouraging someone to finish their last few reps or last set.

I’s…

I’m Clean – used to declare you are not using any PED’s, steroids.

Incline Bench – bench whose front points upward in order to perform incline exercises.

Isolation – performing an exercise that is very specific to one bodypart and brings in no other bodypart into the picture while performing it.

Isometric – any exercise where the muscles exert force but against an immovable force and held for a certain period of time, i.e. performing squats in a power rack where you have pins set at a height just below standing erect and you push the bar up against those pins as hard as you can.

Isotonic – any exercise in which the muscles exert force and change in length as they lift and lower resistance, i.e. bicep curls or leg extensions.

J’s…

Jacked – sometimes a complimentary term to indicate the person is really cut up or vascular.  Also sometimes used to indicate a person is on steroids (not so complimentary).

Juice or Juicing – term used to indicate someone is taking steroids or growth hormones.

K’s…

Key Club – style of gym membership where every member has a key to the club meaning they can work out any time during a 24/7 week.

Knurling – found on all bars and most dumbbells, a pattern of angled and crossed lines on the bar itself to produce indentations which allows for a better grip when grasping it with your hands.

L’s…

Last Set, Last Rep – always the hardest set and rep to when finishing an exercise for any particular body part.

Lean or Leaning Out – the act of reducing weight by losing fat while trying to retain as much muscle mass as possible.

Lock Out – partial repetition of an exercise, stopping short a few inches in order to keep the muscle in constant tension and avoid causing any unnecessary stress on joints.

Locking Out – complete extension of the repetition where the arms or legs are completely extended or locked out.

M’s…

Max, Maxed, or Max Out – this is either a one rep maximum or an x rep maximum for any type of lift.  For example, I just maxed out on the bench with 225 pounds for 15 reps.

Muscle Confusion – the act of changing your routine slightly or completely to confuse the muscles.  This can be done through set/rep combinations, rest periods between set/reps, sequence of exercise, different combination of exercises via supersets, etc.

Muscle Head – a not so complimentary term used to indicate someone in the gym that is not so smart, dense, usually applied to the bigger or biggest guys in the gym.

N’s…

Negatives – doesn’t mean having a bad attitude in the gym!  It’s the act of performing an exercise with heavy emphasis on the negative part of the lift.  For example, in the bench press, lowering the weight from the rack to the chest is considered the negative part and lifting it from the chest to the top the positive part of the lift. So when you do bench negatives, and using a spotter, you customarily use a weight heavier than what you can normally bench and SLOWLY bring it down to the chest (the negative part) then the spotter helps you lift it to the top then you perform another SLOW negative reps and continue for x number of reps.

Nickel – reference to a five pound plate.

No Pain No Gain – a very popular term meaning that you cannot gain muscle or increased athletic performance without going through a little pain.

Bone…

Over Training – excessively hard training day-after-day without proper rest to ensure recovery. Can lead to injury and stagnation.

P’s…

Partial Reps – Performing an exercise without going through a complete range of motion either at the beginning or end of a rep.

PED’s – Performance Enhancing Drugs like steroids and growth hormones.

Plates – the name of the weights used to slide onto a bar to increase or decrease resistance.

Plyometric – Where muscles are loaded suddenly and stretched, then quickly contracted to produce a movement.  Examples are jumping off bench to the ground and vice versa.

Power Rack – similar to a Smith Machine but the bar used within the power rack is not attached to any guides, it is free to move within the rack itself.

PR – means Personal Record.  You lifted more or repped out more with a certain weight than you ever have before.

Pump or Pumped Up – the tight, blood-congested feeling in a muscle after it has been intensely trained. Muscle pump is caused by a rapid influx of blood into the muscles to remove fatigue toxins and replace supplies of fuel and oxygen.

Pumping Iron – used to indicate someone lifting free weights.

Pyramid or Pyramiding – doesn’t mean working out with an Egyptian! It is a series of reps over a period of sets starting from high reps to low reps as you go from set to set with increasing weight, i.e. 10 reps, 8 reps, 6 reps, 4 reps, 2 reps is one example of a pyramid.

Q’s…

Quarter – reference to a 25 pound plate.

R’s…

Range of Motion – the complete path a muscle takes when performing a lift from start to finish within one rep.

Recovery Day – time after a workout in which it takes the body to recover.

Reps or Repetition – The number of times a weight is lifted within a set.

Rep Out – when performing a set, you do as many as you can thus rep out or repping out.

Roids – short term for steroids.

Routines – also called a training schedule. A routine is the total list of exercises, sets, reps, and weights used in one training session.

S's ...

Selectorized Machines – any machine where resistance is adjusted by placing a pin anywhere in a weight stack that is attached via pulleys, cables or belts to the apparatus used to perform the exercise.

Sets – when performing any exercise, a certain number of repetitions are performed.  This is considered one set.  So when someone says they did five sets of ten, which means they performed an exercise doing it ten times (reps) for five occurrences (sets).

Shredded – same as ripped, defined or definition and similar to lean or leaning out.  Very low bodyfat composition.

Shut Up and Lift or Squat – an endearing term normally used towards your workout partner to let them know they are talking too much and they should proceed to lift weights NOW!

Smith Machine – lifting machine at the gym that incorporates a standard weightlifting bar within an enclosed rack and the bar moves up and down along guided rods. Can be used for many exercises and takes away the need to balance the bar when performing the lift.  One advantage is that you can use a lot of weight or perform lifts without a spotter.

Spot or Getting a Spot – when lifting a weight you are not sure you may be able to perform for the number of reps you want to do, you ask someone for a spot or can I get a spot so they can be there to assist if you cannot do it.

Spotter – a person that is giving a spot to someone.

Spot Reducing – trying to eliminate weight or fat from a specific part of your body and concentrating working only on that part. In effect, you tend to build muscle in that area when, generally. You really can’t spot reduce fat, but you can target specific areas for increased muscle mass.

Squat Rack – standalone rack where a bar can be placed and used to perform squats or presses from.

Squeeze It – stands for tightening the muscle when fully contracted in order to get more out of the exercise.  This is done during a rep, you literally squeeze the muscle once the contraction is complete.

Stay Tight – what you say to your partner or they may say to you when performing an exercise with a lot of weight and they tell you to stay tight or basically, tense every muscle of your body in order to create a strong foundation to complete the lift.

Stacking – has two meanings. One is used to indicate when someone is taking multiple types of steroids at the same time, i.e. I am stacking x with y.  Also used to indicate adding more weights as you go from set to set.

Sticking Point – can mean when someone has reached a plateau in their training they are stuck or it can also mean a point during the performance of a rep on any given exercise where you get stuck and can’t continue.

Straps – a cloth made out of durable material about 1.5 inches wide and about a foot long made to go around the wrist so you can wrap it around the bar for a firmer grip.  For pulling exercises it can usually add 25 pounds to your lift.

Striations – grooves or ridge marks seen under the skin, the ultimate degree of muscle definition.

Superset – Alternating back and forth between two exercises with little to no rest period until the prescribed number of sets is completed.

Swole or Swollen – term used to describe someone that is muscular and/or pumped up.

T’s…

Tabata – a form of HIIT training.  High bursts of cardio for 20 seconds followed by low to no cardio work for 10 seconds and repeated for 8 to 10 cycles for a total of 4-5 minutes of cardio.

Target Heart Rate – the heart rate you want to keep in order to have your body in a fat burning condition.  Usually measured by the formula 220 minus age times .70 for the low end heart rate and .80 for the high end heart rate.  You may also see the low end set at .65.  See Fat Burning Zone.

Thumb Hook Grip – primarily used by Olympic lifters and cross fitters. A method of gripping the bar.  While the palm of the hand lays on the bar, the thumb goes under and across the bar and the fingers of the hand go over the thumbs instead of the bar itself.  This allows you to lift more, it is a more secure grip.

Tri Set – alternating back and forth between 3 exercises non-stop is considered one tri set.

W’s…

Warm Up – stretching, plyometric, and simulating lifting movements to literally raise your body temperature via warming up your muscles prior to exercise.

WOD – term used by cross fitters meaning Workout Of the Day.

Work In – if you are going to do an exercise and someone is using that bar or station, the act of working in means if you can lift with them, each person alternating back and forth the use of that bar or station.

Workout Partner – a person you normally train with performing the same exercises and routines.

Wraps or Knee Wraps – ACE type bandages used to wrap around your knees or elbows for additional support of the joint and increasing the ability to lift heavier weights.

So learning the language will set you towards being…Fit Forlife!