workout terminology cheat sheet
Whether you’re working with a trainer, following an online program, working out with a gym buddy, etc., here are some common gym terms and abbreviations you’re likely to hear in the fitness world, what they mean, and how to interpret them for your workout!
Let’s start with the basics:
SET: a set is the total number of “rounds” of a particular exercise you perform, typically with a rest time between each round
REP (repetition): a rep is the number of times you perform an exercise in a given set
Sets and reps are often written together. For example, if you were going to do 4 sets of 8 squats, it would be written as 4x8. A 4x8 squat means that you are going to perform 8 squats (8 reps), one after another, followed by a rest. You are going to do this 4 times (4 sets).
TEMPO: your tempo is the pace at which you perform an exercise. Tempo can significantly change the feel of a movement and can be a great tool to manipulate your workouts and make them more challenging without adding weight.
Moving through common components of a workout, here are some more specific words you might hear/see:
WORKING SET: for lack of better wording, your working sets are your hard sets. During a working set, the weight should be challenging and your muscles should be exerting quite a bit of strength to successfully complete the lift. The opposite of a working set would be a warm up set, during which you are not using a particularly challenging weight; instead, you’re more focused on priming your muscles for heavy weight, i.e. your working sets.
SUPERSET: a superset is when you perform 2 exercises back to back with no rest in between. In most cases, a superset is going to involve two separate movements; sometimes supersets are comprised of movements that target the same muscle and other times they will target different muscles. The main takeaway for a superset is that there is no rest in between the two exercises. You only rest after the two individual exercises have been completed.
EX: A 3x8 superset of squats to lunges — let’s break it down…
3x8 means you’re going to do 3 rounds; each round is going to consist of 8 reps
Superset means you’re going to perform the exercises back to back
“Squats to lunges” tells you what you’re superset is
To complete this superset you’re going to do 8 squats and then you’re immediately going to do 8 lunges. After that, you’re going to rest. Once your rest time is over, you’re going to repeat the same thing two more times (for a total of 3 sets).
DROPSET: a dropset is the technique of performing a lift and then decreasing the weight by 20-40% before immediately continuing to the next rep. The 2 most common ways of performing a dropset are with a predetermined rep range OR with the intention of taking a muscle to mechanical failure (doing as many reps as you can until you can’t physically perform another one).
EX: A 3x8 leg press with dropset to failure — let’s break it down…
3x8 means you’re going to do 3 sets of 8 reps
Dropset means that after the third round, you’re going to drop your weight by 20-40% and immediately continue your reps. So, if you were leg pressing 100lbs, you would drop the weight to ~80lbs and continue your reps.
Dropset to failure means that once you drop the weight, you’re going to do as many reps as you can until you reach muscle failure (can’t physically do another rep).
REPS IN RESERVE (RIR): reps in reserve refers to how many more reps you could do (with good form) AFTER completing your predetermined number of reps. It’s essentially how many reps you have left “in the tank” at the end of a set. Reps in reserve is a great tool for gauging how hard to be pushing a given exercise.
EX: A set with 8 reps, 2RIR — let’s break it down…
2RIR is going to indicate how many reps you should be able to do after completing 8 reps. If you’ve performed 7 reps and the 8th one would compromise your form, you might consider dropping the weight slightly so that you can perform 8 reps with proper form. If you’ve performed your 8 reps with good form and you could do 1, maybe 2, more reps with good form, you’re likely in a good spot with weight. If you’ve performed 8 reps and realize you could do more than 2 additional reps with good form, you could and should probably push yourself with weight, another set, tempo variation, etc.
RATE OF PERCIEVED EXERTION (RPE): RPE is similar to RIR in that it is a great tool to ensure you’re pushing yourself at the right intensity; however, RPE is a more subjective scale. Typically RPE is on a scale of 1-10 with one being completely easy, no real exertion required and 10 being the absolute hardest you could exert yourself. RPE can also be a percentage; for example, a 7/10 RPE could be interpreted as 70% exertion. RPE is variable and depends on your programming, individual workouts, personal goals, etc and it can change day to day based on intent and effort.
There are a few anatomical terms and abbreviations that you will likely see used in workouts:
Simply put, are 3 components of a muscle contraction:
CONCENTRIC: refers to the shortening of a muscle during an exercise. When you think of someone “flexing” their muscle, oftentimes what they’re doing is a concentric muscle action. The “coming up” portion of a squat is a concentric muscle action, as your glutes and hamstrings are shortening to produce the force that allows you to complete the upward motion of the squat.
ECCENTRIC: refers to the lengthening of a muscle during an exercise. The “going down” portion of a squat is an eccentric muscle action, as your glutes and hamstrings are lengthening as you lower into the squat.
ISOMETRIC: refers to the static portion of a muscle action and occurs any time there is constant tension during an exercise such as a “pause” or a “hold.” A wall sit is a great example of an isometric muscle exercise.
You might also see:
SA or SL: stands for single arm or single leg
Here are a few other miscellaneous terms and abbreviations that might be helpful to know:
HIIT: stands for high intensity interval training and refers to a type of workout that focuses on interval work, often filled with short, fast, intense work.
LISS: stands for low intensity steady state. A LISS workout is essentially the opposite of a HIIT workout; it involves lower intensity, lower heart rate movement and is often longer and done at a more constant pace.
CIRCUIT: a circuit style workout often contains 3+ exercises back to back with little to no rest between each exercise.
AMRAP: stands for “as many reps as possible” and is an alternative to a specific rep range. AMRAP means you are going to continue performing reps until you can’t do any more.
EMOM: stands for “every minute on the minute”and is a form of interval training during which the goal is to complete a predetermined number of reps of a particular exercise within 60 seconds. After completing the predetermined number of reps, whatever time is left in the minute is used as rest before the next 60 seconds begins.
DB: dumbbell
KB: kettlebell
BB: barbell
I hope this was helpful! If there are any terms that I didn’t list and you want an explanation for, leave them in the comments section and I’ll do a “Part 2” sometime soon!
