Any activity that is rhythmic and repetitive and continues for longer than 90 seconds.
Also refers to cardiovascular activity.
Anaerobic Activity:
Describes short bursts of activity such as weight training and sprinting.
Breathing:
It is important not to hold your breath while weight training. Try to "exhale on effort."
Cables:
Usually have a tower and pulley system. They are very versatile and offer a lot of unique exercises.
Cardiovascular Endurance:
A measure of how long your heart and lungs can perform aerobic work.
Duration:
Amount of time to complete any given workout.
Failure:
Refers to the muscles not being able to complete another rep with good form. Your
last rep should be difficult to complete for best results.
Free weights:
Includes dumbbells and barbells. Barbells are the long bars that people slide plates onto for more weight.
Barbells weigh 45 pounds. Dumbbells are the short ones that come in pairs.
Frequency:
Number of workouts per week.
Intensity:
The percentage of a maximum. If it deals with weight training,
then multiply the desired intensity percent by your 1 rep maximum weight.
Machines:
Most feature a stack of rectangular plates that you can adjust by inserting a pin. They are quick and easy to use,
generally safe, and offer great muscle isolation.
Muscular Endurance:
A measure of how long your muscles can contract against a force.
Muscular Strength:
Maximum amount of force your muscle can produce by contraction.
Pain recognition:
There are 2 types of pain during weight training. The bad one deals with a sharp or throbbing pain caused by
a factor such as improper form, old injuries, or too high a resistance. The good kind comes from a burning
sensation from the build up of lactic acid in the muscles.
Rep:
Also called a repetition. It is one complete movement through a given range of motion of an exercise.
Rep Speed:
Otherwise known as cadence, this variable is often ignored. It is how fast you move the resistance durning an exercise.
Instead of going fast and using momentum, be sure you always move the resistance with a smooth and controlled speed.
Rest Intervals:
A measure of the time between your sets.If you are trying to improve your strength, rest 2-3 minutes between sets.
If your main goal is muscle size, rest about 60-90 seconds. If you are after general health/toning/fat loss, then
aim for no longer than 20-45 seconds rest.
Resistance:
Refers to the amount of weight used for an exercise.
Set:
A group of repetitions. If you were to curl a dumbbell up and down 12 times, you've done 1 set of 12 reps.
Sprain:
Deals with tearing or over-stretching ligaments near a joint. Accompanied by throbbing pain and swelling.
Spotter:
Anyone who is assisting and watching over you during an exercise. It is important to ask someone for a spot
if you are new to an exercise or if you are using a resistance that is heavy for you.
Strain:
Describes the "pulling" of a muscle due to overstretching of a tendon. Accompanied by sudden and sharp pain.
Super Set:
Performing two different exercises back-to-back with little rest between them.
Variation:
Describes the changing of your routine every 6-8 weeks. This is important because your body will become
adapted to the same routine over time, and you can expect diminishing returns.
Warm Up (sets):
Perform 5-10 minutes of light aerobic activity before beginning each cardio AND weight training workout.
It is important during weight training to perform your first set of an exercise at about 50% intensity (called a warm up set) to oxygenate the tissues
and improve elasticity. Even if you warm up for just a few minutes, it's crucial to enhancing performance.