getting into the fitness game you hear/ read people using all sorts of crazy terms that you've probably never heard of. and you're reading captions/watching videos like, "ummm... what did they even just say??" been there y'all.
but the good news is... i'm here to help!
the following list is going to be a whole bunch of fitness terms so you don't have to do a google search every single time you come across a new term!
this is in a loose alphabetical order...
bmi - body mass index. it is a scale that is calculated by your weight divided by your height squared. The ranges are under 18.5 is underweight, 18.5-25 is normal,25-30 is overweight, and 30 and up is obese. However this is a pretty outdated method of calculating whether or not your weight is within a healthy range because it does not take into account fat mass vs muscle mass
bmr- basal metabolic rate. it is an estimate of how many calories you would burn in a day if you did literally nothing for 24 hours. basically, the minimum amount of energy (calories) your body needs to function.
butt wink - the term for when your tailbone tucks underneath your body during a squat- which can hurt your back. basically, when you get deeper in your squat than your hips will take you, your pelvis and lower back compensate and when doing weighted squats this can be dangerous.
bcaas- branced chained amino acids. there are essential amino acids you need to make sure your muscles are going to recover and rebuild properly. you can get these in your diet (especially if you are eating a high protein diet) but powdered bcaas are convenient and fast and can add flavor to your water if that's something you struggle with. also if you are cutting calories using a bcaa supplement will be more helpful for you.
compound exercise - any exercise that works two or more different joints to engage more muscles.
cross training- working out in different ways or styles to help your performance in whatever sport/exercise is your main focus.
doms - deloyed onset muscle soreness. basically, being sore in the muscle groups you trained the day or two before.
drop sets - you do a specific exercise until failure, then reduce the weight and repeat on and on
eating clean - vague catchall term for eating more "real" foods vs processed foods. trying to eat foods that have been processed the least amount that is possible.
foam rolling - aka self - myofascial release. fancy terms for self massage with a foam tube or ball or hands. applying pressure to certain points on your body (usually sore ones) to help aid in recovery.
hiit - high intensity interval training. working at a maximal effort for quick bursts with minimal rest periods.
iifym - if it fits your macros. not counting calories, but tracking your protein, fat, and carbs with specific goals in mind that you are trying to hit. aka flexible dieting. basically, you can eat what you want as long as it fits in your macro goals. (like have a bigass cheeseburger for lunch (high in fat & carbs), but balance that with a lean chicken salad for dinner (high in protein & lower in carbs & fats) and hitting your macro targets)
isometrics - strength training where you hold a static position at muscle tension
liss - long interval steady state. basically going on a long jog or walk or swim at a fairly consistent pace (compared to hiit)
macros - macronutrients. your proteins, carbs, and fats that make up your daily calories. see my post about them here.
micronutrients - vitamins and minerals you need to have a balanced diet.
muscle pump (or a "pump")- during and after you exercise your muscles will have more blood flow to them so the active muscle groups will appear larger
overtraining - working out for long duration of time (weeks/months) with no light days or rest/recovery days. this can lead to injuries and burning out.
preworkout - essentially powdered caffeine. when you see people walking around with neon drinks in blender bottles it's preworkout or bcaas (see above). usually flavored, low calorie, and have additional supplements in them to help get more of a muscle pump (creatine, typically)
plyometrics - exercises that exert maximum force on muscle groups, usually for short periods of time (see hiit training). also known as jump training. used to increase power and speed
reps - repetitions. how many times you will do a specific exercise in a set. (set is a round of that exercise)
rmr - resting metabolic rate. same thing as your bmr.
rpe - rate of perceived exhaustion. usually on a scale of 1-10 or 20. how tired you feel/think you are during an exercise
super set - alternating between two exercises with no rest between them. usually working different muscle groups (like bicep curls & triceps dips) saves time in the because of the less downtime between sets.
tabata - a type of hiit workout. 20 seconds of work/ 10 seconds of rest for 8 rounds (or 4 mins) usually doing 3-4 rounds
tdee - total daily energy expenditure. an estimation of how many calories you burn per day when exercise is taken into account.
did I miss any term that you're confused about? let me know in the comments below or on facebook and instagram!
this will be an expanding list so definitely tell me the terms you've come across in your health & fitness journey!
