Resistance Training: Coming to Terms with Weight Training

When engaging in an exercise program, it is necessary to understand the jargon of your chosen sport, especially if you are hanging at the gym or reading a specialty magazine to help yourself improve. Here is a 'vocab list' for weight training.

Equipment

• Barbell -- a long bar with weights attached at both ends generally lifted with two hands (as in curls, dead lifts, etc.) or placed on the back (as in squats).
  
  
• Dumbbell -- a much shorter version of a barbell, normally used in pairs, one dumbbell for each hand
  
  
• Selectorized machines -- weightlifting machines in which the weight is adjusted via a pin placed in a weight stack (ex. Nautilus, Cybex, etc.)
  
  
• Plate-loaded machines -- similar to selectorized equipment except that the weights are manually adjusted via the addition or removal of weight plates.
  
  
• Standard weight bars/plates -- bars/plates in which the diameter of the bar/hole is approximately 1".
  
  
• Olympic weight bars/plates -- bars/plates in which the diameter of the bar/hole is approximately 2".
  
  
• E-Z curl bar -- a short barbell shaped similar to a "w" which is designed to be more comfortable on the wrists when curling.
  
  
• Cambered bar -- a seldom seen barbell typically used for bench-pressing that has a large indentation or bend in the bar to fit around the chest.
  
  
• Collars -- safety devices to attach to the end of adjustable barbells to prevent the plates from sliding off during an exercise.
  
  
• Weight tree -- a small stand that holds the various sized weight plates when not in use.
  
  
• Dumbbell rack -- another stand that holds dumbbells when not in use.
  
  
• Power rack/cage -- large steel cages that have hooks for holding barbells and safety bars running from front to back. They can be adjusted to any height.

Accessories

• Weightlifting gloves -- usually padded gloves without fingertips used to prevent calluses or blisters on the hands.
  
  
• Wraps -- heavy elastic bandages that can be used to support the knees or wrists; wrist wraps tend to have an elastic loop to anchor around the thumb with a Velcro closure. Knee wraps tend to be wider and longer without the loop or Velcro.
  
  
• Straps -- short length straps of heavy cotton or even leather that secure around the wrist and loop around a bar or handle designed to aid the grip.
  
  
• Weight belts -- generally 4" to 6" wide belts of leather or nylon designed to support the midsection and equalize intra-abdominal pressure during heavy lifting.
  
  
• Dipping/chinning belts -- heavy leather belts that loop around the waist and have a short chain attached in front where you can add weight to your own bodyweight when chinning or dipping becomes too easy without added weight.
  
  
• Neck harness -- similar to a dipping belt but for the head; usually a padded leather harness which attaches to the head with a chain in front for weights; used to strengthen the neck.
  
  
• Chalk -- disdained by most commercial gyms because it creates a mess. Chalk is used to enhance the grip and dry perspiration on the hands.

Workout Lingo

• Repetitions (or reps)-- the number of times you perform an exercise. If you raise and lower a bar 10 times, you've completed 10 reps.
  Sets -- groups of reps, i.e., the 10 reps mentioned above would be one set of 10 reps (usually expressed 1x10), if you completed two more sets of 10 reps for the same exercise, it would be expressed as 3x10.
  
  
• Compound sets -- completing back-to-back sets of two different exercises for the same muscle group without resting between the exercises.
  
  
• Supersets -- often confused with compound sets, supersets are identical to compound sets, except that the exercises performed are for antagonistic (or opposing) muscle groups, e.g. supersetting a chest exercise with a back exercise.
  
  
• Giant sets -- compound sets utilizing 3 or more exercises.
  
  
• Straight sets -- performing successive sets with the same weight for the same number of reps each set; (e.g. 3 sets of 8 reps at 100 lbs. or 3x8x100lbs).
  
  
• Pyramiding -- adding weight to successive sets of a lift, usually accompanied by a concurrent drop in the number of reps, and then back down; (e.g. 1x10x100, 1x8x120, 1x6x140, 1x8x120, 1x10x100); most people do not do a complete pyramid, but rather they stop at the heaviest, lowest rep set; you may also reverse pyramid by starting with the heavy, low rep set (after warm-ups) and decreasing the weight on subsequent sets as you fatigue.
  
  
• Drop sets (a.k.a. strip sets or descending sets) -- when unable to continue performing reps with a given weight, you quickly reduce the weight of the barbell/dumbbells and continue performing reps with the lighter weight; you may continue to lighten the weight as many times as desired during the drop set.
  
  
• Concentric contraction -- also know as the "positive" portion of an exercise, concentric contractions are when the muscle length is shortening at the time you are lifting the weight.
  
  
• Eccentric contraction -- the "negative" portion of an exercise, when the muscle is in fact lengthening, even though you are tensing it; e.g. the controlled lowering of a barbell to the stretch position in a barbell curl.
  
  
• Doing "negatives" -- negatives are sets in which you receive help lifting the weight during the concentric portion of an exercise, but you lower the weight slowly without assistance (note: negatives are very taxing and can cause intense muscle soreness, use sparingly).
  
  
• Forced reps -- similar to negatives, forced reps are performed at the end of a set when the lifter is unable to continue the positive portion of the exercise on his own; at this point, another person (see spotter) will provide help in the positive portion of the exercise only, allowing the lifter to perform the negative portion on their own.
  
  
• Range of motion (ROM) -- the distance over which an exercise is performed from top to bottom.
  
  
• "1 ¼ reps" -- high intensity reps where you complete an extra ¼ rep at the top or bottom of the range of motion of each rep in a set; e.g. curl a bar up from waist level to chest level, then lower the bar ¼ of the way back down, then reverse direction and lift the bar back up to the top position, then finally lower the bar all the way back down to the start position -- this would be 1 complete rep in the 1¼ style.
  
  
• "21's" -- similar to 1¼ reps, perform 7 partial repetitions in the bottom 1/3 of the exercise's ROM, then perform 7 reps in the top 1/3 of the range, and complete the set by doing 7 full range reps.

Miscellaneous

• "Spotting/spotter" -- spotting is the act of providing assistance, and/or safeguarding the lifter; a spotter may aid in lifting a bar from a rack to the start position, may aid in forced reps or negatives, may help re-rack the weights at the end of a set, or may simply stand by ready to aid the lifter if they need assistance during the set.
  
  
• Giving a "lift-off"-- helping a lifter to raise their weights from a resting position on a rack to the start position of the exercise they perform.
  
  
• "Working in"-- working in is performing alternating sets between two or more lifters on the same apparatus.

This should give you a firm grasp on the lingo used in the gym. Now if someone asks you, "Where are the collars?" or "Can you give me a spot?" or "Can I work in?" you will know what they are talking about. Good luck!!