A Guide to Weight Lifting Lingo
If you’re new to weight lifting, this guide is for you. What follows are some terms you should know before you begin lifting. And don’t worry; I promise to keep it simple.
First, let’s go over some of the abbreviations for muscle groups that you’re likely to hear or read about.
Abs: This is shorthand for abdominals, and refers to the muscles covering your stomach area.
Pecs: This is shorthand for pectorals, which are the muscles in the chest region.
Lats: This term refers to latissimus dorsi. It is a triangular-shaped muscle that covers a major portion of your back.
Delts: Another triangular-shaped muscle is the deltoid, a muscle covering the shoulder joint. Delts is short for deltoids.
Glutes: Formally known as gluteus maximi, this term refers to the muscles covering your buttocks.
Core: This is a buzzword for the abdominal, pelvic, lower back region. These muscles work together to support your spine, giving you increased stability and balance.
Now, let’s go over a few common words used to describe elements of a weight training workout.
Repetition: This is one complete movement of an exercise. An example of a repetition is doing one push-up or one sit-up. Rep is shorthand for repetition.
Set: This is how many repetitions you complete for an exercise at one time. An example of a set is doing 10 reps of bicep curls and then taking a break before you do the next set of curls. The rest period between sets can range from 20 seconds to two minutes. It all depends on the intensity of your training. Using heavier weights or doing a higher number of reps per set is, naturally, going to dictate the length of your rest period between sets.
We’ve just covered the bare bones of weight lifting lingo. These terms should get you through your first few workout sessions. Soon it’ll be time to learn more advanced jargon as you step up your training.
Tags: Weight Lifting, weight lifting lingo, Weight Training, weight training muscle
