| Abs |
Slang for abdominal muscles. |
| Adaptation |
The adjustment of the body (or mind) to achieve a greater degree of fitness to its environment. |
| Adherence |
Sticking to something. Used to describe a person's continuance in an exercise program. |
| Aerobic Activities |
Activities using large muscle groups at moderate intensities that permit the body to use oxygen to supply energy and to maintain a steady state for more than a few minutes. |
| Aerobic Endurance |
The ability to continue aerobic activity over a period of time. |
| Aerobic Exercise |
Activities in which oxygen from the blood is required to fuel the energy-producing mechanisms of muscle fibers. Examples are running, cycling and skiing over distance. |
| Anaerobic |
Occurring without the use of oxygen. |
| Anaerobic Exercise |
Short-term activities (usually highly intense) in which muscle fibers derive contractile energy from stored internal compounds without the use of oxygen from the blood. These compounds include ATP, CP and Glycogen. Short bursts of effort, such as sprinting or weightlifting are examples of anaerobic activities. |
| Arthritis |
Inflammation of the joints which causes pain, stiffness and limitation of motion. |
| Atrophy |
Withering away, a decrease in size and functional ability of bodily tissues or organs, typically resulting from disuse or disease. |
| Basal Metabolic Rate |
The minimum energy required to maintain the body's life function at rest. |
| Biceps |
The prominent muscle on the front of the upper arm. |
| Bioflavanoids |
Bioflavanoids are a group of water soluble substances which maintain the health of capillaries and blood vessels. They are required by the body to aid in resistance to infection and they enhance the function of vitamin C. |
| Blood Glucose |
Refers to the amount of sugar in the blood. |
| Blood Pressure |
A measurement of the forcewith which blood presses against the wall of a blood vessel. Blood pressure values vary appreciably depending on age, sex, and ethnicity. |
| Body Composition |
The proportions of fat, muscle, and bone making up the body. Usually expressed as perfect of body fat and percent of lean body mass. |
| Body Fat |
The percentage of fat in the body. |
| Bodybuilding |
The application of training sciences to enhance musculature and physical appearance. |
| Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA's): |
The amino acids L-leucine, L-isoleucine and L-valine. These amino acids are burned as fuel during hihgly intense training, and at the end of long-distance events, when the body recruits protein for as much as 20 percent of its energy needs. |
| Caffeine |
A chemical found in coffee, black tea and cola drinks with an ability to stimulate the nervous system. In small amounts, it can create mental alertness. |
| Calcium |
The most abundant mineral in the body, a vital factor for bones, teeth, muscle growth, muscle contraction, the regulation of nutrient passage in and out of cells, and nerve transmissions. |
| Carbohydrate |
One of the three basic foodstuffs (proteins and fat are the others), they comprise the body's main source of raw material for energy. Carbohydrates can be classified as either a simple carbohydrate or a complex carbohydrate. |
| Deadlift |
One of three powerlifting movements in which a barbell is lifted off the floor until the lifter is standing erect. |
| Electrolytes |
Minerals such as sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium and magnesium that provide conductivity functions for fluid passage through cellular membranes. |
| Essential Amino Acids |
Those amino acids that the body cannot make for itself. They are isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, and valine. |
| Essential Fatty Acid (EFA) |
"Good" fats needed for strong cell walls, metabolism, and other important functions of the thyroid and adrenal glands: Essential Fatty Acids include Linoleic acid, Linolenic acid and Arachiokonic acid. |
| Exercise |
Physical exertion of sufficient intensity, duration, and frequency to achieve or maintain fitness, or other health or athletic objectives. |
| Fast-Twitch Fibers |
Muscle fiber type that contracts quickly and is used most in intensive, short-duration exercises, such as weightlifting or sprints. |
| Glucosamine |
A substance that occurs naturally in the human body and helps to keep cartilage spongy. |
| Glycemic Index |
A rating sytem that indicates the different speed with which carbohydrates are processed into glucose by the body. |
| Hamstring |
The big muscle along the back of your upper leg which extends from above the hip to below the knee. |
| Heart Rate |
The number of times your heart beats in one minute. |
| Hyperextension |
Extension of a limb or part beyond the normal limit. |
| Intensity |
The rate of performing work; power. A function of energy output per unit of time. |
| Knee Wraps |
Elastic strips used to wrap knees for better support when performing squats and dead lifts. |
| Lats |
Short for latissimus dorsi, the large muscles of the back that are the prime movers for addduction, extension and hyperextension of the shoulder joints. |
| L-Carnitine |
L-carnitine is naturally obtained from red meat and helps release stored bodyfat into the bloodstream for use in cellular energy processing. |
| L-glutamine |
An amino acid that reduces the effects of cortisol, which results in less tissue breakdown - anti-catabolic action. |
| Maximal Heart Rate |
The highest heart rate of which an individual is capable. A broad rule of thumb for estimating maximal heart rate is 220 (beats per minute) minus the person's age (in years). |
| Obliques |
Short for external and/or internal obliques, the muscles to either side of the abdominals that rotate and flex the trunk. |
| Overtraining |
Excessive training which can cause injuries, loss of bodyweight, insomnia, depression, chronic muscle soreness and hinder workout recovery. |
| Partial Reps |
Performing an exercise without going through a complete range of motion. |
| Plyometric |
A type of exercise that suddenly preloads and forces the stretching of a muscle an instant prior to it concentric action. |
| Power Training |
System of weight training using low repetitions and explosive movements with heavy weights. |
| Protein |
One of the three basic foodstuffs: along with carbohydrates and fat. The components of protein are amino acids. |
| Pumped |
Slang term to describe the tightness in a muscle made large through exercise. The pumped sensation results from blood engorgement and lactic acid accumulation in the exercised muscle. |
| Pyramid Training |
A training protocol incorporating an upward- then-downward progression in weight, rep-per-rep or set-per-set. |
| Quadriceps |
A muscle group at the front of the thigh connected to a common tendon that surrounds the knee cap and attaches to the tibia (lower leg bone). |
| Rehabilitation |
A program to restore physical and psychological independence to persons disabled by illness or injury in the shortest period of time. |
| Rep Out |
Repeating the same exercise movement until you are unable to continue. |
| Repetition (Rep) |
An individual completed exercise movement. |
| Resistance |
The amount of weight used in each set of an exercise, or the force which a muscle is required to work against. |
| Resting Heart Rate |
The number of times the heart beats in one minute: 72 beats per minute for the average adult. |
| Rotator Cuff |
A band of 4 muscles that hold the arm in the shoulder joint. |
| Set |
A group of repetitions of an exercise movement done consecutively, without rest, until a given number, or momentary exhaustion, is reached. |
| Shin Splints |
Pain in the front of the lower leg from inflammation of muscle and tendon tissue caused by overuse. |
| Slow-Twitch Fibers |
Muscle fiber type that contracts slowly and is used most in moderate-intensity, endurance exercises, such as distance running. |
| Sprain |
A stretching or tearing of ligaments. |
| Squats |
An upper leg and hip exercise usually performed with a barbell resting on the shoulders. |
| Superset |
Alternating back and forth between two exercises until the prescribed number of sets is completed. |
| Tendonitis |
Inflammation of a tendon. |
| Training to Failure |
Continuing a set in weight training until one is unable to complete another rep without assistance. |
| Traps |
Slang for trapezius muscles, the largest muscles of the back and neck that elevates the shoulder girdle and draws the scapulae medially. |
| Triceps Brachii |
The muscles on the back of the upper arm which are the prime movers for extending the elbow. |
| Warm-Up |
A gradual increasein the intensity of exercise to allow physiological processes to prepare for greater energy outputs. |
| Weight Training |
Exercise that utilizes progressive resistance movements to build strength. |
