Strength Training: The Ultimate Guide | TrainingPeaks (2024)

Glossary

Aerobic capacity (aka, VO2 max): The maximum amount of oxygen that a subject can use per unit of time and body weight (source).

Anaerobic Capacity: The total amount of energy obtainable from the anaerobic energy systems (the combined capacity of the ATP-PCr system and lactic acid system) (source).

Ballistic: Characterized by the intention to perform a movement at maximal velocity (source).

Bodybuilding: The practice of progressively loading resistance exercises to develop one’s muscular size, striation, and density; aims to meet specific aesthetic symmetry goals through isolation exercises and a strict diet.

Calisthenics: A category of basic bodyweight exercises that create the foundation for gymnastics; includes movements like pull-ups, push-ups, dips, and L-sits.

Catabolic: The state in which the body breaks down overall mass, including fat and muscle (source).

Compound Movement: An exercise movement that works multiple muscle groups and uses multiple joints simultaneously (e.g, squat, deadlift, bench press).

Compression therapy: Helps increase blood circulation in the lower legs, ankles, and feet; considered an effective treatment for pain and swelling caused by conditions associated with poor circulation.

Concentric: The phase of an exercise in which muscles are contracted or shortened.

Concurrent Training: Simultaneously undertaking both strength and endurance training.

Eccentric: The phase of an exercise in which muscles are lengthened.

Economy: The energy required for a specific power output or velocity obtained (source).

Extension: Increases the angle between the bones and straightens the joint (source).

Fascia: A sheet of connective tissue covering or binding together body structures (source).

Fast-twitch muscle fiber: A type of skeletal muscle fiber that provides bigger and more powerful forces (compared to slow-twitch fibers) (source.)

Flexion: Decreases the angle between the bones and bends the joint (source).

Force: The amount of energy you can transfer into an object, as calculated by mass multiplied by acceleration.

Frontal Plane: A vertical plane running from side to side. Divides the body or any of its parts into anterior and posterior portions; aka, coronal plane (source).

Functional Fitness/Training: The practice of improving your overall health based on competence in the 10 components of fitness: (1) cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, (2) stamina, (3) strength, (4) flexibility, (5) power, (6) speed, (7) coordination, (8) agility, (9) balance, and (10) accuracy.

Functional Threshold Power: The greatest mean maximal power you can currently produce for one hour (source).

Glycogen: The stored form of glucose, which is a main source of energy that your body stores primarily in your liver and muscles (source).

Gymnastics: A type of training that combines strength, flexibility, agility, and dynamic power, often incorporating advanced bodyweight movements and static holds.

HIIT: High-intensity interval training is a type of interval training exercise. It incorporates several rounds that alternate between several minutes of high-intensity movements to significantly increase the heart rate to at least 80% of one’s maximum heart rate, followed by short periods of lower-intensity movements (source).

Hybrid Athlete: An athlete who practices both endurance and strength training concurrently.

Hypertrophy: Increase in muscle.

Hypotrophy: Decrease in muscle.

Isolation Movements: An exercise movement that targets specific muscles or muscle groups and uses only one joint.

Isometric: Exercise that is defined as muscle contraction without movement of the joint(s) crossed by the active muscle(s) (source).

Lactate Threshold: The exercise intensity or blood lactate concentration at which we can sustain a high-intensity effort for a specific period of time (source).

Macronutrient (aka, macros): The nutrients that your body needs in large amounts, which include fat, carbohydrates, and protein. They’re the nutrients that give you energy and are often called “macros” (source).

Motor Control: The learning and performance of motor skills, which are tasks that require voluntary control over movements of the joints and body segments to achieve a goal (e.g., riding a bicycle, walking, surfing, jumping, running, and weightlifting) (source).

Myofascial Release: An alternative medicine therapy that focuses on relieving pain in your myofascial tissues, which are the thick connective tissues that support your muscles (source).

Neuromuscular: Relating to nerves and muscles.

Olympic Weightlifting: A type of strength training that centers on two lifts: the clean and jerk, and the snatch.

Plyometrics: A type of strength training that focuses on explosive movements (like box jumps), using the stretch-shortening cycle to improve power and speed.

Powerlifting: A subculture of weight training that focuses on absolute strength in three main lifts: squat, deadlift, and bench press.

Prone Position: The position of lying flat on one’s stomach.

Rating of Perceived Exertion: A TrainingPeaks feature that translates an athlete’s perception of effort (from ‘very easy’ to ‘all out’) into a numerical score (source).

Rep: A single repetition of an exercise.

Resistance Training: Exercises that involve moving external weight against gravity to increase the size and strength of your muscles.

Resting Metabolic Rate: The amount of energy that your body needs to function while at rest (source).

Sagittal Plane: A vertical plane running from front to back; divides the body or any of its parts into right and left sides; aka, lateral plane (source).

Set: multiple repetitions of an exercise.

Strongman: Strength training that is related to powerlifting, but using odd objects like giant stones, logs, and tractor tires.

Superset: A form of exercise that focuses on working opposing muscle groups back to back with little rest in between (source).

Supine Position: The position of lying flat on one’s back.

Tempo Training: The practice of modifying the speed of movement for an exercise (source).

Time Under Tension (TUT): The length of time that the muscle fibers are straining during a given movement.

Transverse Plane: A horizontal plane. Divides the body or any of its parts into upper and lower parts; aka, axial plane (source).

Unilateral Movement: A movement that focuses on one half of the body at a time (e.g., single leg squat).

VO2 Max: The maximum volume of oxygen per minute that an athlete can capture from the air, fix at the pulmonary level, transport and utilize (source).

Strength Training: The Ultimate Guide | TrainingPeaks (2024)
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