Below is a list of terms used throughout the program and by the staff. If there is training terminology that you do not fully understand, do not hesitate to ask the staff. Our contact information is located under the “About Us” tab at the top of the page.
Glossary
- Power: This is the primary goal of this program. Power = Strength x Speed
- Prime Mover: The main muscle responsible for movement.
- Synergist Muscle: The muscles that assist the prime mover to complete a movement.
- Stabilizer Muscle: The muscles that hold the body in position so that the prime mover and the synergists can work together.
- Repetition (Rep): How many times you perform a particular exercise within a given set.
- Set: The number of times you will complete a give number of repetitions of an exercise.
- Super Set: Two exercises for opposing muscle groups performed back-to-back without rest.
- Giant Set: Three or more exercises for the same or opposite muscle groups performed back-to-back without rest.
- Emphasis: An area of focus within the program. For example, if the workout has a lower body emphasis that means there will be five to eight sets dedicated to leg strengthening. Within the emphasis there also can be a secondary emphasis on a particular exercise, that means that the majority of the workout is devoted to that exercise. For the lower body workout example, the secondary emphasis would be the back squat exercise.
- Forced Rep: Having a partner provide just enough assistance to allow you to complete reps you would not normally be able achieve.
- Rest: Proper recovery is important to achieve the optimal benefit from any exercise. Normal rest intervals include: 90 sec between sets of the same exercise and 3-4 min between different exercises.
- Rhythm (Speed or Tempo of Movement): The speed at which repetitions are performed. There are six speeds: (1) Very Slow, (2) Slow, (3) Medium, (4) Fast, (5) Varied, and (6) Explosive.
- Isometric: Holding tension with no movement at a set position.
- Eccentric: The action of lowering the weight. A muscle lengthening contraction. To emphasize eccentric strength movements should be performed at a slow or very slow tempo (6 – 10 sec).
- Overload: The overload principle states that a greater than normal load on the body is required for training gains to occur. The body will adapt to this increased stimulus. Once the body has adapted then a different stimulus is required to continue progress. To increase endurance, muscles must work for a longer period of time than they are used to. To increase strength, muscles must consistently work at higher intensities than they are used to. In addition, once a training stimulus is removed or lessened, there will be a decrease in that particular component of fitness.