Training Jargon
. Weight training has its own characteristic lingo. Here is a brief tour through
the most fundamental terms and words you need to understand before con-
tinuing—a glossary in use. As necessary as it is to understand the lingo of
the training world, watch out for the pseudo-scientific and nonsensical jar-
gon that bamboozles the unaware into a chaos of confusion. No matter how
much you know about the razzmatazz of the training world, if you do not
consistently deliver what is needed for you to make progress, you will never
make decent gains.Reps
. e basic unit of weight training is the rep, or repetition. If you hang from
an overhead bar and pull yourself up, and then lower yourself to the starting
position, you would have done a single rep of the pullup or chin. A series
of reps comprises a set. A set can consist of one rep (a single), very low reps
(–), medium reps (–), high reps (–), or very high reps (+). ese
divisions are subjective. Different people may have different definitions of
low, medium, high or very high reps.. Reps can be done slowly, quickly or somewhere in between. But one person’s
“slow” can be another’s “fast.” More than one rep cadence works, at least for
some people, but fast and explosive training carries a very high risk of injury.
is book focuses on a controlled cadence and exercises where speed is not a
necessity. is means lowering the weight under control and then pushing
or pulling the bar smoothly and with good biomechanics. ere should be
no throwing, bouncing, yanking or jerking.. Reps can be done with a pause of a second or a few seconds before each, or
they can be done continuously, or they can be done with exaggerated pauses
of as much as – seconds between reps, i.e., rest-pause work. e exag-
gerated pauses permit heavier weights to be used.Sticking point
. Most exercises have a point, often about halfway up, where the resistance
seems to get magnified. is is the point where the resistance seems to stut-
ter, or even get stuck if you are at your hilt of effort, hence the term “sticking
point.” If you make it through the sticking point, the rest of the rep should
be easy (but the sticking point could actually be at the end of the rep).