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Bodybuilding Jargon
Bodybuilding has its own
special language.
In this section, we have defined some of the terms of this sport, and their
respective meanings.
Bitch
Tits: A condition in
which female like breast development occurs in a bodybuilder, also called
Gynecomastia.
Bulking
Up: Gaining
bodyweight by adding both fat & muscle, a once common practice no longer in
vogue among knowledgeable bodybuilders.
Burn:
The burning
sensation in a muscle that comes from the lactic acid and pH buildup resulting
from exercising the muscle to failure.
Cap:
The deltoid muscles
of the shoulder, which can be divided into front, middle and rear heads for
training.
Cheat
Reps: When muscle
fatigue begins to set in or the weight is too heavy, some athletes employ body
English or 'improper' form to make the lift, using surrounding muscle groups or
even momentum to assist in the movement.
Close
Sport: Standing by,
alert and ready to assist promptly if called upon by someone performing an
exercise.
Circuit
Training: A workout
technique in which the individual goes from one exercise to another. One set per
movement per round, with minimal rest, thus gaining some aerobic benefit at the
expense of maximal strength gains.
Cramping:
Exercising a muscle
using shortened movements that causes a muscle to cramp, contracting painfully
perhaps to the point of temporary fatigue to achieve a greater pump.
Cutting
Up: Stripping the
body of excess bodyfat while retaining maximum muscularity. Also can be called
Ripped, Shredded, Sliced, etc.
Cycle:
A length of time set
aside for specific types of training, whether for bulking up, getting stronger,
and getting leaner, etc. Combining individual training cycles is sometimes
referred to as Periodization. Another meaning is taking one or more specialized
supplements (or steroids) for a specific period of time, as taking creatine for
two months, then stopping for a month.
Definition:
Extremely low
bodyfat coupled with superior muscle separation and vascularity; the physical
manifestation of 'dialing it in'. Adjectives that are used to describe this
desired state include ripped, shredded, sliced, cut, striated.
Dialing
It In: The process
of training and dieting to get shredded for a contest. Adjectives include on
time, on the money, peaking.
Flat:
Describes muscles
that have lost their fullness commonly caused by overtraining, undertraining or
a lack of nutrients and water.
Flush:
To increase the
blood supply to a muscle, thereby bringing in more nutrients.
Forced
Reps: Additional
repetitions of an exercise performed with the help of a partner when you're
unable to do anymore reps on your own.
Freak:
Anyone with inhuman
size or un-proportional muscles. The person that makes you stare.
Free
Hand Movement: Any
exercise that can be performed without exercise equipment, using only your
bodyweight, such as a push-up or squat without weight.
Full:
The appearance of
muscle pressing against skin. The best competitive bodybuilders manage to look
simultaneous full and shredded.
Glutes:
A shortened version
of gluteas maximus, the largest of the muscles forming each of the human
buttocks.
Guns:
Another word for
Biceps, alone for with triceps. Other slang words include Pipes, Pythons...
Hardbody:
Women who are so
toned, so good looking, with excellent physique. Top of the line fitness
competitors.
H.I.T.:
High Intensity
Training. A method that states it is not about doing 'more' or 'less' exercise
but rather an appropriate amount on exercise to stimulate optimum muscle growth.
Intensity:
It can mean that the
pace you keep while you train is higher than normal, as in moving quickly and
taking a shorter rest between sets. It also can mean that the weight you use
during those sessions is relatively heavy for you. It can also mean that the
workload within a given time period, combined with the weight and pace is
increased.
Isolation:
A technique that
focuses work on an individual muscle without secondary or assisting muscle
groups being involved, which provides maximal muscle shape. A good example is
the seated dumbbell concentration curl.
Juice:
Meaning anabolic
steroids. Other slang words for steroids include gear, sauce, roids...
Lats:
A term, which is
abbreviated jargon for the latissimus dorsi. This Latin term translates roughly
into 'lateral muscles of the back'. When viewed from the rear, and relaxed, the
lats form large. Inverted cones.
Lean
Body Mass: Fat Free
body tissue, comprising mostly muscle. Lean mass is the primary determinant of
the body's basal metabolism (calories you burn at rest). In healthy men, bodyfat
(bodyweight minus lean body mass) ranges from 8-12%; in women, 18-22%.
Mass:
Size - lots of it.
If you train hard and eat right, you can add muscle. A growing bodybuilder's
favorite word!
Muscle
Confusion: A
technique to counteract the cessation of growth that occurs when muscles adapt
to the training demands placed upon them. To keep the body growing and getting
stronger, a bodybuilder needs to vary his/her sets, reps, rest, weight used and
exercise angles during each workout.
Negatives:
The act of lowering
a weight against gravity, specifically, resisting gravity by lowering the weight
slowly and under control.
One
Rep Max (1RM): Your
absolute strength in a given movement. Powerlifting competitions are a test of
1RM strength. For many bodybuilders, especially beginners, 1RM training is
harmful because of the higher risk of injury. A weight that you can just
complete in 10 reps is a good approximation for most people of 75% of their 1RM.
Peak:
As a bodybuilder
prepares for a contest, he/she cuts bodyfat to an unusually low level to bring
out maximum muscularity that can be maintained for only a short time, usually
only a few days.
Plates:
The weights that you
put on an Olympic dumbbell, specifically a 45-pound weight. Smaller weights are
called quarters (25 pounds), dimes (10 pounds), and nickels (5 pounds).
Periodization:
Also called Cycle
Training, a predetermined approach to strength and muscle building in which
bodybuilders train light for several weeks, then heavier, and then really heavy,
and the process is cycled. Helps avoid injury and burnout.
Progressive
Overload: Gradually
adding more resistance during strength training exercises as your strength
increase.
Pump:
The look and feeling
bodybuilder experiences when his/her muscles engorge with blood as the result of
intense exercise.
Pyramiding:
The act of
increasing your poundage while decreasing your reps on successive sets.
Ripped:
A condition of
extremely low bodyfat with superior muscle separation and vascularity.
Variations include sliced, cut, and cross-straited.
Rep:
Moving a weight
through a range of motion and then back again one time, short for repetition.
Set:
A unit of exercise
measurement consisting of a movement that is repeated a desired number of times.
Shredded:
To get ripped, to
have extremely low bodyfat with superior muscle separation. Also, sliced, cut,
and cross-straited.
Six
Pack: An ab muscles
so well developed that you can see the separate muscle under the skin where your
stomach is. Other words include washboard.
Skull
Crusher: The lying
French press, in which you lower a barbell from full extension above your head
down to your forehead and then extend at the elbows to press it back up.
Spot:
To 'stand guard'
while someone performs a set with heavy weights. A 'spotters' main duty is to
prevent injury in case that someone cannot finish is reps.
Stacking:
Usually mixing one
or more supplements together.
V-Taper:
A person with big
shoulders and a small waist.
Vascular: The visibility of veins on a bodybuilder as a result of exercise and low bodyfat (and perhaps higher blood volume).