Muscle Building and Weight Training Glossary Part III

Forced Reps: Extending a set past the point of failure by having a training partner pull upward on the bar just enough to help you force two or three reps past failure. This creates greater gains in muscle mass. Form: Performance of the body during a particular exercise. Perfect form means moving only the muscles specified for that exercise. Free Weights: Barbells and dumbbells, as opposed to weight machines. Glucose: The simplest sugar molecule, the main blood sugar, and a primary body fuel. Gluteals: The gluteus maximus, medius and minimus are the buttocks muscles. Glycogen: The principal stored from of glucose in muscles. Hand Off: Help from a workout partner in getting a weight to starting position. Hard Set: Performing an exercise for a certain number of sets at maximum effort, as opposed to an “easy set.” HDL: “Good” cholesterol. Hypertrophy: Increase in muscle mass and improvement in strength. Intensity: The relative degree of effort put into each exercise in a workout routine. Isokinetic Exercise: An isotonic exercise in which there is accommodating resistance. Isolation Exercise: Movement stressing a single muscle group. Knee Wraps: Elastic strips, about 3 ½ inches wide, used to wrap knees. Provides better support in exercises such as squats and deadlifts. Lats: The latissimus dorsi are the large muscles of the back that move the arms downward, backward and in internal rotation. Layoff: Period of one or two weeks away from the gym, usually after a period of intense preparation for a competition. LDL: “Bad” cholesterol Lean Body Mass: All parts of the body that are not fat, including bone, skin, etc. About 50-60% of this lean body mass is water. Lift Off: Help from a workout partner in getting weight to proper starting position. Ligament: Connecting tissue between two or more bones, or cartilages, supporting muscle, fascia or organ. Lock Out: Repeating only part of an exercise; pushing the weight through only the last few inches of movement. Lower Abs: Abdominal muscles below the navel. Mass: Relative size of each muscle group. Max: Maximum effort for one rep of an exercise. Metabolic Rate: Rate at which your body converts stored energy into working energy. Midsection: Abdominal area muscles, including upper and lower abdominals, obliques, and rectus abdominus muscles. Military Press: Pressing a barbell form upper chest upward, in standing or sitting position. Muscle: Muscle tissue consists of banded or bundled fibers that contract to cause movement in the body. Muscle Spasm: A sudden and involuntary (and usually painful) contraction of a muscle or muscle group. Muscle Tone: When a muscle is always very slightly contracted and appears firm. Myositis: The muscular soreness, caused by inflammation, that usually occurs 1-2 days after more movement than usual. Nautilus: Exercise machine which matches resistance with user’s force. Negative Reps: A partner, or two, help you lift a weight up to 50% heavier than your normal top weight, to the finish point of the movement. You slowly lower the weight on your own.