Anabolic steroid: A group of synthetic hormones that promote the storage of protein and the growth of tissue, sometimes used by advanced athletes who have plateaued, to increase muscle size and strength.
Anabolism: The phase of metabolism in which simple
substances are synthesized into the complex materials of living tissue. To the athlete this means building muscle tissue
Anaerobic: “without oxygen” Anaerobic metabolism in muscle tissue occurs during explosive weightlifting like weightlifting or sprinting.
Anti-catabolic: This is the preventing of cellular breakdown in the body. To the athlete it means preventing muscle breakdown this is known more specifically as anti-proteolysis.
ATP: An adenosine-derived nucleotide, C10H16N5O13P3, that contains high-energy phosphate bonds and is used to transport energy to cells for biochemical processes, including muscle contraction and enzymatic metabolism, through its hydrolysis to ADP. ATP is hydrolyzed to AMP when it is incorporated into DNA or RNA.
BCAAs: Branch chain amino acids. These include essential amino acids leucine, iso-leucine and valine
Bulking: Gaining bodyweight by adding both fat & muscle, this is done by consuming an excess of calories.
Burn: The burning sensation in a muscle that comes from the lactic acid and pH buildup resulting from exercising the muscle to failure.
Calorie: Usually used as the more apporiate Kilocalorie or Kcal (1000 calories). This is a term used to describe the amount of energy in our food. It is the amount of energy it takes to raise one gram of water by one degree C
Carbohydrate: Any of a group of organic compounds that includes sugars, starches, celluloses, and gums and serves as a major energy source in the diet of animals. These compounds are produced by photosynthetic plants and contain only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, usually in the ratio 1
1. one gram of carbohydrate contains 4.1 Kcals.
Catabolic: The metabolic breakdown of complex molecules into simpler ones, often resulting in a release of energy. To the athlete this means loss of muscle tissue.
Cheat: 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.
Cholestrol: A white crystalline substance, C27H45OH, found in animal tissues and various foods, that is normally synthesized by the liver and is important as a constituent of cell membranes and a precursor to steroid hormones. Its level in the bloodstream can influence the pathogenesis of certain conditions, such as the development of atherosclerotic plaque and coronary artery disease. HDL is generally considered good, LDL is generally considered bad.
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 giaing some aerobic benefit at the expense of maximal stregth gains.
Complete proteins: These are proteins that contain all the essential amino acids in the right balance.
Concentric: This represents the positive portion of a repetition i.e raising the weight
Cutting: Stripping the body of excess bodyfat while retaining maximum muscularity.
Dextrose: another name for glucose, the terms are interchangeable
Disaccharide: This is a carbohydrate compound made uop of two sugars. E.G lactose (milk sugar) sucrose (table sugar)
DOMS: This stands for Delayed Onset Muscle soreness, and decribes the discomfort often experienced around 24-48hrs after training in a particular muscle group. It is thought to be caused by tiny tears in the muscle tissue. It is wrongly used by many as a guide to an efficient workout.
Eccentric: This represents the negative portion of a repetition i.e lowering the weight
Endogenous: Originating or produced within an organism, tissue, or cell.
EFAs: Essential fatty acids. These are fats are body can’t make, so we obtain them from our food. They include linolenic and linoleic acid (PUFAs). Good sources are flaxseed oil and sunflower oil.
EPOC Excess postexercise oxygen consumption. Refers to the status of increased metabolism (oxygen consupmtion) folling resistance exercise or high intensity cardio vascular exercise. This state seems to be achieved through extended, intermitant anaerobic exercise.
Exogenous: This term refers to anything originating outside the body.
Fat: this is one of the macronutrients. Fat contains nine calories per gram. Dietary fats are sometimes referred to as triglycerides or lipids. There are three main types; polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and saturated.
Flat: Describes muscles that have lost their fullness, commonly caused by overtraining, undertraining, during a cutting phase or a lack of nutrients, muscle glycogen and water.
Flush: To increase the blood supply to a muscle, thereby brining in more nurients.
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.
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.
Fructose: This is a sugar commonly found in fruit. Its sweeter than sugar and has a lower glycemic index.
Glucagon: A hormone produced by the pancreas that stimulates an increase in blood sugar levels, thus opposing the action of insulin. A catabolic hormone.
Glucose: glucose or dextrose is a monosaccharide with the empirical formula C6H12O6. This carbohydrate occurs in the sap of most plants and in the juice of grapes and other fruits. Glucose is a normal component of animal blood; it thus requires no digestion prior to absorption into the bloodstream. Glucose can be obtained by hydrolysis of a variety of carbohydrates, e.g., milk and cane sugars, maltose, cellulose, or glycogen.
Glutes: A shortend version of gluteus maximus, the largest of the muscles forming each of the human buttocks. Your ass.
Glycemic index (GI): This is a measure of the extent to which a food raises blood sugar as compared with white bread. E.g glucose: 138, brown rice: 81, frutose: 31
Glycogen: This is the principle storage form of carbohydrate energy (glucose), which is reserved in muscle tissue and the liver. When muscles are full of glycogen they look fuller.
Hypertrophy: This means to increase in size. Muscle hypertrophy is the increase in size of muscle cells.
Insulin: Insulin is a naturally-occurring hormone secreted by the pancreas. Insulin is required by the cells of the body in order for them to remove and use glucose from the blood. From glucose the cells produce the energy that they need to carry out their functions. Insulin also transports amino acids and other nutrients into muscle cells.
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.
Lactic acid: A syrupy, water-soluble liquid, C3H6O3, produced in muscles as a result of anaerobic glucose metabolism.
Lean Body Mass (LBM): Fat Free body tissue, comprising mostly muscle. Lean mass is the primary determinant of the body's basal metabolism (calories you burn at rest).
Lipolysis: Lipolysis is the breakdown of fat stored in fat cells. During this process, free fatty acids are released into the bloodstream and circulate throughout the body. Ketones are produced, leading to the process of ketosis. Testing strips are available which can sometimes measure whether or not this process is taking place.
Macronutrients: Macronutrients are essential nutrients needed by the human body in large quantities for it to function normally. They include carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and water. Macro minerals are sometimes included and sometimes excluded from the definition.
Mass: If you train hard and eat right, you can add muscle. A growing bodybuilder's favorite word!
Metabolism: metabolism, sum of all biochemical processes involved in life. Two subcategories of metabolism are anabolism, the building up of complex organic molecules from simpler precursors, and catabolism, the breakdown of complex substances into simpler molecules, often accompanied by the release of energy.
Metabolic rate: this refers to the rate you convert energy in the body. The metabolic rate is controlled by a number of factors, including muscle mass, calorie intake, exercise and use of stimulant or depressant chemicals.
Micronutrients: A substance, such as a vitamin or mineral, that is essential in minute amounts for the proper growth and metabolism of a living organism.
Monosaccharide: This is a simple carbohydrate made up of one sugar molecule. Examples are fructose and glucose.
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.
Muscle fatigue: This is the failure of a muscle to continue to perform work, caused by ATP depletion.
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.
Periodization: Also called Cycle Training, a predetermined approach to strength and muscle building in which bodybuilders train light for several weels, then heavier, and then really heavy, and the process is cycled. Helps avoid injury and burnout.
Polysaccharides: These are carbohydrates containing a large number of “sugar groups” Starch, glycogen, dextrin and cellulose are examples
PPWO: This stands for post post workout and refers to second nutritional intake after working out.
Progressive Overload: Gradually adding more resistance during strength training exercises as your strength increase.
Protein: Any of a group of complex organic macromolecules that contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and usually sulphur and are composed of one or more chains of amino acids. Proteins are fundamental components of all living cells and include many substances, such as enzymes, hormones, and antibodies that are necessary for the proper functioning of an organism. They are essential in the diet of animals for the growth and repair of tissue and can be obtained from foods such as meat, fish, eggs, milk, and legumes. A high protein diet is necessary to build muscle. 1 gram of protein contains 4.1 Kcals.
Pump: The look and feeling a bodybuilder experiences when his/her muscles engorge with blood and tissue fluid as the result of intense exercise.
PWO: this stands for post workout and refers to post workout nutrition. This will generally consist of protein and simple carbs for recovery and repair e.g. whey, water and glucose
Rep: a single concentric and eccentric movement of an exercise e.g one bicep curl
RHR: This stands for resting heart rate. This is a person's heart rate at rest. The best time to find out your resting heart rate is in the morning, after a good night's sleep, and before you get out of bed. Typical RHR amoung the untrained is between 60 and 80 beats per minute.
Ripped: A condition of extremely low bodyfat with superior muscle separation and vascularity. Variations include sliced, cut, and striated.
Saturated fat (SFAs): These are so called because they contain no open spots on their carbon skeleton and no double bonds. e.g palmitic acid, stearic acid. Too many of these fats can contribute to increased LDL cholestrol/total cholestrol and cardio vascular disease.
Set: A unit of exercise measurement consisting of a movement that is repeated a desired number of time.
Shredded: To get ripped, to have extremely low bodyfat with superior muscle separation. Also, sliced, cut, and striated.
Spotting: Standing by, alert and ready to assist promptly if called upon by someone performing an exercise.
Sucrose: This is common table sugar. A disaccaride comprised of glucose and fructose
Thermogenic: This term means heat producing or for the bodybuilder fat burning.
Unsaturated fats: These are considered good fats. They are so called because thay have many open “carbon spots” unsaturated fats can be divided into two catergories: polyunsaturates (PUFAs) and monounsaturates (MUFAs). The former catergory including the essential fatty acids linoleic and linolenic acid.
Vascular: The visibility of veins on a bodybuilder as a result of exercise and low bodyfat (and perhaps higher blood volume).
VO2 Max: Fitness can be measured by the volume of oxygen you can consume while exercising at your maximum capacity. VO2 max is the maximum amount of oxygen in milliliters, one can use in one minute per kilogram of body weight. Those who are more fit have higher VO2 max values and can exercise more intensely than those who are not as well conditioned. Numerous studies show that you can increase your VO2 max by working out at an intensity that raises your heart rate to between 65 and 85% of its maximum for at least 20 minutes three to five times a week. A mean value of VO2 max for male athletes is about 3.5 litres/minute and for female athletes it is about 2.7 litres/minute.
Metric/Imperial equivalents
Length
metric -> imperial
1 millimetre [mm] 0.03937 in
1 centimetre [cm] 10 mm 0.3937 in
1 metre [m] 100 cm 1.0936 yd
1 kilometre [km] 1000 m 0.6214 mile
imperial -> metric
1 inch [in] 2.54 cm
1 foot [ft] 12 in 0.3048 m
1 yard [yd] 3 ft 0.9144 m
1 mile 1760 yd 1.6093 km
1 int nautical mile 2025.4 yd 1.853 km
Area
metric - > imperial
1 sq cm [cm2] 100 mm2 0.1550 in2
1 sq m [m2] 10,000 cm2 1.1960 yd2
1 hectare [ha] 10,000 m2 2.4711 acres
1 sq km [km2] 100 ha 0.3861 mile2
imperial -> metric
1 sq inch [in2] 6.4516 cm2
1 sq foot [ft2] 144 in2 0.0929 m2
1 sq yd [yd2] 9 ft2 0.8361 m2
1 acre 4840 yd2 4046.9 m2
1 sq mile [mile2] 640 acres 2.59 km2
Volume/Capacity
metric -> imperial
1 cu cm [cm3] 0.0610 in3
1 cu decimetre [dm3] 1,000 cm3 0.0353 ft3
1 cu metre [m3] 1,000 dm3 1.3080 yd3
1 litre [l] 1 dm3 1.76 pt
1 hectolitre [hl] 100 l 21.997 gal
imperial -> metric
1 cu inch [in3] 16.387 cm3
1 cu foot [ft3] 1,728 in3 0.0283 m3
1 fluid ounce [fl oz] 28.413 ml
1 pint [pt] 20 fl oz 0.5683 l
1 gallon [gal] 8 pt 4.5461 l
USA measure -> metric
1 fluid ounce 1.0408 UK fl oz 29.574 ml
1 pint (16 fl oz) 0.8327 UK pt 0.4731 l
1 gallon 0.8327 UK gal 3.7854 l
Mass
metric -> imperial
1 milligram [mg] 0.0154 grain
1 gram [g] 1,000 mg 0.0353 oz
1 kilogram [kg] 1,000 g 2.2046 lb
1 tonne [t] 1,000 kg 0.9842 ton
imperial -> metric
1 ounce [oz] 437.5 grain 28.35 g
1 pound [lb] 16 oz 0.4536 kg
1 stone 14 lb 6.3503 kg
1 hundredweight [cwt] 112 lb 50.802 kg
1 long ton (UK) 20 cwt 1.016 t
