Compound?
Lean?
BMR?
For many, they hear and see these words in the gym or on the internet, but have pretty much no clue of what they mean or stand for. This can make the gym an even more intimidating place along with the cold stares and evil looking machines.
But there is no need to panic. This guide is here to help you navigate your way through gym conversation and avoid confusion when it comes to reading articles on the internet.
- Cutting
Cutting is the process of losing excess body fat whilst also maintaining as much lean tissue as possible.
- Lean
Being lean is being in the position of holding low levels of body fat. Furthermore ‘lean’ meats are meat products that have very low fat content (e.g. chicken, turkey, tuna, etc).
- Hypertrophy
Hypertrophy is the process of building muscle size through training and nutrition.
- DOMS
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is essentially the aches and pains you feel in your muscles 1 or 2 days after a workout.
- Compound Exercises
Compound exercises are exercises that require than one muscle group to be working in order for the movement to be completed. For example a press-up requires the chest, tricep and shoulders to be working in order for the movement to be completed.
- Isolation
Isolation exercise are exercises that require only one muscle group to be working in order for the movement to be completed. For example, calf raises only require the calf muscle to be working in order for the movement to be completed.
- Eccentric
Eccentric means the negative/downward motion of the movement. For example, the eccentric portion of the bicep curl is the part where you lower the dumbbell/barbell back to the beginning.
- Concentric
Concentric means the positive/upward portion of a movement. For example, the concentric portion of a bicep curl is the part where you contract the bicep to raise the dumbbell/barbell to the highest part of the movement.
- Progressive Overload
Progressive overload is defined as the progressive increase of stress upon the body during exercise training. This means that you are progressing and increasing the stress placed upon the body, resulting in greater adaptations of the body and improvements in strength, endurance and also physique. Progressive overload can come from a range of factors from increasing resistance, increasing speed of movement, increasing the time under tension, reducing rest periods, etc. All of which can result in improvements and progression when it comes to health and fitness.
- BMR
BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate. Therefore, your BMR is essentially the amount of calories that you burn at rest. This can vary from person to person due to different factors such as amount of lean tissue, thyroid activity, lifestyle (sedentary or active), etc. Those with a higher Basal Metabolic Rate will be burning more calories at rest compared to those who have a lower BMR, thus giving them a much better ability to maintain their weight and also lose weight once they begin dieting. However, BMR can be altered and increased with consistent exercise and good nutritional habits, especially an increase in protein intake.
- Lean Tissue
Lean tissue is essentially the amount of muscle you may have, but also lean tissue is comprised of ligaments, tendons, bones and organs. The rest will be predominantly fat mass.
- Core
Your core is broadly the musculature within your torso. The major muscles of the core reside in the area of the belly and the mid and lower back (not the shoulders), and peripherally include the hips, the shoulders and the neck.
Major muscles included are the pelvic floor muscles, transversus abdominis, multifidus, internal and external obliques, rectus abdominis, erector spinae (sacrospinalis) especially the longissimus thoracis, and the diaphragm. Minor core muscles include the latissimus dorsi, gluteus maximus, and trapezius.
The core is traditionally assumed to originate most full-body functional movement, including most sports. In addition, the core determines to a large part a person’s posture. In all, the human anatomy is built to take force upon the bones and direct autonomic force, through various joints, in the desired direction. The core muscles align the spine, ribs, and pelvis of a person to resist a specific force, whether static or dynamic.
