Strength Training Glossary
The terms you will hear us use, explained in plain language.
Rep (repetition)
One complete performance of an exercise, from the start of the movement through a full range of motion and back again.
Why it matters: Reps are the basic unit of training volume. Counting them lets you track how much work a set demanded and compare it week to week.
Example: Lowering the bar to your chest and pressing it back up once is one rep of the bench press.
Set
A group of consecutive reps performed back to back before resting.
Why it matters: Grouping reps into sets lets you manage fatigue and dose your training deliberately rather than grinding until exhausted.
Example: Three sets of ten means you do ten reps, rest, and repeat that twice more for three sets total.
Progressive overload
Gradually asking a little more of your muscles over time by adding weight, reps, sets, or controlled difficulty.
Why it matters: It is the single core driver behind every strength gain. Without a slowly increasing challenge, your body has no reason to adapt.
Example: Squatting 40 kg for ten reps this week, then 42.5 kg for ten reps next week is progressive overload in action.
Compound exercise
A movement that works several muscle groups and multiple joints at once, such as a squat, deadlift, or press.
Why it matters: Compound lifts give you the most strength and muscle return for your time and build coordinated, real-world strength.
Example: A squat trains your quads, glutes, hamstrings, and core in a single movement.
Isolation exercise
A movement that targets a single muscle group with one main joint, such as a biceps curl or leg extension.
Why it matters: Isolation work is useful later for bringing up a specific weak point a compound lift reveals.
Example: A biceps curl focuses almost entirely on the biceps, unlike a row which also uses the back.
Reps in reserve (RIR)
An estimate of how many more reps you could have completed before failing on a set.
Why it matters: RIR lets you train hard enough to progress while leaving a safe buffer that protects your form and recovery.
Example: Finishing a set of ten and feeling like you could have done two more is an RIR of two.
RPE (rate of perceived exertion)
A scale from one to ten describing how hard a set felt, where ten is absolute maximum effort.
Why it matters: RPE helps you adjust a workout to how you feel on a given day instead of rigidly chasing fixed numbers.
Example: An RPE of eight means the set felt hard but you likely had two reps left in the tank.
Hypertrophy
The technical term for an increase in muscle size, driven by training and adequate nutrition.
Why it matters: Understanding hypertrophy keeps your expectations realistic: visible muscle growth takes months of consistent work, not weeks.
Example: Doing higher-rep sets with progressive overload over several months drives hypertrophy in the targeted muscles.
Deload
A planned lighter week where you reduce weight, volume, or both to let your body fully recover.
Why it matters: Deloads prevent accumulated fatigue from stalling your progress and are a key tool for long-term, injury-free training.
Example: Dropping your working weights by roughly 40 percent for one week every fourth or fifth week is a common deload.
Volume
The total amount of work you perform, typically calculated as sets multiplied by reps multiplied by weight.
Why it matters: Managing volume is how you balance enough stimulus to grow with enough recovery to absorb it.
Example: Three sets of ten reps at 50 kg is 1,500 kg of volume for that exercise in a session.
Posterior chain
The muscles along the back of your body, including the hamstrings, glutes, and back, trained by hinging movements.
Why it matters: A strong posterior chain supports posture, athletic power, and lower-back health, and it is often undertrained in beginners.
Example: The deadlift and Romanian deadlift are classic posterior-chain builders.
Superset
Two exercises performed back to back with little or no rest between them, usually targeting different muscle groups.
Why it matters: Supersets save time in a session by letting one muscle group rest while another works.
Example: Pairing a set of rows with a set of presses, resting only after both, is a superset.
One-rep max (1RM)
The heaviest weight you can lift for a single repetition of an exercise with good form.
Why it matters: Your 1RM is a reference point for setting training loads, but beginners rarely need to test it directly.
Example: If your best single squat is 80 kg, that is your estimated 1RM for the squat.
Tempo
The controlled speed of a rep, often written as a sequence of seconds for lowering, pausing, and lifting.
Why it matters: Tempo controls time under tension and movement quality, which matters more for progress than how fast you move the weight.
Example: A 3-1-1 tempo on a squat means three seconds down, a one-second pause, and one second up.
AMRAP
Short for "as many reps as possible," a set where you continue until you can no longer complete a clean rep.
Why it matters: AMRAP sets are a way to push effort and measure conditioning, but beginners should use them sparingly to protect form.
Example: A finisher of "AMRAP push-ups in 60 seconds" means doing as many good reps as you can before time runs out.
Failure
The point in a set where you can no longer complete another rep with good technique.
Why it matters: Training to failure is not required for progress and can quickly fatigue beginners; stopping a rep or two short is usually better.
Example: If your tenth rep grinds to a halt and an eleventh would not move, you have reached failure on that set.
Range of motion (ROM)
The full distance a joint or movement travels from start to finish during an exercise.
Why it matters: Using a full, controlled ROM builds strength through the entire movement and keeps joints healthy over time.
Example: A full-depth squat lowers your hips below knee level rather than cutting the movement short.
Caloric surplus and deficit
A surplus means eating more calories than you burn; a deficit means eating fewer.
Why it matters: These underpin muscle building and weight loss respectively, and they explain why training alone does not change your weight.
Example: Eating in a small surplus supports muscle growth, while a modest deficit drives fat loss while you keep lifting.