Gym Glossary: Common Fitness Acronyms
Hey everyone!
You may have noticed that there’s definitely no shortage of acronyms in the health and fitness space. Today I want to talk about 10 common fitness related acronyms and what they mean.
AMRAP: as many reps/rounds as possible
Typically used in circuit/crossfit style workouts where you complete max reps/rounds in given time frame
An example might be something like: 20 minute AMRAP - 10 squats, 10 lunges, 10 sit ups, where you’d have 20 minutes to complete as many rounds of that circuit as possible
EMOM: every minute on the minute
Typically used in circuit/crossfit style workouts where you complete prescribed reps at the top of every minute, with a given time cap
An example might be something like: 20 minute EMOM - 2 power cleans, where you’d complete 2 power cleans at the top of every minute, rest for the remainder of the minute, and begin again at the top of the next minute
DOMS: delayed onset muscle soreness
Refers to the soreness that happens 24 - 72ish hours after exercise
Usually occurs with new exercise/changes in exercise selection
Ever tried sitting on the toilet a day or 2 after a heavy squat session and barely been able to stand up? This is DOMS!
EPOC: excess post-exercise oxygen consumption
Refers to the energy expenditure that occurs after exercise
This oxygen is used to create ATP (the body's energy currency), convert lactate to glycogen, restore oxygen levels, repair muscle tissue, and restore body temperature
HIIT/MISS/LISS: these terms refer to cardio training!
HIIT: high intensity interval training
Maximum effort running/cycling/etc, 160+ bpm
Intervals at 30 sec - a few minutes, with a few minutes rest in between intervals
MISS: moderate intensity steady state
In general, heart rate around 140-160 bpm
Jogging, stair climber, etc, for however long
LISS: low intensity steady state
In general, heart rate around 100-130 bpm
Walking, riding a bike at an easy intensity, etc for however long
PR/PB: personal record/personal best
Usually in context of your 1 rep max for lifting
Example: "What's your back squat pr?", "My pr is 100kg!"
GPP: general physical preparedness
This basically just means doing general strength/hypertrophy work rather than specific work toward your sport (context of powerlifting/olympic weightlifting/strongx)
Goal is usually to increase athleticism, focus on injury recovery, etc
I see this used primarily within the strength community!
DB/KB/BB: these are just equipment abbreviations that are commonly used in programs!
DB: dumbbell
KB: kettlebell
BB: barbell
RPE: rate of perceived exertion, a subjective way to measure exercise intensity
On a scale of 1-10, 1 being no effort at all, 10 being absolute maximum effort
RPE 7 is ~70ish% of 1 rep max, or 3 RIR
RIR: reps in reserve, a subjective way to measure exercise intensity
if prescribed RIR 3, this means 3 reps left 'in the tank' at the end of your set
This is also ~RPE 7
WOD: workout of the day
most commonly seen in crossfit gyms!
typically crossfit wods include some type of strength component and then a conditioning workout (called a metcon - metabolic conditioning)
Well, that’s it for now! Let me know if you learned something new this week. Feel free to let me know if you’d like me to cover any topics in the future, and happy lifting!
-Jory
