Glossary

The words a program assumes you know, each in one plain sentence and one drawing.

Sets and reps

The kinds of set, and the ways sets are put together.

Cluster set A cluster set is a set broken into small groups of reps with a short planned rest between the groups.

The short rests let a heavy weight be lifted for more total reps. The groups are planned and stop short of failure. A 2021 meta-analysis of 29 studies found cluster sets and ordinary sets equally effective for strength and muscle size.

The bar and plates

The parts of a bar and the things you load on it.

Chalk Chalk is a white powder rubbed on the hands to keep them dry so the bar does not slip.

Competition rules provide for it: at a weightlifting competition "chalk and resin must be provided on the stage". Liquid chalk is the same thing in a fluid that dries on the hands.

Collar A collar is the fastener that goes on the end of a barbell, outside the plates, to stop them sliding off.

Lifts and their short names

What the letters in a program stand for.

Compound lift A compound lift is an exercise that bends and straightens more than one joint at once, so several muscles share the work.