Glossary

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

The basics

The words every plan assumes you know.

DOMS Delayed onset muscle soreness DOMS is the muscle soreness that shows up a day or two after training rather than during it.

It is felt most strongly 24 to 72 hours after the exercise. A 2003 review says it is most common after a break from training or when an activity is new, and that lowering work brings it on most.

Sets and reps

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

Drop set A drop set is a set taken to failure, after which you take weight off the bar and carry straight on with the lighter weight, with no rest.

Progress

How the numbers go up, and what it is called when they stop.

Deload A deload is a short planned spell of easier training, usually a week, with less weight, fewer sets or both.

Double progression Double progression is a rule for progressing in two steps that take turns: reps go up at the same weight to the top of a range, then the weight goes up.

The bar and plates

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

Dumbbell A dumbbell is a short bar with a weight at each end, held in one hand.

Dumbbell lifts are usually logged by the weight of one dumbbell, not the pair. So "20 kg" on a dumbbell press means a 20 kg dumbbell in each hand, 40 kg in your hands in all.

Lifts and their short names

What the letters in a program stand for.

Deadlift The deadlift is a lift in which a barbell is picked up from the floor until you are standing straight.

The IPF's wording: the bar is "laid horizontally in front of the lifter's feet, gripped with an optional grip in both hands and lifted until the lifter is standing erect". It is one of powerlifting's three lifts, counted in the powerlifting total.

Numbers and scores

The figures lifters quote, and what each one measures.

DOTS Dynamic Objective Team Scoring DOTS is a points score from a weight lifted, usually a powerlifting total, and the lifter's bodyweight, so lifters of different sizes can be compared.