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.

Set A set is a group of reps done one after another without resting.

"3 sets of 8" means 8 reps, rest, 8 reps, rest, 8 reps. In the app each set is one row you log, with a weight and a rep count.

Sets and reps A rep is one complete movement of an exercise, and a set is a group of reps done one after another without resting.

Sets and reps

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

Straight sets Straight sets are several sets of one exercise at the same weight for the same reps, with a rest after each.

You finish every set of the exercise before moving to the next one. It is the plain way to train, and the one research compares supersets, drop sets and pyramids against, under the name "traditional" sets.

Superset A superset is two exercises done back to back with little or no rest between them, with the rest coming after the pair.

Planning a week

How much, how often, and on which days.

Split A split is the way a training week is divided up: which muscles or movements you train on which day.

The bar and plates

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

Sleeve The sleeve is the thick end of a barbell that the plates slide onto.

On a competition barbell the sleeve spins freely round the shaft and is 50 to 52 mm thick, while a plate's hole is 52 to 53 mm.

Smith machine A Smith machine is a barbell fixed inside a frame, so the bar can only slide up and down on steel rails.

Lifts and their short names

What the letters in a program stand for.

Squat The squat is a lift in which you stand with a barbell across your upper back, bend your knees and hips to lower yourself, and stand back up.

It is one of powerlifting's three lifts, counted in the powerlifting total. The competition depth rule: the top of the legs at the hip must go lower than the top of the knees.

Numbers and scores

The figures lifters quote, and what each one measures.

Strength standards Strength standards are tables that sort a lift into named levels, such as novice, intermediate and advanced, by how the weight compares with bodyweight.