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.

Tempo Tempo is how fast you move through each part of a rep, counted in seconds and written as four numbers: down, pause, up, pause.

Top set The top set is the heaviest working set of an exercise in a session, usually done first after the warm-up.

The lighter sets that follow it are back-off sets. The app's coach works from your best set of the session, the one with the highest estimated one-rep max.

Effort

How hard a set was, in numbers.

Time under tension Time under tension is the number of seconds a set lasts while the muscle is working: the seconds per rep times the reps.

It follows from tempo. The ACSM's 2026 position stand lists time under tension among the variables that did not consistently affect results. A 2015 meta-analysis found similar muscle growth with reps lasting from 0.5 to 8 seconds.

The bar and plates

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

Trap bar A trap bar is a bar shaped as a frame you stand inside, with a handle at each side.

It is used mostly for deadlifts, and is also called a hex bar after its six-sided shape. Weights differ by maker: Eleiko's open trap bar is 25 kg (55.12 lb), heavier than a standard straight bar.

Numbers and scores

The figures lifters quote, and what each one measures.

Tonnage Tonnage is the total weight moved in a session: weight times reps for each set, added up.

Researchers call it volume load: reps × sets × load. The app shows it as a workout's Volume, in kilos or pounds.

Training max A training max is a working number set below your real one-rep max, and a program's percentages are taken from it.

Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 for beginners sets it at 80–85% of your real max and says "All percentages are based on that training max", so "90% of training max" on an 85 kg training max is 76.5 kg, not 90 kg. Masheen is not affiliated with him.