[Urban]

This is a compilation glossary that may prove to be my life's work. Over time many people ask “what does X mean?” ”how do you do Y?” and this thread shall be a permanent rebuttal. As people ask questions about what something is I will ensure that the response and site ends up in this very post by editing it on a regular basis. How do you use this thread without sifting through what may seem (eventually) a HUGE first post? I recommend you go up to edit on your browser (it's the menu next to file, you could just push alt + e) and go down to find (on this page). Now type in what you're looking for. Don’t match case.

Exercise list

Ab Wheel Rollouts - Abdominal exercise that can be done kneeling or standing (hence standing ab wheel rollouts]. Example1 (First exercise on the page)

Barbell Rollout - Ab wheel rollout with a barbell with a free-spinning plate on each end. Example1 (first exercise on the page]

Bent press - Core exercise particularly effective on obliques. Example1 (first exercise on the page)

Board Press - A benching assistance exercise to work the upper portion of the bench (lockout). Boards consist of either 2x6” wood or foam or something similar. Very tricep oriented. Example1

Box Squats - A squat variation where you lower yourself to sit onto a box, rest on the box for a moment and then perform the concentric portion of a squat. Puts particular emphasis on “coming out of the hole” or lower portion of the squat. Very posterior chain oriented. Example1 (an entire article devoted to this one exercise)

Burpees - a bodyweight exercise that covers just about the whole body and has dozens of variants. Begin standing, squat down putting your hands on the ground by your feet, Kick your feet out into pushup position, pull them back in between your feet, stand up. Repeat as fast as you can. Urban's favorite modification: do a pushup when you're in position for one, and do a tuck jump instead of just standing up. Example 1 has a jump and a pushup included. burpee conditioning is by the same author and has some information on using them in a routine. Ultimate Burpees has a fist full of modifications to keep things interesting.

Chin-up - An upper back and arm exercise consisting of an overhead pull using a Supinated (palms facing towards you) grip. Example1

Close Grip Bench - Observe good bench press technique with a close grip. I have my first and middle fingers off the knurling. Example 1 Dips - Mainly tricep and shoulder exercise Example 1

Dive Bomber Pushup - Pushup variation often confused with Hindu Pushups (dands). instead of a normal up and down pushup motion, a swooping motion is used. took me 10 seconds on Google. In short a dive bomber is the first half of the exercises forwards and then in reverse (making something of a U shape), and a Hindu pushup goes immediately back to the starting position after “dive bombing” (making more of a complete circle. Example 1 Dive Bombers Vs. Hindus

Face pulls - Scapular retraction and rear deltoid exercise using a pulley at about the height of your face. Example 1

Floor Press - Executed like a bench press, only lying on the floor. This exercise targets the sticking point of the bench-press, and works the triceps. Example 1, Example 2, Article on application

Full Contact Twist - sometimes referred to landmines or incorrectly as a Russian twist Example 1 (fourth exercise on the page)

Glute Ham Raise - GHR for short. a posterior chain exercise using a glute ham raise bench. Example 1 (notice how the clothing is different in the second pic? that is an advanced GHR technique , Example 2 (goes down to far and rounds their back)

Hindu Pushups - Also called dands. Often confused with dive bomber pushups. Instead of a normal up and down pushup motion, a swooping motion is used. took me 10 seconds on Google. In short a dive bomber is the first half of the exercises forwards and then in reverse (making something of a U shape), and a Hindu pushup goes immediately back to the starting position after “dive bombing” (making more of a complete circle. Example 1 Dive Bombers Vs. Hindus

JM Press - Also called a skull crusher (though skull crushers can be slightly different). Tricep exercise used mostly for bench assistance. Example 1 (scroll down 2 or three exercises to find it) Skull crusher variant

Lunge - A mostly unilateral leg movement. There are many lunge variants (walking lunge, lateral lunge, crossover lunge, lung off a box, etc). Example 1 Has a good description of many different variants.

Pistols - One legged squats with your inactive leg held out in front of you. Holding onto a plate will make it easier to balance, so if you add weight try it with a bar across your back. or held to your chest or maybe in front or zercher squat position. Example 1

Pull Through - a posterior chain exercise using a low pulley and rope attachment. Example 1

Pull-ups - An upper back and arm exercise consisting of an overhead pull using a non- supinated (palms not facing towards you) grip. Commonly using a pronated grip (pals facing away from you), however a semi-supinated grip (palms facing towards each other) are also often considered to be a pull-up variation. Example 1

Reverse hyper - An exercise using a reverse hyper bench/machine that was designed, initially, to train the posterior chain in the presence of a back injury, but is now commonly incorporated in regular training. Example 1

Romanian Deadlift - Also known as RDL for short. This exercise has as much in common with good mornings as with deadlifts. Your back should never round during execution which will keep the weight from ever touching the ground (cause your hamstrings aren’t flexible enough to allow it). If by some freak of nature you can touch the ground, your form is probably wrong (99.99999% of the time that's what it is). Example1 (normally performed with a slight bend in the knees), Example 1 (second exercise on the page)

Saxon Side Bend - Oblique exercise via lateral Flexion. Example 1 (last exercise on the page)

Side Press - core exercise with particular emphasis on obliques. Example 1 (third exercise on the page)

Single Leg squats - Also known as pistols. Unilateral leg exercise recruiting quads, hams and glutes and requiring a lot of balance. Example 1 (last exercise on the page)

Step Ups - Unilateral leg exercise. To place the most emphasis on your target leg and minimize the assistance provided by your opposite leg, try to keep your toes on your non-working leg pointed up (flexing the muscles around your shin, not your calves) throughout the exercise. Example 1 (Contains step-ups and several variants), Example 2

Stiff Leg Deadlift - also known as SLDL for short. Example 1 (a platform may not be necessary), Notes on execution

Tate press - Tricep exercise, also known as an elbows out tricep extension. Unique in that it puts most of the stress on two of the three heads of the tricep due to shoulder rotation.Example 1, Example 2 (but the dumbbells should be touching throughout the exercise) Tate presses can also be done on an incline bench.

Tuck Jump - Jump up and bring your knees to your chest while in the air. repeat quickly. Usually only performed with bodyweight, however you can modify it by adding dumbbells, or a weight vest.

Windmill - Core movement with particular emphasis on obliques. Similar to a bent press, but less lower back involvement. Example 1 (second exercise on the page)

Zercher deadlift - Deadlift with the bar in the crook of your elbows. Example 1

Zercher Squat - Similar to the Zercher Deadlift, in that the bar rests in the crook of the elbows. Once the bar is secured, the squat is carried out by squatting to/below parallel. Example 1

Glossary of Commonly used Terms and Acronyms

AAS - Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids

Absolute strength: The force produced if all the muscle fibres in a muscle contract at the same time. No human can achieve this naturally. See also Maximum Strength

Bands - rubber-like straps that are attached to the bar and to the ground to add resistance. Bands are unique in that they add resistance at an increasing rate as they stretch, whereas chains add resistance at a constant rate.

Barbell - A bar with adjustable weights at each end, lifted for sport or exercise. usually used with both hands. not to be confused with a dumbbell.

BB - - 1) Body build. Normally used with an -ing ending (BBing = Bodybuilding) for bodybuilding, or a -er suffix (BBer = bodybuilder) (examples, “curls are for BBers,” “BBing is for ***s and Ronnie Coleman who started out as a powerlifter.”) - 2) Shorthand for barbell.

Bench Shirt - most powerlifters wear specialized shirts for the bench press. The initial purpose of this equipment was to prevent injuries and allow those with injuries to continue. The shirts added very little to the lifts. Now, given the time and money many people have added 200lbs or more by proper training with a bench shirt. For more on shirts, check out this article to learn more about shirts.

Block weight - Originally a head of a York dumbbell. These were cylindrical heads and kind of bowed out slightly on the sides adding to the difficulty of gripping them. To make a blockweight, acquire a dumbbell (York is Ideal But hex will work),a 60 lb dumbbell is an ok place to start but may be a little light for some people, chop off the heads. Instant pair of block weights. another option is to pin several plates together, smooth sides out with a piece of threaded steel pipe and two caps (make sure the plates are PINNED and don't move).

Blob – “The blob” refers to the head from a 100 lb York dumbbell. “A blob” can be a synonym for a blockweight.

Bodybuilder - Somebody who lifts to change their physique. Strength is secondary to these folk, their primary concern is how they look. Pro bodybuilders are judged in contests based on size, proportion, and a host of other factors. This is not a bodybuilding forum, and has a limited tolerance for such talk.

Bodybuilding - The process of developing the musculature of the body through specific types of diet and physical exercise, such as weightlifting, especially for competitive exhibition. The “sport” of Bodybuilders.

Captains of crush - Also known as COC. These are very difficult grippers that can be bought through www.ironmind.com . there are 5 levels: the trainer, 1, 2, 3, & 4. The trainer is about 100 lbs of pressure to close, and the 4 takes 360 lbs. Grippers however are not uniform, there are difficult numbers twos and easy number 4s etc.

Chains - ****l chains that are attached to the bar as an accessory on lifts to add resistance. After the eccentric portion of a lift, much of the chain rests on the ground, and throughout the concentric portion the chain is lifted thereby adding resistance at a constant rate, whereas bands add resistance at an increasing rate.

CBH - Corned beef Hash.

CNS - Central nervous system. the part of the nervous system which in vertebrates consists of the brain and spinal cord, to which sensory impulses are transmitted and from which motor impulses pass out, and which supervises and coordinates the activity of the entire nervous system.

Concentric - The portion of the lift where you most commonly put forth the most effort, contracting your muscles to move weight.

Conjugate periodization - a method of attacking several goals simultaneously by devoting separate sessions towards separate goals throughout the week.

Cycle - - 1) A period over which somebody has used linear periodization for a specific goal. - 2) A period over which somebody has used a particular steroid or stack.

DB - Shorthand for Dumbbell.

DE - Dynamic Effort. This term is used by the Westside system to denote their workout is consisting of a low weight, high rep/volume exercise.

DOMS - Delayed Onset Muscle soreness. Read about it here. It should be noted that soreness is not an indicator of very much: it doesn't imply strength, weakness or the effectiveness of a workout.

Eccentric - The lowering portion of the lift. Few types of training emphasize effort here, but exerting effort here is a matter of slowing the fall of the weight.

Ectomorph: A person with a thin body type, flat chest and who is not very muscular. These individuals can often eat without gaining fat. See Hard-gainers.

Endomorph: A person who puts on weight easily (muscle or fat), but often find it hard to lose fat.

Erector Shirt - a supportive shirt available in sleeved or unsleeved that is supposed to be worn under the suit during the dl or sq. It helps to keep the upper back tight which is helpful in both lifts and I have heard that it helps the dl straps slide at lockout and give a smoother lockout.

Erector Suit - a supportive suit that is worn during the dl or sq. It helps to keep the upper back tight and it helps the dl straps slide at lockout and give a smoother lockout.

***gotry - time spent inefficiently compared to other means. “Machines are ***gotry!” “Enough of this high rep ***gotry! lift some weight!”

Linear Periodization - a method used to attack one goal at a time and keep from over training by building up in intensity over several weeks.

Gay - A word often used in association with grip training. Grip gay. The most grip gay people are those who do not train in any lifts that are not grip oriented (no squat, no bench press, Etc.)

Geared - To lift geared is to lift wearing a bench shirt/squat suit/erector suit and other accessories. The opposite of lifting Raw.

GFH - Term coined by Matt Dimel, meaning Get Fucking Huge.

GHR - - 1) Abbreviation for Glute Ham Raise - 2) Refers to the actual bench used for Glute Ham Raises

GPP - General Physical Preparedness. Physical activity that has a improves your general conditioning (not necessarily meaning cardiovascular conditioning). Calisthenics, jumping rope, sled dragging, car pushing, (to some people) hard manual labor, etc. all increase your level of gpp.

Hardgainers: People who find it hard to put on muscle mass. Generally, this is not a genetic condition like some think, but a result of poor nutrition, too few daily meals, lack of sleep, bad training schedule, too much stress, lack of water and overtraining.

HIIT - High Intensity Interval Training. A type of cardiovascular training that involves periods of high intensity (sprinting) followed by periods of lower intensity (jogging) activity. Can be used in combination with many cardio training methods (swimming, running, jumping rope, bike riding, etc.) Sample HIIT Running program

HIT - High Intensity Training. None of the HITers has yet to provide a good definition for this type of training, only stating that it is not the same as Super Slow Training.

Hypertrophy - A non-tumorous enlargement of an organ or a tissue as a result of an increase in the size rather than the number of constituent cells. see also Sarcomeric Hypertrophy and Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.

Isokinetic Exercise: An exercise where the speed of the muscle contraction is controlled throughout the range of motion. It is usually on a machine and is most useful for rehabilitation.

Isometric Exercise: An exercise where the muscle contracts, but its length doesn't change. Usually done against an immovable object

Isotonic Exercise: An exercise where the muscle shortens (concentric contraction) or lengthens (eccentric contraction) as it contracts, exercising the muscle through a full range of motion. Most free weight and bodyweight exercises fall into this category.

Ladder - only the rising part of a pyramid. A ladder of five would be a set of 1 reps, a set of 2, a set of 3, a set of 4, and a set of 5.

Maximum strength: The maximum force a person can willingly produce. This depends on the thickness of the muscle fibers (see Sarcomeric or Myofibrillar Hypertrophy)) and the ability of the CNS to recruit a large number of muscle fibers at once.

ME - Max Effort. This term is used by the Westside system to denote that their workout is consisting of a high weight, low rep/volume exercise.

Metrosexual: A person who is overly concerned about his appearance. Usual signs include fancy clothes, exquisite haircuts, earrings, perfumes, and limiting weight training to chest and biceps.

Mesomorph: A person with a husky, athletic build. Usually muscular, and can increase muscle mass more easily than ectomorphs.

Muscle fiber: A single muscle cell, can be up to 30cm long. A muscle consists of many parallel muscle fibers, grouped into bundles. Extrafusal muscle fibers can contract, and intrafusal muscle fibers provide feedback to the CNS about the muscle's length, rate of change etc. When the CNS sends and electric signal, some of the muscle fibers contract, resulting in movement. The contractile parts of the (extrafusal) muscle cells are called myofibrils

Myofibrils: The contractile parts of muscle fibers, running from one end of a muscle cell to the other. They consists of myofilaments, which are made of proteins actin and myosin. The myofilaments within myofibrils are grouped into sarcomeres

myofibril hypertrophy - Thickening of the contractile muscle fibers, resulting in greater maximum force a muscle can generate. Lower reps (generally 1-5) with heavier weights will elicit predominantly more of this type of hypertrophy. Synonymous with Sarcomeric Hypertrophy.

Olympic lifting - also called oly lifting, OLing or sometimes Weight lifting. Olympic lifting is comprised of the quick two: the clean and jerk, and the Snatch. The person with the greatest total (heaviest successful clean and jerk + heaviest successful Snatch = total) wins.

Periodization - the division and categorization of history into periods of time for the purposes of discussion and treatment. Useful in weights training because in one “cycle” (period) you may train for mass and in another for strength, and another for speed, etc.

PL - Powerlift. Similar to BB, this is ended with either a -er (PLer = powerlifter) or a -ing (PLing = Powerlifiting). Examples: “PLing is far superior to BBing” “Ronnie Coleman was a PLer long before he became a BBer”

Powerlifter - Somebody who strives for a big total in the big three.

Powerlifting - A weightlifting competition in which participants compete in the squat, dead lift, and bench press. The total of their best successful attempt at each lift is taken (Heaviest deadlift of the meet + Heaviest Squat of the meet + Heaviest bench of the meet = total).

Prison workout - A workout consociating of a large ladder of burpees, supposedly developed in a maximum security prison where the inmates were not allowed exercise equipment.

Pronated grip - Palms facing away from your body

Pull - Another name for the deadlift.

Pyramid - - 1) A rep scheme that increases and decreases constantly. a pyramid of 5 would be a set of 1, a set of 2, a set of 3, up to a set of 5 then back to 1. the total reps done on a pyramid (without repeating the top) is a your greatest set squared (multiplied by itself). So a pyramid of 5 = 5*5 reps = 25 total reps. A pyramid of 6 = 6*6 = 36 total reps. - 2) a way of humiliating naked prisoners of war.

Raw lifting - Without any bench shirts or suits. Sometimes people go do far as to qualify raw lifts as being without a belt or wraps, but most (maybe all) raw lifting federations only draw the line at shirts and suits.

RDL - Romanian Deadlift.

Rep - Shorthand for Repetition.

Repetition - The execution of an exercise once. Example, on regular bench press the action of both lowering and raising the bar makes one repetition.

ROM: Range of Motion

Sarcomere: A group of myofilaments, which make up the contractile part of a muscle cell. See also Sarcomeric Hypertrophy.

Sarcomeric Hypertrophy - Thickening of the contractile muscle fibers, resulting in greater maximum force a muscle can generate. Lower reps (generally 1-5) with heavier weights will elicit predominantly more of this type of hypertrophy. Synonymous with Myofibril hypertrophy.

Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy - refers specifically to increasing the amount of sarcoplasm in muscle cells to increase size. Moderate to high rep (generally 8-15) with subsequent lighter weights will elicit predominantly more of this type of hypertrophy.

Semi-supinated grip - palms facing each other

Set - A group of repetitions

SLDL - Stiff Legged Deadlift.

SPP - Specific physical preparedness. This involves activities that mimic your sport and increase specific skills without actually participating in said sport. For example, for boxing, heavy bag work, shadow boxing, Speed bag work, Double end bag work, Pad drills, etc. are all considered SPP.

Squat suit - Similar to bench shirts in that most powerlifters wear specialized suits for squatting. The suits are often extremely tight, and made of heavy denim. Given the time and money many people have added 200lbs or more by proper training with a squat suit.

SST - Super Slow training. Characterized by Deliberately slow eccentric and concentric portions of the lift.

Strongman Competition - A competition where several events emphasizing speed, power and/or strength are performed. Events include but are not limited to crucifix, log clean and press, car pulling/dragging, tire flipping, finger flipping, etc. etc. Most notable Strongman competition is probably World's Strongest Man.

Supertotal - Bench + dead + squat + snatch + Clean and jerk

Supinated grip - Palms facing your body.

Thickbar - A thick barbell, usually a diameter of 2” or more.

Total - - 1) In power lifting: Bench + Squat + Deadlift - 2) In Oly lifting: Clean and Jerk + Snatch.

Unilateral - Using only one limb. Where a Squat is bilateral and uses both legs a lunge is mostly unilateral, using one leg.

Westside Barbell - Also call WSB. A group of lifters headed by Louie Simmons who employ conjugate periodization with great success in power lifting.

WSM - World's strongest man.

A work in progress. As people ask what is a _____ I will continue to add shit in here. Contributions (with sites that give direction) are welcomed. Right this second I have only included Tate presses in the exercise list just to give an example of what will be there. if you have better sites to illustrate the exercises listed, please feel free to contribute them. I will list exercises as the are asked about and supplied sources for.