If you’re new to the gym or have strongly considered getting a membership to see what all the fuss is about, chances are you may have felt out of place at one point or another – and who wouldn’t? We’ve all been there and sometimes it’s nice to know there’s someone who is supportive and can teach you the ropes.
In order to make you feel more at home at your local gym and part of the wider fitness community, Pro Healthy Fitness has created the ultimate gym language guide with over 55 terms for those of you who want to dive deeper into the world of fitness.
Can’t remember the word you heard someone use at the gym or struggling to remember the difference between sets and reps? This gym language guide will help you appropriately communicate and understand fellow gym members by explaining each term and showing you how they’re commonly used.
Regardless if you go to the gym or not, or if you prefer not to have anyone bother you, it’s still worthwhile to know the actual scientific terminology and slang associated with the gym life and how to use it.
Gym Terminology
Bodybuilder: Someone who trains purely for aesthetics (for looks). Bodybuilders look to build muscle and reduce fat as much as possible in preparation
for bodybuilding competitions at the amateur or professional level.
How to use: “Arnold Schwarzenegger is a well-known bodybuilder and actor loved by many people”
Powerlifter: Someone who primarily trains for strength and pays very little regard to aesthetics. Powerlifters generally have higher fat percentages but are oftentimes stronger than bodybuilders.
How to use: “Powerlifter Ed Coan has set 71 powerlifting world records and is considered one of the greatest strongmen of all time”
Bulking: The active process of disregarding body fat percentages and putting on weight to build muscle. Combined with resistance training, the surplus calories help provide an environment that promotes muscle growth. Although it’s helpful to bulk when putting on muscle, it is not completely necessary as long as you are consuming adequate amounts of protein.
How to use: “My dude is bulking up for the winter. He’s going into bear-mode”
Cutting: The active process of being in a caloric deficit in order to promote fat loss. Cutting will only lead to muscle loss if adequate amounts of protein consumption are not met.
How to use: “Shoot summer is right around the corner! Better start cutting and get that beach body ready”
Macros: Short for macronutrients, macros refer to protein, carbs, and fats all of which provide energy to the body in the form of calories. Different macro percentages vary from person to person depending on individual goals.
How to use: “Bro, do you even track your macros?”
Compound Movements: Exercises that require multiple muscles and joints to perform. These typically lead to the greatest strength and size gains. (e.g. 
bench press, squat, deadlift)
How to use: “John is focused on building strength and size so he’ll adapt his workouts to heavy compound movements”
Isolation Movements: Exercises or movements that theoretically focus on only one muscle group. In reality, it is impossible to truly isolate a single muscle group in a workout, since other synergistic muscles help in areas of stabilization. Simply think about the multiple muscles along the hand and 
forearms that are required for a simple bicep curl. Of course, isolation exercises still target one muscle group but to a reasonable degree. (e.g. bicep curls, tricep pushdowns, calf raises)
How to use: “Bro your biceps and triceps are lacking. Try to incorporate more isolation movements to build them up”
DOMS: Delayed onset muscle soreness, or commonly known as soreness. Although not commonly used in that manner at the gym, it’ll help you identify it in sports science literature. Despite what many people believe, DOMS is not a reliable indicator of muscle growth.
How to use it: “Oh man, I’m really feeling sore after yesterday’s leg day!”
Reps: Short for repetitions. Reps are the number of times you perform an exercise before taking a break. It is generally recommended to perform exercises in the 8-12 rep range but this number may vary depending on specific goals. To put into perspective, if you’re arm is in an extended position during a bicep curl and then contracts to lift the dumbbell, that counts as 1 rep.
How to use: “Today I will do 3 sets of 12 reps each”
Sets: Sets refer to the number of cycles you perform at your given rep range. It is generally recommended to perform 3 sets per muscle group, although again this number may vary based on individual goals but it shouldn’t vary too much since it can lead to overtraining or simply not enough effort. To put into perspective, 1 set is the number of reps you complete until you take a break and put the weights down.
How to use: “Today I will do 3 sets of 12 reps each”
Take to Failure: Taking an exercise to failure simply means performing multiple repetitions until your last repetition can no longer be completed. It is strongly encouraged to take some exercises to failure, and not leave any reps left in the tank to ensure you are giving maximal effort.
Take this with a grain of salt, however. Not every set of every exercise should be taken to failure. If you’re constantly performing all sets to failure, this training approach may hinder strength progression and hypertrophy since it can be extremely exhausting and requires a longer recovery period. This isn’t to say never take sets to failure, but rather this form of training has its place.
How to use: “My muscles are burning after that last set I took to failure”
PR: The abbreviation of personal record refers to the achievement of a new max amount of weight or volume you have been able to successfully complete. For example, if your 1-RM on a bench press was 225lb but after training for a few months is now 315lb, that is your new PR. Your PR could also be measured by volume. If you were able to bench press 225lb for only 3 repetitions but after training were able to achieve 4 or 5 repetitions, that will also be considered a new PR. There is also a distinction between lifetime PR and body weight PR. To simplify things lifetime PR is the max weight or volume you’ve ever lifted in your life while bodyweight PR is the max weight or volume based on your current body weight since it is common for strength to decrease as you become leaner.
How to use: “Dude you just benched your 405lb PR there’s absolutely no way you’re gonna add another pla….. Hold my beer”
1-RM: Your 1-rep max is the most amount of weight you could possibly lift with good form for of course 1 rep. 1-RM are not meant to be achieved frequently due to how dangerous they can be, especially without a spotter, not to mention incredibly exhausting and require longer recovery periods.
“Ight man lemme see that 1-rep max, don’t worry I’ll spot you”
Form: In order to prevent injury and maximize growth potential, performing an exercise in the appropriate manner is of utmost importance. Focus on form overweight. Exercises performed with improper form tend to recruit other muscles aside from the ones you are aiming to target in order to move the weight.
How to use: “Bro you might want to consider lowering the weight a bit. Your form is pretty terrible and could get you hurt.”
Ego lifting: The act of lifting a weight you haven’t trained for nor are prepared to lift while sacrificing form. Usually, but not exclusively, done by beginners ego lifting is often done to impress those around you. You have nothing to prove to anyone except yourself, but for what it’s worth people, including myself, will admire someone lifting a manageable weight with good form than someone lifting a lot of weight with bad form.
How to use: “Hey man it’s alright you don’t need to ego lift. You don’t need to impress people.”‘
Eccentric Contraction: This happens when the force being applied to the muscle (the weight) is greater than the force of the muscle itself is producing. This results in the muscle moving from a shortened state to its most lengthened state.
How to use: “Dude don’t just drop the weights. Focus on the eccentric contraction as well”
Concentric Contraction: This happens when the force being applied to the muscle (the weight) is less than the force the muscle itself is producing. This results in the muscle moving from a lengthened state to its most shortened state.
How to use: “When you lift this weight up focus on the concentric contraction and really squeeze the muscle”
Negatives: Refers to the action of slowly controlling the weight downward into starting position which causes the eccentric contraction.
How to use: “Gonna focus on the negatives for all of my sets today”
Full Range of Motion (ROM): Refers to the full safe potential movement of a joint from a flexed to an extended range. Full ROM can sometimes be impaired when lifting heavier weights.
How to use: “Hey man try fully completing that rep and use the full range of motion”
Plateau: Experienced lifters usually hit a plateau where it seems like they are no longer growing in size or strength despite their efforts in training and diet. Oftentimes this is also accompanied by feelings of lack of motivation. There are several ways to train in order to break your plateau but once you hit your genetic limit you will be unable to continue building more muscle mass or strength.
How to use: “I think this is it for me. I reached my plateau and haven’t gained muscle or strength in months. I’m just wasting my time… Not true bro there are other ways to overcome it”
Super Set: Alternating sets between two different exercises without taking a break.
“After this benching this lightweight I’m going to superset with some leg presses”
Drop Set: Refers to completing as many reps as possible on an exercise and decrease the weight until you achieve failure.
How to use: “Alright. I’ve had it. Nope, I’m done. That drop set took me out”
Bro Split: A very ineffective way of training characterized by training certain muscle groups on specific days of the week. The bro split may look as follows:
Monday – Legs (designated skip day)
Tuesday – Chest
Wednesday – Arms
Thursday – Shoulders
Friday – Back
How to use: “Dude, bro-splits changed my life, look at the massive gains I….. STOP. Please stop.”
Fasted: Going to the gym on an empty stomach. Usually done in the morning by individuals in effort to burn off more calories when in a fasted state compared to non-fasted.
How to use: “Hey man wanna get some breakfast before we go to the gym?… No thanks, I’m gonna hit the treadmill for 30 min in a fasted state.”
Progressive Overload: Gradually increasing volume, weight or intensity on a given exercise over time in an effort to increase strength, size and endurance.
Lifting the same amount of weight for the same number of reps at the same intensity may give you a pump but will not lead to muscle growth or increased strength in the long run.
How to use: “I’m gonna lift these 20lb dumbbells 100x in each arm for the next year and get huge!… No dude. You have to incorporate progressive overload in all of your exercises, and work on your legs too”
Mind-Muscle Connection: The active process of feeling and thinking about the muscle contracting and extending when performing a given exercise. It’s not simply moving a weight from point A to point B but rather focusing on the muscle fibers moving the weight. New research shows the benefit of mind-muscle connection on isolation movements (bicep curls, tricep pushdowns) but the same cannot be said for heavy compound movements (bench press, squat).
How to use: “Hey man the reason your calves aren’t growing is because you’re not focusing on the mind-muscle connection. Instead, try to squeeze your calves at the top and focus on slowly extending the muscle at the bottom rather than just bouncing around”
Muscle Memory: Refers to the well-researched process of building muscle mass and strength at a faster rate despite weeks of inactivity compared to the first time you began your training. Muscle memory is an extremely helpful physiologic tool especially when you are forced to discontinue training due to circumstances outside of your control.
How to use: “Thanks to my dumb lower back injury my doctor told me I can’t perform any strenuous exercise for 8 weeks. I’ll lose my gains!… Relax man, muscle memory is a thing so you’ll get your gains back in no time”
BMR: Basal metabolic rate is the amount of energy (calories) required to keep your body functioning at rest, which of course varies from person to person based on total body composition. I can’t recall ever hearing this in the gym, but nonetheless important to be aware of.
How to use: “Hey man what’s your BMR… my what dude?”
RPE: Rate of perceived exertion. The measure of how difficult a set was on a 1-10 scale with 10 representing failure being achieved.
RPE 8 = 2 reps left
RPE 9 = 1 rep left
RPE 10 = failure achieved
How to use: “I’m gonna load up on pre-workout and creatine to get 8-10 RPE in all of my exercises today.”
RIR: Reps in reserve. The exact opposite of RPE measuring the number of reps you can perform before reaching failure.
2 RIR (or RPE 8) = 2 reps away from failure
1 RIR (or RPE 9) = 1 rep away from failure
0 RIR (or RPE 10) = failure achieved
How to use: “Bro since this is your first time in the gym you don’t necessarily need to train to failure. You’ll benefit more if you exercise with 2 reps in reserve”
Hypertrophy: Hyper meaning ‘more’ and trophy meaning ‘nourishment/growth.’ Hypertrophy simply refers to the growth of cells, or more specifically in our case, the growth of muscle cells which results in the growth of muscle tissue. There are many factors that stimulate muscle hypertrophy such as training regimen, proper sleep, sufficient protein, supplement use, among other factors.
How to use: “If you really want to maximize hypertrophy, go ahead and check out Pro Healthy Fitness for evidence-based guidance”
Deload: A period of time, usually a week, where you decrease exercise intensity and frequency in order to prevent overtraining, injuries and reduced motivation. Deloads are part of a well-established training regimen and can be an effective way to maximize hypertrophy after weeks or months of intensive progressive overload.
How to use: “Hey man let’s compared our 1-RM on a deadlift… Can’t bro I’m on my deload week, I have to take it easy. Maybe next week”
Anabolic: In an anabolic state small simple molecules form into larger more complex molecules resulting in processes such as building and maintaining muscle. Being in a caloric surplus is essential for anabolism.
How to use: “Let’s go for some protein shakes after our workout we’ll go straight anabolic!”
Catabolic: In a catabolic state large complex molecules break down into small simple molecules for the body to use as energy resulting in the breakdown of both muscle and fat. Being in a caloric deficit is essential for catabolism.
How to use: “Man after that marathon I just ran, I’m definitely in a catabolic state”
Anabolic Window: Theory that states you should consume protein and carbs 30-60 min after your workout to maximize growth potential. Advocates of the anabolic window claim if you don’t consume protein after this time period it will lessen your amino acid sensitivity and reduce muscle protein synthesis. In actuality, Muscle protein synthesis is seen to remain elevated for up to 48 hours after resistance training. Research shows its not so much about when you consume your protein but rather how much you consume.
How to use: “Dude please tell me you have some chicken breast on you I’m about to miss my anabolic window”
Gym Slang
Light Weight Baby: Phrase popularized by now-retired professional bodybuilder Ronnie Coleman. Typically said after your 1-RM for compound movement exercises such as dead-lifts, squats or bench pressing. While some may see it as a phrase to provide confidence, others may see it as a sign of cockiness at the gym. Personally, I don’t use this phrase because I don’t want to be “that guy” at the gym but I understand how it can be seen as fun to use.
How to use it: Don’t. Just don’t……. Okay but only once…. *following 1-RM, drop the weight, flex all your muscles and yell* “WOOOOOOOHHH! LIGHTWEIGHT BABY!!!”
Bro Science: A term used referring to the spread of misinformation and claims not backed by science 
regarding bodybuilding. Very rarely is bro-science ever correct which is why you should always research certain fitness claims before sharing them with others. One way to avoid the spread of misinformation is by reading peer-reviewed journals or visiting reputable sites such as… ohhh I dunno… Pro Healthy Fitness?
How to use it: “Make sure you eat 200g of protein and lift heavy 7 days a week even if you have to sacrifice form!… Dude, are you on bro-science?”
Guns: Not to be confused with firearms. Guns specifically pertain to arm muscles but focus mainly on the biceps.
How to use: *Flexes once* “Whoa there big guy, watch where you’re pointing those guns!”
Natty: Short for “natural” and used to describe someone who trains and builds their physique without the use of steroids or other performance enhancement drugs. On the contrary, a fake natty is someone who uses these enhancement drugs to build and maintain a good physique but lies to the general public or followers of their use. I have a seriously big problem with people who use these types of enhancement drugs and lie to their followers to make them believe they too can achieve that physique if they train the way they do or buy the supplements they’re promoting.
How to use: “Coach Greg Doucette makes some pretty entertaining Natty or Not videos on YouTube”
Gains: A popular term used to refer to the progress of size and strength, and on occasion endurance too.
How to use: When the biggest guy at the gym tells you, “Hey big man, save some gains for the rest of us!”
Muscle confusion: The idea that you should perform various forms of exercises to provide new stimuli for your muscles and prevent accommodation to make your muscles grow. This idea is a popular myth commonly used for marketing purposes and encourages beginners to purchase their training programs.
How to use: “Dude you need to confuse your muscles. Alternate between these different exercises to…. andddddd I have no idea what I’m talking about”
Leg Day: A day in the gym where you dedicate it entirely to targeting your legs. It is commonly dreaded among many people but completely up to you if 
skip leg day or dominate it. It also provides a balanced physique since most people tend to focus on the upper body.
How to use: *Sean Bean from the Lord of The Rings* “One does not simply skip leg day”
Rest day: Literally exactly how it sounds. Rest days are simply a day to rest and recover your damaged muscle fibers and restore glycogen levels.
How to use: “Joe does not sit around all day and eat junk food on his rest days because he knows the importance of maintenance and consistency. Be like Joe.”
Spotter: Ever heard of the song Hero by Mariah Carey? And then a hero comes along. With the 
strength to carry on… Yeah, that’s basically your spotter. Spotters are amazing people at the gym who willingly volunteer their time to ensure your safety in case you hit failure on a set. Make sure to always thank your spotter and return the favor if requested.
How to use: “Hey man is it cool if you spot for me real quick?.. Sure, no problem”
Newbie: This term isn’t unique to the fitness community but in this case, it is simply used to describe someone who is new to the world of fitness. It can also be used to refer to the newbie gains one experiences during the first year or 2 of training where muscle growth and strength increase rapidly.
How to use: “Instead of being a jerk I will try to help out a newbie this upcoming January who is lacking in form or confidence”
HIIT: Also known as High-Intensity Interval Training. This form of exercise focuses on alternating between high-intensity periods of training followed by low intensity in a single workout. The purpose of this is mainly for fat loss rather than muscle building.
How to use: “I’m going to hop on the treadmill to do some HIIT. Be back in 15 min.”
Re-rack: One of the 3 pillars of decency in the gym followed by wiping down equipment and not hogging equipment for too long. Contrary to popular belief, it is not the responsibility of the employees at the gym or the next person who uses that equipment to re-rack your weight. Re-racking is the simple act of decency that tells you to return the weights/plates or other equipment to the place they belong.
How to use: “Broooo are you seriously not gonna re-rack your weights?”
Swole: An individual who possesses large muscles but also higher levels of body fat. Often used to flatter the person it is being used to describe.
How to use: “Two years ago this kid was skinny, now he’s swole!”
Shredded: Someone who possesses very low levels of body fat and well-defined muscles. Some individuals aim for having as many muscle fibers seen as possible through their skin. The low body fat levels required to be shredded can sometimes be unsafe to the person’s health.
How to use: “This guy sleeps and wakes up at the gym he’s completely shredded!”
Jacked: Well-balanced muscular frame. Usually the middle ground between shredded and swole.
How to use: “I don’t want to be too swole or too shredded. Being jacked works for me.”
Pump: When your muscles are engorged by blood, following an intense set making them appear bigger and tighter.
How to use: “Chase that pump baby! One more rep!”
Vascular: Used to refer to someone whose veins are extremely prominent as a result of low body fat or simply from the pump of their most recent exercise.
How to use: “My forearms were vascular as heck after those wrist curls!”
Cheat Reps: Repetitions performed with very poor form and heavyweight in order to capitalize on the intensity of a previous exercise that was previously performed with good form. An example is often seen in barbell curls where the individual relies on swinging motion of the hip, shoulders, legs, and lower back to move the weight.
How to use: “Following this set I’m gonna squeeze in a few cheat reps to make my workout worth it.”
Forced Reps: Reps completed with the assistance of a spotter to ‘force’ the lifter to get some additional reps even after achieving failure thus further stimulating strength and hypertrophy.
How to use: “Aye bro can you spot me real quick? I wanna get in at least 3 additional forced reps.”
Gym Rat: Someone who always seems to be at the gym.
How to use: “I swear that dude was just here in the morning too… Yeah, he’s been doing that for weeks now. He’s a gym rat”
Bonus
Pro Healthy Fitness: A website dedicated to making scientifically backed content on topics revolving around health and fitness.
How to use: “This is Chris. Chris does not spread bro science and lies to his readers. Instead, he refers to Pro Healthy Fitness and the scientifically-backed journals to help him at the gym. Be more like Chris”
or
“What do you mean you haven’t visited the Pro Healthy Fitness website or liked their Facebook page??? They just want to steer you in the right direction and increase your knowledge so that you don’t waste your time at the gym and money on things that don’t work.”
PHF on the subject
This guide was made in an effort to educate beginners and even some intermediate gym-goers to learn and feel comfortable using everyday gym language.
Pro Healthy Fitness encourages you to talk among your peers and even those you don’t know at the gym in effort to build the fitness community. Being open to assist or instruct others will help tear down the mean, cocky or unapproachable demeanor people think runs around the fitness community.
If you are a beginner do not be afraid to ask questions. If you are an intermediate or advanced lifter try to help those who may need help even if you yourself weren’t provided with the help in the first place.