What Did You Say? Some Exercise Terms - Part 2

Sorry I didn't post over the weekend.  I worked 13 hours on Saturday and just rested and did laundry yesterday (never happens), so I didn't get a chance to blog.  That said, here is part two of our glossary of terms heard around the gym.

Fiber - From Dictionary.com: the structural part of plants and plant products that consists of carbohydrates, as cellulose and pectin, that are wholly or partially indigestible and when eaten stimulate peristalsis (moving along the waste) in the intestine.  Basically it helps fill you up AND helps keep you regular.  It can also help control blood sugar. 


Free weights - Any weight not attached to a machine.  Dumbells are the most used, but barbells and heavier weights are available as well.  Do not use the latter without someone to 'spot' you.  Spotting means standing there to catch the weight if you lose your grip or footing, so the weight doesn't crush you.


Glutes - The shortened name for the muscles in your buttocks.  Real name - gluteus maximus.  


Lats - latissimus dorsi muscles.  Working this muscle helps whittle down your sides and back.  

Lats

Ligament/Tendon - I have combined these because they have similar purposes.  Both are bands of tissue that holds things in place - ligaments connect bone to bone, tendons connect muscle to bone.  Years ago I had a guy run over me playing softball and he tore up those and every other part of my knee - proving the two thick fibrous strands are good neighbors.  Famous tendon - Achilles (up the back of your leg).  Famous ligament - anterior cruciate (in your knee).

Brad Pitt as Achilles - okay, couldn't help it.

Lunges - A move to strengthen lower body muscles, especially helpful with quads (see below for meaning) and glutes.  You start in a standing position and then lunge forward with one leg to end up in this position.

Lunge position

Machines - You hear "I'm going to hit the machines".  That's any machine that involves a weight bearing exercise.  On a rare occasion someone will say that when they are going to a cardio machine like a treadmill or stair-stepper, but most of the time they mean weights.  And remember, even if the weight is controlled by a machine, you can still injure yourself, so have someone walk you through them the first time.


Protein - Again, from Dictionary.com - They consist of long chains of amino acids connected by peptide bonds and have distinct and varied three-dimensional structures, usually containing alpha helices and beta sheets as well as looping and folded chains.  In layman's terms - this is the building block of muscle.  It's can be found in meat, beans, seeds, nuts, grain, fish, dairy and a number of other sources.  DO NOT lifts weights without eating protein, your body will revolt.


Quads - Quadriceps femoris.  A large group of muscles in the legs.  Most commonly referring to the muscles on the upper front of your legs - aka- your thighs.  


Rep - Any complete motion in a set of exercises.  Each complete motion is one rep, these are often done in sets of 12 to 20 depending on what you are trying to accomplish.  This is not just s reference to weights, it can be non-weight exercises like sit-ups too.


Shin splints - Pain at the front of your lower leg or just to the inside front of your lower leg.  This can be caused by a number of strains, the most noted are overuse and sudden change in workout.  Examples - Overuse happens when you run everyday and a sudden change would be going from walking to running out of nowhere.  I have had bad shin splints before.  Only three things fix them - rest, anti-inflammatories and ice.


Squats - Imagine sitting, without a chair.  That's the basic idea behind a squat and encourages the idea of not bending your knees more than 90-degrees, which is better for your knees.  In fact, I was kind of scared scrolling the Internet looking for a picture of a proper example for you.  There are a lot of people that are doing them wrong!  You can do them with or without weights, against a wall, with a ball and one legged, but you should consider not going lower than 90-degrees, unless you have really awesome knees.

Beginner squat - the chair is a great safety net.

So there you go.  Between this entry and this one, you have the basics of 'gym speak'.  If there are other things you overhear and wonder about, let me know.


Yours in Health,
Kate

What Did You Say? Some Exercise Terms - Part 1

The day has slipped away from me, so I am going to give you ten oft heard terms bandied about the gym.  They could be used by a professional, like your trainer or the triathlete you strike up a conversation with in the locker room. Or the bonehead who looks like he belongs on the bottle of pills he popped to bulge that way and that always drops the weights, rather than put them down.  Huuuuuuuuu, yea!  (He uses them to sound cool and apparently I have an issue with apes like that.  LOL.)

That said, knowing these terms can help turn a conversation into something more educational when everything makes sense.

Abs - your abdominal muscles.  Often buried by too much Ben & Jerry's, you can see them give you definition again, if you are committed.  Sometimes called a 'six pack' and for the really buff and eight pack.  My favorite gratuitous example:

Gerard Butler in "300".

Aerobic - This does not have to involve Jane Fonda or leg warmers.  Instead it simply means getting your heart rate up higher.  Basically, you should be able to do whatever you are doing - running, spinning, stair climbing - and still be able to get a sentence or two out before panting.

Anaerobic - Like it core word cousin, your heart rate is up.  But in this case, way up.  You are probably panting and talking involves "uh-huh".  This is great for training your heart, but is not for beginners or those with health problems.  

Bi's and Tri's - Biceps and triceps.  The biceps are the muscle on the upper part of the front of your arm.  The triceps are their partner on the back.

Carbs - Carbohydrates.  Basically starches and sugars.  These are the basic building blocks of our body.  Our brain literally lives on them.  Anyone who says to you, "You should try this new low-carb diet", is really saying, "I am sick of you beating me at Trivial Pursuit, lose some brain cells, so I have a chance."  Okay, they're not really malicious, they are just misinformed.  Carbs are in almost everything we eat, particularly fruits and vegetables, without which you will get gout -ewww.

Circuit - Moving from exercise to exercise with little rest between and then repeating the order.  This can be on machines or set up with other equipment, it's just whether you are doing a loop or not that makes the circuit.

Crunches - No potato chips are involved here.  Instead this is the overall name for a number of moves that improve your abdominals.  Almost all involve using your abs to pull yourself up or over slightly to 'crunch' your top and bottom abs toward one another, then release.  This is different from a sit-up in which you come all the way up into a seated position. 

Curl - Basically bending a limb back toward your body.  There are arm curls and leg curls.  While you curl your arm back toward the front of your body, you should know that if your leg curls forward instead of back toward your butt, it's time to seek medical attention.

And with that smarty-pants answer, I think I am a little punchy and better wrap up.  I will post more tomorrow, but in the meantime, if you have any specifics terms you are curious about, please comment.

Yours in Health,

Kate