Workout Terms Beginners Should Know (Plus Gym Slang)
Workout Terms Beginners Should Know: Intro
Picture this: You walk into a gym for the first time and hear workout terms like “spotter,” “progressive overload,” and “tri-set” being thrown around. It feels overwhelming, especially when you have no idea what anyone is talking about.
Trust me—I’ve been there. As someone who enjoys studying languages like Japanese, I know how confusing it can be to learn new terminology.
If you’ve clicked on this article, you probably already realise that understanding fitness words and gym terminology is about more than just sounding knowledgeable. It’s a way to gain confidence in your fitness journey and maximise your workouts.
In this guide, I’ll casually explain the most crucial weightlifting terms, covering everything from exercise basics to slang-like anatomy terms so you can feel fully informed.
Whether you’re following a training program, tagging along with a more experienced gym buddy, or simply trying to understand what people mean when they say “Mind-Muscle Connection,” this guide has you covered.
And if you’re curious about the fun and quirky side of gym culture, stick around for the “Gym Slang 101” section at the end, where you’ll learn the slang that makes the fitness world so unique.
By the time you’re done, you’ll be ready to lift, sweat, and talk the talk like a true “Gym Rat.”
So, for this “Workout Terms Beginners Should Know” article, let’s begin with some essential “Workout Basics.”
Workout Terms
Fitness Words Basics
Understanding these workout terms is crucial for building, understanding, and following an effective workout routine. These concepts form the foundation of fitness training and will help you feel more confident in a gym environment.
Anabolic Window: The supposed one-hour period post-workout in which you’re believed to need protein and food to maximise the benefits of your session. However, this concept has been debunked as a myth.
Deload: This is a period of reduced intensity to help with recovery. It’s especially valuable if you’re consistently training hard and must give your body a break. If you’re inconsistent with training, deloads won’t be necessary.
Failure: No, not what your parents called you during school. In fitness, reaching or getting close to failure on a set means pushing yourself to the max, which is great for progress.
Form: The way you perform an exercise. “Wow, not only is he lifting an impressive amount of weight, but he’s also doing it with great form!”
Hypertrophy: A science-y bit of gym vocabulary for muscle growth from resistance training. Think of it as the “trophy” you earn for being consistent with your training and progressive overload.
Mind-Muscle Connection: Focusing your mental energy on contracting the targeted muscle. For example, really concentrating on and feeling your bicep work during a Bicep Curl. It’s something that complete beginners may not feel right away but becomes more intuitive as you gain experience.
PR (Personal Record): Your best performance for a specific exercise. For instance, if you just Deadlifted 100kg for 6 reps, and that’s the most you’ve ever done, that’s a PR!
Progressive Overload: One of the most commonly used workout terms. It means gradually increasing the stress you place on your body over time. This could mean adding more weight, doing more reps, or having better control over an exercise. In this case, stress is a good thing. Think of it as levelling up in a video game.
Reps: Short for “repetitions.” This is the number of times you perform a movement within a set. For example, you might do 8 to 12 reps for 3 sets of push-ups.
Rest Time: The amount of time you take to reset between sets. For example, if you’re doing 3 sets of Dumbbell Chest Presses and resting for 2 minutes between each, use that time to catch your breath. And no, doing Burpees, Push-ups, or jogging on the spot during your rest time doesn’t count as rest!
RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion): This bit of fitness lingo is a scale from 1 to 10 that measures how hard you push yourself during a set. If you’re at an 8 out of 10 RPE, you have about 2 good reps left. A 9 means just 1 rep left, a 10 means you had nothing left, and so forth. The higher the RPE, the closer you are to questioning all your life choices.
Sets: A group of consecutive reps. One might say, “We’ll do 4 sets of Leg Presses today!”
Spotter: Someone who assists you during a lift for safety, stepping in to grab the weight only if necessary. They’re commonly used for exercises like Barbell Bench Presses, Dumbbell Shoulder Presses, or Barbell Squats. A spotter should never do the work for you (flashbacks to university when my gym buddy basically lifted the weight for me—and I still claimed it as my own… until he wasn’t there one day, and I couldn’t lift it at all).
Spot Me: A request for someone to assist you during a lift for safety. If someone asks you to spot them, take it as a compliment; they probably looked at you and thought you know what you’re doing and think you can handle the weight they’re lifting. The polite way to ask is, “Could you spot me, please?” and give any other instructions they might need.
Tempo: This bit of gym terminology is the speed of each phase within a lift. For example, you might lower the weight over 3 seconds, pause at the bottom for 2 seconds, and then lift it back up over 3 seconds.
Note:
You can click here or the thumbnail below to watch my video on “How to Progressively Overload.”
Workout Words
Understanding the following exercise words will help you make sense of workout programming, whether it's a plan you’ve purchased online or a free one (like mine) that you can grab by clicking here.
AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible): One of a handful of gym acronyms. If you see AMRAP in a workout plan, it means doing As Many Reps As Possible—with good form. When your form starts to break down, it’s time to stop. A great way to test your limits and build strength!
Barbell Complex: A series of barbell exercises performed back to back. Be warned: you’ll probably need a fair amount of space and equipment for this, so maybe skip it in a crowded gym unless you want some side-eye from your fellow gym-goers.
Bilateral Training: Exercises that work both arms or legs simultaneously, like Goblet Squats or Barbell Rows. Classic and effective for building balanced strength.
Circuit Training: A series of exercises with minimal rest between stations.
Compound Exercise: An exercise that works several muscles at once. For example, the Barbell Romanian Deadlift targets your hamstrings, back, glutes, and abs, while the Incline Dumbbell Chest Press engages your chest, shoulders, triceps, and abs.
Drop Set: This bit of fitness lingo means reducing the weight immediately after finishing a set so you can continue lifting. It's ideal for those moments when you want to question your life choices (I do them often).
Giant Set: Three or more exercises performed back to back with no rest in between. Great for an all-out effort, but only if your gym isn’t packed and you have room to move without getting in everyone’s way.
Isolation Exercise: An exercise that isolates a single muscle. Think of a Barbell Bicep Curl, which focuses purely on the bicep, or a Dumbbell Lateral Raise, which targets the shoulders.
Superset: One of a handful of fitness words that can be great to implement for switching things up or if you’re in a hurry. It’s when you perform two back-to-back exercises with no rest in between.
Tri-set: Three exercises performed back to back with no rest in between. Like supersets but more intense. Just be mindful of space—doing tri-sets in a busy gym could lead to some frustrated looks from others.
Unilateral Training: Exercises that work one arm or leg at a time, like Single-Arm Dumbbell Rows or Lateral Lunges. Great for evening-out muscle imbalances if one side of your body is stronger than the other (and, no, this isn’t an excuse to get distracted on certain websites).
WOD (Workout of the Day): Another one of the gym acronyms. It’s the designated workout for that day, commonly used in CrossFit.
Workout Split: The style of workout plan someone follows, such as push, pull, legs, or three full-body sessions. How you split your workouts can make somewhat of a difference in your training results.
Cardio and Recovery Fitness Terms
Cardio and recovery are essential components of a well-rounded fitness routine. These fitness terms will help you better understand cardio sessions and how to become increasingly familiar with proper muscle recovery.
Active Recovery: Light exercise typically performed on rest days. Think walking or mobility work. It’s a great way to stay moving while giving your body a break.
DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness): A gym acronym. It’s the muscle soreness that often kicks in 24 to 72 hours after a workout. It’s usually more intense when you’re new to exercising or returning after a long break. (Flashback to my teenage years when bicep DOMS had me struggling to reach the orange juice on the top shelf of Tesco!)
Heart Rate Zones: The various zones your heart rate can reach during exercise. Training in different zones can provide different benefits.
HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training): Another gym acronym, HIIT, is bursts of intense exercise followed by rest periods. Many gym classes are based on this training style.
LISS (Low-Intensity Steady State): A longer-duration, lower-intensity form of cardio compared to HIIT. But don’t underestimate it! When done right, it can be a fantastic workout. I like to do LISS while catching up on yesterday’s football highlights.
Casual Anatomy Fitness Words
This section breaks down a mix of formal and casual workout words you might hear when referring to which muscles an exercise works. Reading this will help you understand what’s mentioned and which muscles you’re targeting.
Bis and Tris: Out of context, this could mean almost anything, but in the gym world, it refers to your Biceps and Triceps!
Delts: Short for Deltoids, which are your shoulder muscles. You’ll work these in exercises like Lateral Raises or Shoulder Presses.
Hammies: Like many other shortened exercise words for anatomy, this refers to the Hamstrings, which are the muscles on the upper back of your legs. You’ll engage these with exercises like Leg Curls or Romanian Deadlifts.
Lats: Short for Latissimus Dorsi, the muscles in your upper back. You’ll work these with exercises like Lat Pulldowns.
Pecs: Short for Pectoral muscles, also known as your chest muscles. You’ll engage these during exercises like an Incline Chest Press.
Posterior Chain: The muscles along the back of your body, including your back, glutes, and hamstrings. The Romanian Deadlift is excellent for these, and some entire workouts are focused on training the Posterior Chain, where you’ll commonly hear these weightlifting terms used.
Quads: The upper part of the front of your leg, also called the Quadriceps. Think of exercises like Squats and Lunges to work these muscles.
ROM (Range of Motion): The distance a joint moves during an exercise. For example, squatting to full depth means using your entire range of motion. If you only squat halfway, you’re only using half of your range of motion.
Traps: Nope, not related to Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards. Traps refer to the Trapezius muscles located between your neck and shoulders.
TUT (Time Under Tension): This is one of those workout words you might hear the deeper you get in your journey. It’s the amount of time a muscle is under strain during an exercise. Adjusting time under tension can add a whole new challenge to your workouts, often leaving you questioning your sanity.
Note:
If you’re enjoying this article so far, then ensure you drop me a follow on Instagram, Threads or X, all @leoalvespt
Gym Slang 101 (Fun Slang)
Gym culture is full of slang and phrases that can confuse newcomers. So, let’s transition away from the more proper workout terms and get stuck into this section, which introduces you to casual gym slang, making your gym experience more relatable and enjoyable.
Anatomy Gym Slang
Boulder Shoulders: When your shoulders are so massive, they resemble boulders. It’s definitely a compliment.
Bowling Pins: A term for someone who skips leg day, leaving them with thin, weak legs compared to a strong, muscular upper body. It’s a derogatory term.
Chicken Legs: Another insult for someone who skips leg day, resulting in skinny, underdeveloped legs, often paired with a more muscular upper body. It’s a derogatory term.
Dump Truck: This informal bit of gym vocabulary is slang for having a big, strong booty—essentially like hauling around a dump truck. It’s a compliment.
Mirror Muscles: The muscles that teenage boys often prioritise when they first start working out—mainly the chest, abs, and arms—while neglecting everything else.
Muscle Mommy: A term for a woman with a visibly strong and muscular physique, someone who clearly lifts weights and works out. It’s a compliment.
Quadfather: A playful nickname given to someone with kingpin levels of impressive quadriceps. It’s a compliment.
Quadzilla: Similar to Quadfather and a nod to Godzilla, who has massive legs. Suggesting yours are big, too. It’s a compliment.
Sleeper Build: When you look unassuming and average in clothes but have an impressive, muscular body once you remove them. I find it’s one of those gym terms that works well, as there isn’t a more formal word to describe this situation.
Stacked: Used to describe someone with a muscular or well-built physique.
Swole: Similar to stacked, often used to describe a muscular or well-built physique.
T-Rex Arms: Although T-Rex dinosaurs are known for their size and ferocity, this term refers to skinny, underdeveloped arms reminiscent of a T-Rex’s short limbs. It’s a derogatory term.
Tree Trunks: Thick, powerful legs that look as sturdy as tree trunks. It’s a compliment.
Tricep Horseshoe: When your tricep muscles are so developed, they form a horseshoe shape. It’s a compliment.
Wings: When your lats (latissimus dorsi muscles) are so broad, they resemble a pair of wings. Bruce Lee was famously known for his impressive lat spread as a natural.
Yolked: Another bit of fitness lingo that’s similar to stacked and swole. It’s used to describe someone with a muscular or well-built physique.
Workout and Weightlifting Terms Slang
Beast Mode: When you’re pushing yourself to the absolute limit in a workout. It’s one of those exercise words that might sound ironic if a beginner says it, but it’s fair game for intermediate lifters and beyond.
Bro Split: Also known as the body part split, this is the type of workout split most people start with when they get into the gym. It involves training one major muscle group per session, such as shoulder, chest, or arm day.
Half Reps: When you perform only half of the range of motion for an exercise rather than going through the full or near-full range. In most cases, this is not ideal, can limit your progress, and is probably being used in a negative context.
Peaking: When your strength or physique is at its absolute best, typically timed for a competition day, like powerlifting or bodybuilding.
Pick Things Up and Put Them Down: This is one of those fitness terms that is a playful way to describe lifting and lowering weights. It's not the most creative, I know.
Plates: The weighted plates you see in a gym usually used on a barbell.
Rep Out: To perform an exercise for as many repetitions as possible, usually until failure, rather than sticking to a set rep range.
Repping it Out: Similar to “rep out,” but often used to describe doing reps easily at first and then continuing until failure.
Sesh: A shortened term for a workout “session.” Example: “You down for a gym sesh later, bro?”
The Burn: This is one of those workout words that describes the intense sensation in your muscles during a high-rep set. As the name suggests, it burns!
The Pump: That rush of blood to your muscles after a workout. It feels great, you look strong, and you feel more confident. But remember—you’ll never be as big as your pump.
Gym Behaviour Fitness Lingo
Bro Science: One of the most commonly used gym words. It’s informal and often unscientific advice shared on the gym floor. While it might contain a half-truth, it’s usually not backed by science. That doesn’t mean it won’t work for you, though!
Cardio Bunny: Someone who spends most of their gym time doing cardio—probably too much time, if you ask some weightlifters.
Ego Lifting: When someone lifts weights that are way too heavy, often using terrible form. It’s a recipe for injuries and not something to aspire to. It’s a derogatory term.
Gains Train: The commitment to making muscular gains, like hopping on a metaphorical train (the gym) to reach your desired destination (more muscle).
Gym Rat: Perhaps one of the most commonly used gym words. This is someone who’s always at the gym. The staff probably know your name, you exchange nods with fellow regulars, and you might even have to be reminded when it’s closing time.
Gymtimidation: The feeling of intimidation some people experience at the gym. It combines the words “gym” and “intimidation.”
Meathead: A derogatory term for someone obsessed with lifting weights and getting bigger muscles, often perceived as lacking intelligence.
Rerack: This is one of those workout terms that means you return your weights and equipment after using them. Don’t be that person who leaves everything lying around—“Rerack your weights.”
Throwing Plates: Refers to effortlessly lifting heavy weights, usually exercises that use weighted plates, like a Barbell Deadlift.
Work In: Sharing a piece of gym equipment with someone already using it. It’s usually done when minimal adjustments are needed, like on a Leg Press or with a barbell set at the right weight. Avoid working in if it requires significant setup changes between turns.
Bulking and Cutting Slang Fitness Words
Bulking: This is a bit of fitness lingo that refers to eating in a slight calorie surplus to gain muscle more efficiently while prioritising nutritious foods. Even when done carefully, some fat gain may occur, but the trade-off is often worth it for more effective muscle growth.
Cut: Staying in a prolonged calorie deficit to reduce body fat while maintaining as much muscle as possible.
Dirty Bulk: Eating excessively without regard for food quality or calorie intake. This approach typically leads to significant fat gain and is generally not recommended, especially for health reasons.
Mini-Cut: A short, aggressive calorie deficit designed to reduce body fat over a brief period while aiming to preserve muscle. Because it’s more intense, the results come faster than a standard cut.
Shred City: A playful bit of gym vocabulary used to describe the goal of getting shredded. For example, “I’m on my way to Shred City!”
Shredded: Having a very low body fat percentage, revealing a high level of muscle definition. It’s the kind of leanness that’s impressive but often hard to maintain without making significant lifestyle sacrifices.
Shreddy Krugger: A fun, playful way of describing being extremely lean, similar to “shredded.”
Note:
All this talk about bulking and cutting reminds me—if you’d like my free calorie calculator to find out how many calories you should aim for to reach your fitness goals, click here.
Gym Slang for Everything Else
Gains: This is one of those gym terms that refers to building muscle and strength, typically achieved through a well-structured program incorporating progressive overload.
Natty: Short for "natural," meaning someone who doesn’t use steroids or performance-enhancing drugs. Contrary to some misconceptions, taking whey protein or creatine monohydrate does not affect your natty status (lol).
Noob Gains: The phase of rapid muscle growth experienced when you first start working out, even if your training program isn’t well designed. With consistency, this phase roughly lasts up to a year. Cherish it while it lasts.
Newbie Gains: This gym slang means the same as the above.
Top Heavy: When you focus only on training your upper body while consistently skipping leg day, resulting in an unbalanced, awkward appearance.
Workout Terms: Conclusion
Understanding workout terms, anatomy, fitness lingo, and some gym slang can make all the difference as you begin to get deeper into your fitness journey.
Knowing these terms helps you feel more confident, easily navigate the gym environment, and keep things fun as you immerse yourself in gym culture.
Remember, while it’s great to become familiar with these weightlifting terms slang, the key is to focus on consistency with the essential parts of a fitness journey that will drive your progress, such as structured workouts, protein intake, and nutritious food.
So, with that, grab my free workout plan by clicking here.
It’s designed to give you a structured approach, with video examples, so you’ll never feel lost or unsure what to do.
Also, remember to bookmark this article as a handy reference or share it with friends who might be new to the gym—it’s a great way to help others become comfortable with various fitness words, too.
Speak soon,
Leo
