Gym Lingo 101
If you're new to our workout routines, you might have encountered terms such as AMRAP or EMOM and felt unsure about their meanings.
Gym lingo and acronyms are widely used in the fitness industry and can be confusing if you're not familiar with them.
Gym lingo and acronyms are widely used in the fitness industry and can be confusing if you're not familiar with them. To help you feel more at ease and comfortable during your workouts, I've compiled a list of common gym terms and their explanations to help you.
WOD
Workout of the day
AMRAP
As Many Reps As Possible. A structured workout designed to have you complete as many rounds or repetitions as possible in the allocated time.
EMOM
Every Minute On the Minute. A form or interval training that requires you to finish or complete a certain number of reps for a particular exercise within the 1 minute, it can also be set to variations of every 2, 3 or 4 minutes on the minute to set the intensity of the workout.
DB
Dumbbell
BB
Barbell
KB
Kettle Bell
WB
Wall Ball
BJ
Box Jump
A plyometric exercise where you jump onto and off a sturdy box or platform to build leg strength and explosiveness.
SAS
Single Arm Snatch
An explosive weightlifting move lifting a weight from the ground to overhead in one swift motion using one arm.
C&J
Clean & Jerk
Weightlifting exercise involving lifting a barbell from the floor to overhead.
RDL
Romanian Deadlift
A weightlifting exercise targeting hamstrings and glutes, involving lowering the barbell or dumbbell/s while keeping legs slightly bent and back straight.
STO
Shoulder To Overhead
An upper-body vertical pushing movement using weights.
OHS
Over Head Squat
A full squat while holding a barbell overhead, requiring strength, balance, and mobility.
WBSU
Wall Ball Sit-Up
Weighted sit-up using a wall ball held at the chest, as you lean back the wall ball is taken overhead tapping the ball on the floor, returning to a sit-up tapping the ball in front of you.
SU
Single-Under. Using a skipping rope, a Single-Under is when you jump once and spin once.
DU
Double-Under. Using a skipping rope, a Double-Under is when you jump once but spin twice.
TGU
Turkish Get Up
Commonly performed with a Kettle Bell or Dumbbell, this exercise is great for stability, strength and shoulder mobility.
C2B
Chest To Bar
A gymnastics movement performed as a pull-up high enough for the chest to make contact with the bar.
RMU
Ring Muscle Up
A gymnastic exercise combining a pull-up and dip on rings, requiring strength and technique to transition above the rings.
BMU
Bar muscle up
A gymnastics exercise where you pull yourself up over a bar, transitioning from a pull-up to a dip.
HSPU
Handstand Push-Up
Also known as the vertical push-up or press-up where the body is positioned in a handstand.
HSW
Handstand Walk
A gymnastic move where a person walks on their hands, maintaining balance without their feet touching the ground.
1RM
1 Repetition Maximum. Would involve lifting heavy weights requiring your maximum effort for one repetition only.
PB
Personal Best. This refers to your personal highest number of reps in an exercise, heaviest weight lifted or the fastest time on a run or exercise machine.
DOMS
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. This refers to muscle pain and stiffness you can experience a day or two after a workout. This is due tiny tears in your muscle fibres trigger inflammation.
Being familiar with the gym lingo will help you grow in confidence, enabling you to follow workout routines more effectively and communicate better with fellow gym-goers.
