20 Fitness Terms Defined
You ever been in a conversation where you have no clue what’s being said, but you just smile, nod, and pray no one asks for your opinion?
Like when your friend starts talking about their crypto investments:
Them: “Yeah, I’m staking Ethereum on a DeFi platform with yield farming.”
You: “Oh, for sure. Gotta maximize that… uh… blockchain synergy.” 👀
Fitness and nutrition is full of these moments too. Someone casually mentions they’re working on “progressive overload to maximize hypertrophy,” and you nod along like, “Yeah, totally. Love… hypertrophying.”
We don’t want you to be the person Googling terms in the locker room, so today I’ve got you covered.
Here are 10 common workout terms and 10 common nutrition terms—explained in plain English.
10 Common Workout Terms Decoded for Normal People
Progressive Overload – The fancy way of saying “do a little more over time.” More weight, more reps, more effort. No progress = no overload. No overload = no results. This is also why most people don’t look like they work out.
Hypertrophy – The process of making your muscles bigger. Not to be confused with “toning,” which is just a marketing term for hypertrophy with less intimidation.
AMRAP – Stands for “As Many Reps As Possible.” Also stands for “this is gonna hurt.”
Eccentric Phase – The lowering portion of a lift (like lowering a squat or bringing a curl down). Neglecting this phase is like only watching the first half of a movie—you're missing key results.
RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) – A 1-10 scale of how hard you're working. RPE 10 means your soul leaves your body. RPE 5 means you might as well be scrolling instead of lifting.
Hard Set – A weightlifting set done at about an RPE of 8—meaning you stop with just 1-2 reps left in the tank. This is where most of your lifting should be. Going too easy won’t build muscle, but grinding to failure all the time isn’t smart either.
DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) – That “why do my legs hate me?” feeling 24-48 hours after a workout. A sign of a good workout? Sometimes. A requirement for results? Nope.
Periodization – A structured plan for training, so you don’t just randomly lift weights and hope for the best. Think of it like a roadmap instead of a blindfolded road trip.
Compound vs. Isolation Exercises – Compound exercises (squats, deadlifts, presses) hit multiple muscles. Isolation exercises (bicep curls, leg extensions) target just one. Both have their place in the Digital Barbell training method.
Metabolic Conditioning (“MetCon”) – Workouts designed to improve your ability to keep going when your heart, lungs, and muscles are all demanding a timeout. CrossFit loves these, but doing them every day in’t so smart.
10 Common Nutrition Terms Demystified
Caloric Deficit – The only way fat loss happens. Eat fewer calories than you usually do, and your body will tap into your fat for energy. It’s not magic, it’s how every diet works.
Macronutrients (“Macros”) – Protein, carbs, and fats. These are the nutrients that your food is actually made of. Along with your workouts, they control your body composition. Counting them is a popular way to account for calories, and create a calorie deficit.
Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) – The calories you burn just digesting food. Protein has the highest TEF, so yes, chicken is basically a metabolism booster.
Insulin Sensitivity – How well your body responds to insulin. Good sensitivity = efficient energy use. Poor sensitivity = a higher risk of fat gain and metabolic issues. Strength training, and losing body fat helps with this.
Anabolic vs. Catabolic – Anabolic means building (muscle, tissue, etc.). Catabolic means breaking down (fat, muscle if underfed, etc.). Want muscle? Stay in an anabolic state with proper food and training.
Glycogen – Your muscles’ stored form of carbs. If you’ve ever felt like a deflated balloon after doing a low-carb diet, that’s because you depleted glycogen.
Bioavailability – How well your body absorbs a nutrient. Just because it’s in your food (or supplement) doesn’t mean your body can actually use it effectively.
Energy Balance – The long-term relationship between calories in vs. calories out. This is why “good” or “bad” foods don’t matter nearly as much as total intake.
Fasted – Training or existing without food in your system, when your blood sugar is at baseline levels. Some people swear by fasted cardio for fat loss, but its benefits are mostly personal preference. Your overall diet and calorie intake matters way more.
Processed vs. Ultra-Processed – All food is technically “processed” even it’s just chopping a carrot. Ultra-processed is when it’s barely recognizable as real food (think Cheetos vs. a block of cheddar).
Why All This Stuff Matters
Understanding these terms isn’t just about sounding smart at the gym.
It’s about making better training and nutrition decisions. If you’ve been guessing your way through fitness, this is your reminder that a lot of of times knowledge leads to results.
In yesterday’s podcast we talked about the “5 Things We’d Do If We Were Starting Over Today”.
#5 was to “Become a Student”, and learning about this kind of stuff is exactly what we mean.
Click HERE to watch the episode on YouTube.
Lift heavy, and be nice.
Jonathan