Top 10 Fat Loss & Muscle Building Jargons You Must Know

Confused by gym jargons? Not anymore!

Every hobby, sport, industry and even profession has their own jargons. The fat loss and muscle building realm is certainly no exception. Just because you are not a seasoned professional or personal trainer doesn’t mean you don’t have to know the lingo. In fact, if you are just starting a fat loss or muscle building program – such as my 10 Minute Corporate Fat Loss Plan – all the more you need to get acquainted with these jargons because these are often mentioned in many fat loss tips, exercise description and nutritional articles. Understanding some key jargons will help you to get a better grasp of your fat loss program and not to mention being able impress your less knowledgeable colleagues during water cooler chats.

So I have handpicked the top 10 essential fat loss and muscle building jargons here that you need to know:

1. Repetitions:
Sometimes referred to as “reps” for short, this refers to the number of times you perform an exercise movement. Using squats as an example, one repetition when you drive your hips back, lower your body and return to starting position.

2. Sets:
Similar to tennis, these refer to the cycles of repetitions for each exercise movement. For example, you performed 15 repetition of squats. That’s one set. Then you take a 30 second rest and you repeat another set of 15 repetition of squats.

3. Anabolic window:
The period after your workout when your body is most primed for muscle growth. This is usually within an hour after your training. During this time, you should consume some high quality and fast absorbing protein to immediately start repairing and building muscles. Also take in some high glycemic carbohydrates such as orange juice to replenish lost glycogen stores.

4. Rest:
This refers to the recovery time in between your sets and exercises. For maximum fat burning and cardiovascular effect, stick to 30 – 60 seconds rest.

5. Intensity:
Specifically exercise intensity, this refers to the amount of work done by your body during exercise and is measured by maximum heart rate (MHR). Exercise activity that’s 80% MHR or less is considered low intensity exercise. Between 80 – 85% MHR is medium intensity and 85-90% MHR is high intensity exercise. High intensity exercises such as HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) or heavy weight lifting has shown to be most effective at fat loss and calorie burning.

6. Glycemic Index:
Glycemic index is the measure of how carbohydrates effect blood sugar levels. This has a direct impact on how we get fat. Carbohydrates that get broken down by the body easily such as bananas, white potatoes and sodas, release a sudden burst of glucose to the blood stream. These are high glycemic index carbohydrates or simple carbohydrates.

Complex carbohydrates such as broccoli, quinoa, apples and oatmeal take a long time to be broken down by the body and hence glucose is released more gradually. These are low glycemic carbohydrates. If you want to know how to get slim, you should aim to consume mostly complex carbohydrates in your diet and only consume simple carbohydrates after your workouts.

7. Compound exercises:
These are exercises that involve multiple joints and muscle groups such as squats, deadlifts, rowing, bench press, pushups, chin ups, lunges and shoulder presses. If you are looking for the quickest way to lose weight, compound exercises are excellent time savers and are most effective burning the most amount of calories for optimum fat burning.

8. Isometric exercises:
These exercises focus on the static contraction of a working muscle group for a set period of time. Examples of this include planks or the static holding of any exercise in the mid position.

9. Concentric movement:
The lifting movement of an exercise. For squats and pushups, the concentric movement is when your body is at the bottom and you are pushing yourself back up to starting position. For pull ups, the concentric movement is when you are hanging at the bottom and pulling yourself up.

10. Eccentric movement:
Sometimes called the “negatives”, this is the lowering movement of the exercise. For pull ups, this is when you have pulled yourself up and your chin is above the bar and you are descending back to starting position where your arms are hanging straight.

Want to know how to get slim quicker? Slowing down the eccentric movement of an exercise has been shown to increase your metabolic rate and also cause greater micro tears in your muscle fibers. This inevitably results in more calories burnt and your muscles coming back even stronger than before.

So there you have it, the top 10 essential fat loss and muscle building jargons you should know. Now you will no longer need to seek Merriam Webster’s the next time you are reading a fat loss article – or any of my other fantastic fat loss articles for that matter.

These jargons are also a good gauge to see how good your fat loss program is. If your current fat loss program or even your personal trainer does not mention or even remotely describes any of the above, it’s time for a change.

My proven fat loss program the 10 Minute Corporate Fat Loss Plan offers a strategic dieting plan with effective in-office fat loss tips that you can easily apply. Coupled with P90X type exercise videos that you can do at the comfort of your own home, it’s little wonder why people who have followed my exact program started seeing results in the first week just by spending 10 minutes a day!

Still in doubt? Try my 10 Minutes Corporate Fat Loss Plan now risk free for 60-days.