Common Bodybuilding Terms

Common Bodybuilding Terms

Ok, the first thing you need to know are the common terms you will encounter throughout the series. Find listed below the glossary of these terms:

• Abduction – to move away from the midline of the body.
• Adaptation – changes in structure or function of a muscle in response to progressively increased training loads.
• Anatomy – the study of the body and its parts.
• Adduction - to move towards the midline of the body.
• Atrophy – shrinking of a muscle as a result of disuse.
• Chronic hypertrophy – long lasting increase in size of a tissue or organ.
• Concentric contraction – muscle action that shortens muscle fibres as it develops tension.
• Detraining – reversal of adaptation to exercise.
• Eccentric contraction - muscle action that lengthens muscle fibres as it develops tension.
• Electromyography (EMG) – procedure that determines which exercises elicit the greatest electrical activity.
• Extension - movement that increases the angle of a joint.
• Flexion – movement that decreases the angle of a joint.
• Insertion – moveable attachment of a muscle.
• Intensity – in bodybuilding, is expressed as a percentage of 1RM.
• Isometric contraction – where the muscle develops tension but does not actively lengthen or shorten.
• Lactic acid – waste product of the lactic acid energy system.
• Lateral – away from the midline of the body.
• Macrocycle – phase of training from two to six weeks in duration.
• Medial – toward the midline of the body.
• Mesocycle – generally a longer phase of training (i.e. one year)
• Microcycle – phase of training generally one week in duration.
• Muscular endurance – ability to sustain continuos sub maximal contractions (various classifications).
• Neural adaptation – increased nervous coordination of a group of muscles involved in a muscular contraction.
• One repetition maximum (1RM) – the maximum load a person can lift once.
• Origin – the attachment of a muscle to a bone that remains relatively fixed during muscular contraction.
• Overload – an increase of volume or intensity in order to place greater stress on a muscle in order to achieve new adaptations.
• Periodisation – methodological structure of training phases intended to maximise improvements in muscle size, tone and definition.
• Phase specific – particular training phase.
• Physiology – the study of the bodies functions.
• Plateau – period when no observable progress is made.
• Power – force x distance over time (i.e. the ability to move a load a set distance quickly)
• Strength – the application of muscular force (many different types).
• Transient hypertrophy – temporary enlargement of muscles due to water accumulation, not permanent.
• Volume - the quantity of work performed and generally consists of load x reps x sets.