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Josh Wedge Physical Education Department |
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Fitness Terminology Actin: A protein found in muscle fibers that acts with myosin to bring about muscle contraction and relaxation. Aerobic Exercise: An exercise where the oxygen demands of the muscles are provided by the circulation of oxygen in the blood. Distance running, distance cycling and aerobic activities are examples of Aerobic Exercise. Amino Acids: The “building blocks of life” amino acids are subunits that join together to form protein. There are 20 amino acids that come from food and other amino acids that are produced in the body. Amino acids not produced in the body are known as essential amino acids, while amino acids produced in the body are known as non-essential amino acids. Anabolic Steroids: A drug that that mimics the muscle building characteristics of the male hormone testosterone. Anabolic steroids are illegal in most states and have been known to cause negative side effects on the recipient of the drugs. Some side effects include baldness, headaches, kidney disorders, and impotence. Anaerobic Exercise: An exercise where the oxygen demands of the muscles are so high that the body can’t replenish it quickly enough. As a result, the oxygen debt in the muscles forces the athlete to stop the exercise. Sprinting and weight training are examples of Anaerobic Exercise. Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP): All living things, plants and animals, require a continual supply of energy in order to function. The energy is used for all the processes which keep the organism alive. Some of these processes occur continually, such as the metabolism of foods, the synthesis of large, biologically important molecules, e.g. proteins and DNA, and the transport of molecules and ions throughout the organism. Other processes occur only at certain times, such as muscle contraction and other cellular movements. Animals obtain their energy by oxidation of foods; plants do so by trapping the sunlight using chlorophyll. However, before the energy can be used, it is first transformed into a form that the organism can handle easily. This special carrier of energy is the molecule adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. Atrophy: Decrease in size and functional ability of tissues or organs. If you work out for 10 years and get big, then you stop working out, your muscles will begin to shrink or atrophy. Barbell: A steel bar measuring 4 –6 feet in length. The bar is used for weight training and body building exercises. Some barbells have a fixed amount of weight on the sides, while other barbells allow you to add and remove weight as you desire.
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): BMR estimates how many calories you would burn if you were to do nothing but rest for 24 hours. It represents the minimum amount of energy required to keep your body functioning, including your heart beating, lungs breathing, and body temperature normal. Working out will help elevate your BMR, meaning you can burn off fat or excessive food consumption, leading to a more lean body. BMR measurements are typically taken in a darkened room after 8 hours of sleep. Biomechanics: Science concerned with the internal and
external forces acting on the human body and the effects produced by these
forces. Body Fat Percentage: Your body fat percentage is simply the
percentage of fat your body contains. If you are 150 pounds and 10% fat, it
means that your body consists of 15 pounds fat and 135 pounds lean body mass
(bone, muscle, organ tissue, blood and everything else). A certain amount of fat
is essential to bodily functions. Fat regulates body temperature, cushions and
insulates organs and tissues and is the main form of the body's energy storage.
• Underweight: below 18.5 The BMI formula does not take into account your body composition (percent muscle vs. fat) and is therefore less accurate if you have a non-typical amount of muscle. This is because while a person with an above average amount of muscle is likely to be healthier because of it, the formula simply interprets the added muscle as fat and overestimates obesity. Conversely, with older persons and others with a below average amount of muscle, it underestimates obesity. Calorie: The amount of energy necessary to raise one liter of water one degree Celsius. Your body needs calories as "fuel" to perform all of its functions, such as breathing, circulation, and physical activity. All the food you intake has a certain number of calories that are ultimately used by your body or stored for later use. The body burns 3 fuels for energy: Proteins, Fats and Carbohydrates. The body will burn Proteins and Fats as fuels, but prefers Carbohydrates to the other two. Each fuels provides a certain number of calories per gram: • 4 calories per gram of protein As we can see fat is the most efficient fuel, although too much fat in your diet is very bad. Cardiovascular Training: Working out to strengthen heart and blood vessels. Cardio training examples include jogging and swimming. Circuit Training: Circuit training is an excellent way to simultaneously improve mobility, strength and stamina. The circuit-training format utilizes a group of 6 to 10 strength exercises that are completed one exercise after another. Each exercise is performed for a specified number of repetitions or for a prescribed time period before moving on to the next exercise. The exercises within each circuit are separated by brief, timed rest intervals, and each circuit is separated by a longer rest period. The total number of circuits performed during a training session may vary from two to six depending on your training level (beginner, intermediate, or advanced), your period of training (preparation or competition) and your training objective. Cross - Training: In cross-training, two or more types of exercise are performed in one workout or used alternately in successive workouts. A distance runner in training, for example, may also lift weights twice a week, perform daily stretching exercises, and do high-intensity bicycle sprints every Tuesday. This is believes to increase performance in all sports leading to a higher level of fitness. Diuretics: Sometimes called "water pills," these are drugs and herbal preparations that remove excess water from a bodybuilder's system just prior to a show, thereby revealing greater muscular detail. Harsh chemical diuretics can be quite harmful to your health, particularly if they are used on a chronic basis. Two of the side effects of excessive chemical diuretic use are muscle cramps and heart arrhythmias (irregular heart beats). Dumbbell: A steel bar measuring 10 – 12 inches in length. The bar is used for weight training and body building exercises. Most dumbbells are fixed weights stored on long racks in the gym. The weights come in 5-pound increment pairs. Ectomorph: One of the 3 main human body types. It is characterized by a thin, linear appearance. They often possess narrow waist, hips and shoulders. The ectomorph also has a low body fat percentage. Endomorph: One of the 3 main human body types. It is often characterized by big bones, round face, large trunk and thighs and a naturally high degree of body fat, especially around the midsection. Endomorphs usually struggle to control their weight although it may simply mean more determination is needed for an endomorph to lose as much weight as a mesomorph. Mesomorph: One of the 3 main human body types. It is characterized by broad shoulders, narrow waist, naturally large muscles and fast metabolism due to the amount of lean muscle. For men a mesomorph looks like a natural muscle man with a heavy, hard and athletic physique Endurance: The ability of a muscle to produce force continually over a given period of time. Like that guy in the boxing ring who can fight all 12 rounds without ever getting tired must have good endurance. Fast – Twitch Muscle Fibers: Muscle fibers that contract quickly and powerfully. They are utilized in anaerobic activities like sprinting and powerlifting. Fast – Twitch fibers are developed by heavy, low rep, explosive weight training. Everyone is born with different ratios of fast to slow twitch muscle fibers. It has been proven that working out does changes fiber behavior and helps grow new fibers. Free Weights: Barbells, dumbbells and other exercise equipment not considered to be a machine. Free weights are the preferred choice of most body builders because they recruit more muscle fibers when exercising. Kinesiology: The study of muscles and their movements. Lactic Acid: A product given off during aerobic perspiration. For example, when you are jogging on a treadmill your system must continue to deliver oxygen to your muscles. A chemical in your body called pyruvic acid which comes from the breakdown of glucose (blood sugar) mixes with oxygen and produces carbon dioxide, water, and ATP. When there is not enough oxygen in the muscles because you are working out so hard, the pyruvic acid is now converted to lactic acid (lactate). As the lactate is produced in the muscles it leaks out into the blood and is carried around the body. Ligament: A band of flexible, fibrous connective tissue that is attached at the end of a bone near a joint. The main function of a ligament is to attach bones to one another, to provide stability of a joint, and to prevent or limit some joint motion. Metabolism: Metabolism is the process of converting our energy source which is food into a form of energy the body can use to function. An increase in your metabolic rate (metabolism) will increase the number of calories you burn, and a decrease in your metabolic rate will decrease the number of calories you burn. Myositis: Muscular soreness due to inflammation that often occurs 1 – 2 days after unaccustomed exercise. Overload: The amount of weight that you force a muscle to use that is over its normal strength capacity. Overloading a muscle creates hypertrophy (causes the muscle to grow). Overtraining: A condition in which your body can no longer recover from your workouts, leading to losses in muscle size and strength. Things that lead to overtraining include training too frequently, spending too much time in the gym, doing too many sets, doing too many reps, not getting enough rest, improper nutrition. Plyometric Exercise: Where muscles are loaded suddenly and stretched, then quickly contracted to produce movement. Athletes who must jump do these. For example, jumping off a bench to the ground, and then quickly jumping back on the bench. Power Training: System of weight training using low repetitions, heavy weights. Repetition: One complete movement of an exercise. For example, when you barbell bench press, lowering the weight to your chest and then pressing it back up is considered 1 repetition. Rest Interval: The pause between sets of an exercise which allows muscle recovery. Set: A set is a group of consecutive repetitions that are performed without resting. After the set, a rest interval occurs before you begin another set. Slow Twitch Muscle Fibers: Muscle fibers that contract slowly, weakly and continue for long periods of time. These muscle fibers are more resistant to fatigue and are utilized in endurance activities such as long-distance running, cycling or swimming. Everyone is born with different ratios of fast to slow twitch muscle fibers. It has been proven that working out does changes fiber behavior and helps grow new fibers. Supplement: This is a term used to describe a preparation such as a tablet, pill, or powder that contains nutrients. Supplements are used to help you achieve optimal nutrient intake. Tendon: The tough tissue that connects muscles to bones. Warm-up: The 10-15-minute session of light calisthenics, aerobic exercise, and stretching taken prior to handling heavy bodybuilding training movements. A good warm-up helps to prevent injuries and actually allows you to get more out of your training than if you went into a workout totally cold. Warming-up also helps clean toxins out of your muscles prior to the workout.
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