Training terminologies and workout techniques: Part 1

While training with weights, we come across new terminologies and techniques as we become more and more experienced. While some terminologies are as basic as lifting and lowering a weight, as we progress in our quest to achieve the perfect body, we come across more complex training techniques designed to intensify the training and shock the muscles.

Such techniques have been thoughtfully crafted and tested to work by professional bodybuilders and strength athletes/coaches for decades, and are being successfully used by professionals and amateurs alike all over the world.

In part 1 of this article, I have tried to compile all such training terminologies and advanced techniques as a reference for myself and readers. I hope you find them beneficial, and of assistance in reaching your goals.

Upon reaching failure in a set, conventional wisdom says to stop the set and rest until muscles recover from the fatigue, and continue with next set. However, there are certain training techniques that can be used to further fatigue the muscle and stimulate additional growth, beyond failure point in a workout. Such techniques will be covered in part 2 of this article.

I will make sure to update both parts of this article with new terminologies as I come across them. If you know something I have missed to include or simply am unaware of, please leave a comment for the same, I will make sure to update the same in my article.

Repetition (Rep)

A repetition (or rep) consists of lifting the weight (free weight or weight plate stacked in a machine) against gravity (positive phase), holding the weight at the topmost position momentarily (static phase) and lowering it (negative phase) again at the starting position. The entire range of motion completes one rep.

For some exercises the rep might consist of lowering the weight first, then holding it at the lowest position momentarily, then finally lifting the weight against gravity. Exercises like squats, barbell bench press, dips etc. use such a rep pattern.

Set

A set is just a number of reps done back to back with almost no rest in between. Lets say you do 10(ten) reps back to back without stopping, and cannot pump out one single more rep without taking rest for some substantial time. Those ten reps will constitute a set.

Range of motion

Range of motion is the total range of movement that is performed while doing a rep. For barbell bench press for instance, the bar needs to be lowered to the point where it touches your chest, then pushed up to just before elbow lockout. This range of movement of the bar (from touching the chest to just before elbow lockout) is the complete range of motion of the exercise.

Usually, it is advisable to perform reps using the full range of motion for full flexion and extension of the muscle fibres, but depending on the situation and type of training, it can be reduced to a much lesser range.

Cheating

Cheating refers to inappropriate use of one or more secondary muscles to facilitate a lift. It can also refer to using wrong techniques in lifting the weight such as using momentum, swinging torso back and forth and the likes.

Cheating is detrimental to progress, and usually should be avoided at all costs (unless you are doing some cheat reps of course, details of which has been covered in part 2 of this article). It takes away the intensity a workout should have on a muscle group, and hence delays the progress. How many times have we seen someone doing biceps curls with more weight than he can handle, and instead of just curling the weight up and down, he starts using momentum and shrugging the shoulders to somehow lift the weight? While a person may feel satisfied with lifting such weights, it should be noted that he would have been better off with lifting lighter weights and using proper form.

Superset

A superset consists of two sets of two different exercises done back to back without any rest in between. One set of incline bench press followed immediately by one set of push ups can be a good example of a superset.

Supersets are usually done either on the same muscle group, or as is most common, on antagonistic (opposite) muscles, such as biceps/triceps, chest/back, quadriceps/hamstrings, forearm flexors/forearm extensors etc.

Triset

Performing three back to back sets of three different exercises on the same muscle group, without any rest in between.

Circuit

Performing four or more sets, one each for a different muscle group in succession with little or no rest in between. One example can be doing one set each for back, chest, quadriceps, hamstrings and shoulders, with no rest in between of course.

Circuit implementation is a great way to do a full body workout in a single session giving equal emphasis on all body parts, but can be really taxing on the cardiovascular system.

Giant set

A giant set consists of doing one set each of 4-5 different exercises done back-to-back for a single muscle group with no rest in between the sets, and arguably is the most gruelling way to torture the muscle group. Once you complete the full course of all the exercises, the total of 4-5 sets will be called one giant set. Now this giant set can be repeated 2-3 times just like usual sets.

A giant set is a great way to effectively target all the aspects of a big and/or a complex muscle group, such as back, chest, etc. The first exercise usually is the most difficult of the bunch, with final one being the easiest. For example, a sample giant set based chest workout might look like this, with workouts done in that order:-

Flat bench press

Incline bench press

Decline bench press

Cable crossovers

Staggered sets

Performing one set of an exercise for a completely unrelated muscle group in between two sets of your normal workout routine, while recuperating from the previous set of your workout. An example would be to do a set of standing calf raises in between two sets of military press.

A staggered set is a great way to train and develop some of the lagging body parts in between your regular workout routine, or muscle groups that develop slower and need more attention and frequency of stimulation.

Pyramid sets

Pyramid sets are performed by either increasing the weight and reducing the no. of reps (pyramiding up), or by reducing the weight and increasing the no. of reps (pyramiding down) on each subsequent set.

Pyramid setup is great for taking mixed benefits that come from performing a workout with the different rep ranges. When pyramiding up with three sets, the first set can be done with low weights and a lot of reps (for endurance), second set with moderate weights and keeping the rep range at about 10-12, and the last set can be done with heavy weights and keeping the rep range low at around 6 (power sets).

Pre-exhaustion

In pre-exhaustion technique, the targeted muscle group is deliberately exhausted through an isolation exercise, before hitting it hard with a strength building compound movement (These two types of movement is described later in the article).Pre-exhaustion is an advanced technique that ensures that the targeted muscle is worked to complete failure.

On chest day, flyes, an isolation movement that works only the chest muscles, can be used to pre-exhaust the chest. If someone switches immediately to barbell bench press, since the chest is already fatigue from flyes, the pressing will rely mostly on the secondary muscles (triceps and front delts) to do the reps. Such a deliberate setup where the bigger chest muscle is already exhausted and the supported muscles are not, ensures that chest goes to complete failure before the smaller triceps and front delts. On a normal setup, there is always a possibility that the secondary smaller muscles reach failure, forcing the trainee to stop the set while there is still some gas left in the main muscle. Pre-exhaustion eliminates such chances.

Because of the way these workouts are designed, one has to take note to lift lighter poundages than usual when going for the second compound movement, else injuries may occur because of some loss of strength in the isolation movement.


Types of movements: Compound and Isolation

Compound movement: A movement in which two or more joints are involved in lifting and lowering the weight is called a compound movement.

All compound movements involve multiple muscle groups, with one primary muscle group and some other secondary muscle groups that either act as secondary lifters or as stabilisers in the lift. For example, an overhead pressing movement involves shoulders as the primary muscle group that takes the majority of the load, while triceps act as secondary assisting muscle groups in the lift.

Because of recruitment of many different muscle groups, compound movements are the best way to train the body of muscle coordination. The ability to fire the right muscles at the right time is something of prime importance in our day-to-day activities, compound movements train the body to do just that. One can lift fairly heavy weights in a compound movement, so they form a major part of any strength or hypertrophy training regimen.

Examples of compound movements: presses, rows, deadlifts, squats, chin ups, pulldowns, etc.

Isolation movement: A movement in which a single joint is involved in lifting an lowering of the weight, is called an isolation movement.

An isolation movement puts the entire emphasis on a single muscle group, with very little or no assistance from other muscles. Because of this reason, isolation movements are a good way to bring out some lagging body parts, without giving any effect on other muscles. For example, chest flyes, an isolation exercise for chest, recruits only the chest muscles. On the other hand, bench press, a compound movement for chest, involves chest as the primary muscle with triceps and front shoulders acting as secondary.

Someone can have a well developed deltoids from doing overhead presses, but he might feel the need to bring out the lateral(side) head a little more, for getting a wider look. This can be done by doing lateral dumbbell raises, which puts the entire load on the lateral head only, with no effect on the anterior or posterior head.

Because of involvement of a single muscle group, its not possible to go as heavy as a compound movement, and hence isolation movements are not the preferred ones used in strength training regimen. They are mostly used in situations where shaping out a lagging muscle group is needed, like pre-contest trainings etc.

Examples of isolation movements: curls, extensions, raises, etc.

Thats all dear readers. Thank you all for reading the article. If you have any queries or feedback, please leave a comment in the comments section, I will do my best to address the same.

Stay tuned for part 2 of the article, where I will be sharing additional techniques that can be used to further fatigue the muscle and stimulate additional growth, beyond failure point in a workout.


UPDATE: Click here for part 2 of this article.