You’ve probably come across different terms describing variants in training. So what do they all mean? People use them in different contexts and don’t always tend to get specific.
Here’s a list of some of the most common variables and what they mean:
Micro-cycle: This is a very short block of training (typically a week) usually ranging from five to ten days. It can also be defined as a set number of training sessions.
Meso-cycle: This is a larger block of training, usually lasting either two to six weeks focusing on the same physical attribute or possibly (depends) even focusing on the same type of training.
Frequency: Frequency refers to how often you do something in a given time frame. Generally, how many training sessions are in a week or how many times you train a certain muscle group or lift over the week or training cycle. For instance, training four times a week is a higher frequency than training twice a week. Also doing one set of squats per day every day in a week is training squats at a higher frequency than doing twenty sets only once a week even though the one day a week has more total sets of squats.
Intensity: In lifting, this refers to the percent of your 1RM (the percent of what you could lift for only one rep). This does not refer to how much of an effort it felt to do. For example, if you could lift 100kg for one rep and you did 25 reps at 60kg and were all hot, sweaty and exhausted from the set, lifting 65kg for one or two reps would still be lifting at a higher intensity even though it felt a lot easier. This is because you’ve lifted at a higher percent of your 1RM.
Volume: This refers to the amount of work you’ve done. This can apply to a set, a session, a week or a training cycle. So doing 15 reps is a greater volume than doing 5 reps even if the 5 reps was much harder to do. Another example is three sets of 15 is more volume than ten sets of two. GENERALLY there is an inverse relationship between volume and intensity where if you increase intensity overall volume drops.
Density: This is the amount of work done in a given time. For example, doing 10 sets in 20 minutes has a greater density than doing 10 sets in 30 minutes.
Rest: This is the time between sets. It is there to allow recovery or an adaptation to occur. It doesn’t need to be the space between the same exercise, but it can be. For example, in a circuit, it could be the time between each exercise. Even if everything else in a program is the same, just changing the rest can dramatically change the outcome or type of adaptation that occurs from training.
Tempo: Tempo is lifting speed. It is divided up into four numbers. The eccentric component of the lift (when you lengthen the working muscle), the pause after the eccentric, the concentric portion (when the working muscle contracts), and the pause after the concentric portion of the lift. Each number is how many seconds it takes to complete that portion of the lift. If the concentric portion is represented as an X, it is meant to be done explosively. So an example for a squat with a 42X1 tempo would be lowering it for 4 seconds, pausing at the bottom for 2 seconds, lifting as explosively as possible then pausing at the top for 1 second before the next rep.
Sequence:
You do all of A1 first. So you squat, rest 120 seconds, then squat again until finishing all 5 sets. Once finishing your squats you move onto your B series (split squats and hamstring curls). Because these have the same letter allocated to them they’re done together as exercise one and two (there’s no limit to how many exercises can be grouped, it can be more than two). This means that you’d do split squats rest 10 seconds then do hamstring curls, rest 45 seconds before going back to do set two of the split squats. After doing all your sets of both these exercises you then move onto your C series of reverse hypers.
Reps: This is an abbreviation for reputations. Reputations is simply how many times you do the exercise in a sequence. For example, if you’re squatting, every time you go down and come back up you have completed one rep.
Sets: This is putting your repetitions into groups. So one group of repetitions is one set. So if you did eight reps you’d have done one set of eight (sets can have any number of reps in them, even as low as 1 rep). Sets tells you how many groups of reps you need to do.
RM: This stands for repetitions maximum. All this means is that you did or are wanted to do as many reps as possible in that rep range. So if something’s an eight RM it means you pick a weight that you can do exactly eight reps with and you do the full eight reps. If you did just one more rep you’d either not be able to lift it or your technique would change/breakdown, which now makes it a different exercise anyway.
TUT: Stands for Time Under Tension. Every muscle is under tension when it is lifting and TUT refers to how long a period of time a muscle stays under tension. This is generally over a single set or more commonly a training session, though it could be over any time really.
ROFD: An acronym for Rate of Force Development. This is about not just how much force is or can be created but how fast it either is or can be created. So it’s force in a time dependent situation. This relates mostly to training for sports or particular activities where it’s important to be able to express the force you can generate in the shortest time possible or you only have a minimal amount of time to generate the force needed to perform the activity. Examples are sprinting: where if you spend too much time on the ground creating the force needed you loose that time, or if you’re playing a sport where you need to change direction in order to avoid being tackled you only have a limited amount of time to stay in contact with the ground to produce enough force to overcome your body inertia. If you spend a few seconds in the same place trying to generate the needed force you’ll just get tackled because you took too long.
De-Load: A de-load is a planned period of time to reduce your training to facilitate recovery as recovery is where progression actually lies, training is just the stress to be overcome. An example of a de-load would be reducing the amount of sets you do by 40% for one week in every four. Not the only way, just one example.
If you want to take your training to the next level, come in and see us for a tailored exercise program factoring in all of the above components!
