Strength training glossary: 36 terms in plain English

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1RM (one-rep max)

The heaviest load you can lift once with acceptable form. Almost every programming percentage keys off it, and you can estimate it from a submaximal set with the one rep max calculator.

Estimated 1RM (e1RM)

A 1RM inferred from reps and load rather than tested directly, usually via the Epley or Brzycki formula. Accurate to roughly 5% under 8 reps, and far less risky than a true max attempt.

%1RM

Load expressed as a share of your one-rep max. Strength blocks typically live at 80 to 95%, hypertrophy work at 60 to 80%.

RPE

Rate of perceived exertion on a 1 to 10 scale, where 10 means no reps left. It lets a program adapt to a bad day in a way that fixed percentages cannot.

RIR (reps in reserve)

How many reps you could still have done. RIR 2 equals RPE 8. Most hypertrophy sets are prescribed at 0 to 3 RIR.

Working set

A set at the prescribed load that counts toward training volume, as opposed to a warm-up ramp. Only working sets are counted in volume landmarks.

Tempo

The four-digit prescription for eccentric, pause, concentric and top pause, for example 3010. Slowing the eccentric raises time under tension without adding load.

Time under tension

Seconds the muscle spends loaded in a set. A useful lever when equipment caps your load, but a poor substitute for progressive overload on its own.

Range of motion

How far the joint travels in the rep. Full range at a lower load generally beats partial range at a higher one for hypertrophy, with lengthened positions doing the most work.

Programming

Volume

Total work done, most usefully counted as hard sets per muscle per week. Tonnage (sets × reps × load) is the other common definition; the two answer different questions.

Volume landmarks (MEV, MAV, MRV)

Minimum effective volume, maximum adaptive volume, maximum recoverable volume. The bracket a muscle group grows in before recovery becomes the limit. Plan yours with the volume calculator.

Frequency

Sessions per muscle group per week. Two to three beats one at matched weekly volume, mostly because the sets are less fatiguing when spread out.

Split

How you divide the body across the training week: full body, upper/lower, or push pull legs. The build is walked through in how to build a push pull legs split.

Compound lift

A movement crossing several joints, such as squat, deadlift, bench, row and press. Highest return per set, highest fatigue cost.

Isolation lift

A single-joint movement, such as a curl or lateral raise. Cheap in fatigue, which makes it the honest way to add volume to a lagging muscle. Movement picks in best exercises per muscle group.

Superset

Two exercises run back to back with no rest between them. Saves time, and costs performance on the second lift if the two share a muscle.

Rest interval

Time between sets. Under two minutes measurably cuts reps on compound work; the trade-off against session length is modelled in the rest interval calculator.

Mesocycle

A training block of roughly 4 to 8 weeks with one main goal, usually ending in a deload. The unit most programs are actually written in.

Periodization

Planned variation of volume and intensity across blocks. Linear, undulating and block are the common flavours; the comparison that matters to most lifters is strength versus hypertrophy.

Progression

Progressive overload

Adding stress over time through load, reps, sets, range or tempo. The one non-negotiable of strength training; everything else is a delivery method.

Double progression

Add reps within a rep range until the top is reached at every set, then add load and drop back to the bottom. The most durable scheme for accessory work.

Linear progression

Adding load every session. Works for months as a beginner and stops working exactly when recovery becomes the limit.

Deload

A planned lighter week, typically half the volume at the same load. Cheaper than the forced break that follows ignoring accumulated fatigue.

Plateau

Weeks with no progression at matched conditions. Usually a recovery, technique or volume problem rather than a program problem.

AMRAP

As many reps as possible in a set, taken to or near failure. A cheap way to measure progress without testing a true max, and it feeds an e1RM.

Recovery and nutrition

TDEE

Total daily energy expenditure: what you burn across a day including training and daily movement. The anchor for a surplus or deficit; work yours out with the TDEE and macro calculator.

BMR

Basal metabolic rate, the energy cost of staying alive at rest. It is the largest component of TDEE for most people, well ahead of training.

Macros

Protein, carbohydrate and fat targets in grams. Protein and total calories decide most body composition outcomes; the split of the rest is largely preference.

Protein target

Commonly 1.6 to 2.2 g per kg of bodyweight per day for lifters, with little added benefit above that range. Spread across three or four meals rather than one.

Surplus and deficit

Eating above or below TDEE. A surplus of 10 to 20% supports gaining; a deficit above 25% starts costing strength and lean mass.

DOMS

Delayed onset muscle soreness, peaking a day or two after unfamiliar work. A signal of novelty, not of a good session, and a poor guide to programming.

Tracking

Tonnage

Sets × reps × load, summed. Useful for tracking one lifter over time, misleading when comparing exercises or people.

PR (personal record)

A best at a given rep count, not only at one rep. A 5-rep PR is usually a better progress signal than a max attempt.

Plate math

Working out which plates load a bar to a target weight, per side. Trivial until it is 7 am and the weight is 102.5 kg; the barbell plate calculator does it.

Training log

The record of load, reps and RPE per set. Without it, progressive overload is a guess, and the second month of a program repeats the first.

Offline-first logging

A log that writes locally and needs no account or signal, which matters in basement gyms and on planes. Compared across apps in best offline workout trackers.

Definitions follow ACSM resistance training position stands, Schoenfeld et al. on volume and hypertrophy (J Sports Sci), and the RPE and RIR scales as defined by Zourdos et al. (2016). Last verified 12 August 2026.