When you get to the gym and take a look at the workout, it can appear to be written in a foreign language. How do you begin deciphering what’s on the whiteboard?
Reading the workout gets easier with experience. But there are a few common terms and acronyms that it’s helpful to be familiar with to give you a jumpstart or a refresher.
1RM: One Rep Max
Your 1RM is the maximum amount of weight you can lift for a single repetition of a specific movement. Most workouts focused on building strength program weight in terms of your 1RM or based on a percentage of your 1RM.
Example: 3 x Back Squat at 65% 1RM
AMRAP: As Many Rounds As Possible
A type of workout where you complete “as many rounds as possible” (or sometimes, as many reps as possible) in a specific time limit. That means you have a certain number of minutes to repeat the movements listed, aiming to do as much as possible.
BW: Bodyweight
Bodyweight is sometimes used to prescribe the weight in workouts.
Example:
AMRAP 20:
14-12-10-8-6-4-2
Back Squat (BW)
C&J: Clean and Jerk
The clean and jerk combines two weightlifting movements (usually performed with a barbell) – the clean and the jerk.
DB: Dumbbell
Dumbbell exercises add variety to your workouts. Rather than using a barbell, the workout is programmed with a single dumbbell or a pair of them.
Example:
3 Rounds:
15 DB Hang Split Snatch (Right) (50/35)
15 DB Hang Split Snatch (Left)
400m Run
EMOM: Every Minute on the Minute
A type of workout where you do a sequence of movements “every minute on the minute,” usually taking the remaining time left in each minute to rest.
Example:
EMOM for 15 minutes
5 Thrusters (95/65 lb)
5 Front Squats (95/65 lb)
5 Push-ups
GHD: Glute-Hamstring Developer
The GHD itself is a piece of equipment usually used in movements that target your core muscles, like sit-ups and back extensions.
Example:
3 Rounds
500m Row
20 KB Swings
15 GHD Sit-ups
HSPU: Handstand Push-up
A handstand push-up is an inverted/vertical push-up, usually done against a wall.
Example: 5 Rounds
15 Handstand Push-Ups
15 Ring Dips
1000/800m Row
KB: Kettlebell
A kettlebell looks like a metal cannonball with a handle. KBs are typically used for movements like kettlebell swings (KB swings), goblet squats, and certain core exercises.
RFT: Rounds for Time
A workout programming structure where you must complete “X” rounds of a given set of exercises, as fast as possible.
Example: 5 RFT
15 calorie Row
10 Pull-ups
5 C&J (95lbs/55lbs)
RX: as Prescribed, or as “RX’d”
“RX” means that a workout has been completed “as prescribed.” A workout is as prescribed when it’s completed with the exact number of reps and weights as the workout calls for. If an athlete has scaled or modified the workout, then it is no longer as Rx’d.
Tabata
Tabata is an interval training methodology that includes 8 rounds of 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest.
Example:
Tabata Squats: 20 seconds of squats, 10 seconds rest (repeated 8 times for a total of 4 minutes)
WOD: Workout of the Day
The WOD is the “workout of the day.” Usually written on a whiteboard or displayed on a screen, the WOD lays out the specifics of what the workout entails.
Are you interested in making classes at Rhapsody Fitness part of your workout routine? To learn more about Rhapsody Fitness in Charleston and our range of programs, get in touch with Team Rhapsody today.
