The Technical Terms Used In Professional Body Building Training

The six terms described and exemplified below are part and parcel of the body building jargon used by professional body builders during their training. If you are headed to advanced levels of workout, it is advisable that you know what they mean and conceptualize their references. They are also an important part of your training routine and understanding them will help you in setting up an ideal training routine, geared towards success.

The first term we are going to describe is perfect technique and form. Variously, the perfect technique and form is also referred to as the proper exercise form. The term refers to the ability of a body builder to perform a particular exercise correctly, in such a way that the targeted muscles, and only the target muscles, receive all or at least the majority of the weight load. It also refers to the movement being contained within the natural range of motion for the particular body part.

When a body builder work keeps the perfect technique and form, both positive and negative portions of the movements are done gradually, deliberately and steady, each lasting between two and three seconds. However, when a body builder starts jerky movements, arching of the body, using momentum to bounce the weight and cheat motions, the perfect technique and form is lost. Exercise form requires absolute control of the body builder over the weight and the movement.

The second term is intensity. Intensity describes the ability of a body builder to accumulate a concentrated effort using the weight load, until muscles achieve an absolute failure. Intensity helps generate the optimal muscle growth stimulus. To measure, determine and control intensity, body builders integrate the number of sets and reps for every set, the poundage of training weight, the training frequency and duration and finally the rep speed.

Another term is super set. A super set occurs when a body builder performs a particular exercise for a singe set that is taken to absolute muscle failure. If a set comprises reps that push the muscle to failure, and then after the set is completed the body builder moves to another exercise immediately, that is a super set. Minimal rest duration is given between a super set and the consequent exercise, ranging at about five to ten seconds.

Drop set is another term used in body building training, especially in the intermediate and advanced stages. A drop set involves performing a single exercise for only one set, in which the muscles are pushed until they achieve absolute failure. After the firsts set, the weight being used is cut, or reduced rather, with a percentage ranging from 50 to 70. A minimal duration can be allowed for rest, similar to that used in the superset. Even the consequent set is taken to absolute muscle failure until the weight has been reduced completely and the muscles are optimally stimulated to grow.

A fifth term is compound movement. A compound movement is an exercise that places the weight load not only on the target muscle, but also recruiting other supporting muscles to bear the load. Finally, pre-exhaust is a term used to refer to the act of purposely fatiguing a target muscle or muscle group in a bid to optimally stimulation its growth. This is better done using absolute failure principle.