If you’re new to the fitness scene and just starting on your health journey, the exercise techniques, special diets, gym equipment and specialised gear is a lot to take in. Learning fitness jargon is like learning a second language, and starting at the gym with unfamiliar equipment is a little like trying to drive a manual car when you’ve never had a lesson. We’ve collected some common fitness buzzwords and decoded them for you, to make your first few weeks in the health zone a little easier to understand.
Aerobic training
Aerobics doesn’t refer to the fitness trend that made leotards famous in the 80s, rather, it refers to any sort of exercise that raises your heartbeat that you can do for a long period of time, such as jogging, swimming and dancing. Also called cardio.
Anaerobic training
Anaerobic refers to any sort of exercise that will make you feel like you’re out of breath quickly, like sprinting.
DOMS
This is an acronym for delayed onset muscle soreness, and usually kicks in a few hours or a couple of days after intense exercise. This is the muscle soreness you experience after exercising, if you haven’t exercised in a long time, or if you spent a whole day moving house and wake up sore the next day.
HIIT
This acronym stands for High Intensity Interval Training and is a whole-body workout that involves short bursts of extreme activity with small rests in-between.
Strength & resistance training
This refers to exercises such as lifting weights, push ups, squats, resistance band exercises and using kettlebells.
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