The words used on this site, defined plainly. Most of them are things a trainer will say to you in the first month, and knowing them in advance removes one more reason to feel out of place.
Gradually increasing what you ask your body to do, usually by adding weight, repetitions or sets over weeks. It is the one principle every training programme has to obey. Without it a routine becomes a habit rather than a stimulus, which is why doing the same session for a year stops producing change.
Source: www.nhs.uk
A movement that uses several joints and large amounts of muscle at once, such as a squat, a deadlift, a press or a row. Programmes are built around a handful of these because they produce the most adaptation per minute spent, which matters when a week has limited hours in it.
Source: www.nhs.uk
Also known as: Rate of perceived exertion, Reps in reserve.
A scale for how hard a set felt, usually expressed as how many repetitions you could still have done. It lets a programme adjust to a bad night of sleep without abandoning the plan, which makes it considerably more useful than a fixed percentage of a maximum.
The load you actually train with on a movement, as distinct from a one-off maximum. It is the number that should move over weeks, and watching it move is the most reliable evidence that a programme is working. Most people see their working weights rise within the first six weeks.
A planned lighter week, usually every fourth to eighth week, that lets accumulated fatigue clear while keeping the habit. It is not a break from training and it is not a sign of weakness. Programmes that never deload tend to end in an injury or in quietly stopping.
Source: www.nhs.uk
An increase in the size of muscle fibres in response to training. It happens slowly and it requires both a training stimulus and enough food to build with, which is why it is close to impossible to accidentally become bulky while eating in a deficit.
Source: www.nhs.uk
The proportions of muscle, fat, bone and water making up your body weight, rather than the weight itself. It is the reason a scale can be flat for two months while everything about how you look and what you can lift has changed.
Source: www.nhs.uk
The amount of mineral packed into bone tissue. It falls faster in the years around menopause than at any other point in adult life, and loading the skeleton through resistance training is the main training input that acts on it.
Source: www.nhs.uk
The age-related loss of muscle mass and strength. It starts earlier than most people expect and it is slowed most effectively by resistance training, which is the practical argument for lifting weights in your forties rather than your seventies.
Source: www.nhs.uk
The sling of muscle across the base of the pelvis that supports the bladder, bowel and uterus and works with the abdominal wall during effort. Symptoms such as leaking or heaviness are for a physiotherapist or a doctor to assess. A trainer works around them and does not diagnose them.
Source: www.nhs.uk
Also known as: Abdominal separation.
A widening of the gap between the two halves of the abdominal wall, common in late pregnancy and often narrowing on its own afterwards. Assessment belongs to a physiotherapist. A trainer adjusts what and how you load while that assessment happens.
Source: www.nhs.uk
The graded rebuild of training after having a baby, beginning after a postnatal check. Tissue recovery does not follow the six-week appointment, so intensity is added last rather than first, and anything painful is a reason to be assessed rather than to continue.
Source: www.nhs.uk
The years of hormonal change leading up to the last period, often bringing disrupted sleep, aching joints, slower recovery and shifts in body composition. Symptoms and treatment are matters for a doctor. What a trainer adjusts is programming, recovery and the way progress is measured.
Source: www.nhs.uk
Also known as: Antenatal training.
Training during pregnancy, which current NHS advice supports for most pregnancies. Loads reduce as the pregnancy progresses and some positions become unavailable. Any complication makes it a decision for a midwife or obstetrician rather than a trainer.
Source: www.nhs.uk
The specific dread of being watched, judged or shown up in a gym, which stops a large number of people starting at all. It responds to structure rather than to reassurance: knowing where to go, what to do, in what order and when it ends removes most of the load.
Source: www.nhs.uk
Also known as: Personal training, 1-2-1 training.
A coached session with a single trainer, usually 45 or 60 minutes, on the gym floor rather than in a class. What separates good coaching from supervision is whether the sessions follow a written plan that changes as you get stronger.
Source: cimspa.co.uk
The written structure behind the sessions: which movements, at what loads, for how many weeks, and what changes when. It is the part you are actually paying for, and a trainer who cannot show it to you is selling supervision instead.
Also known as: Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity.
The professional body for the sport and physical activity sector in the United Kingdom, which maintains a directory of qualified practitioners. Personal training is not a protected profession here, so checking a qualification is left to the person buying it.
Source: cimspa.co.uk
The boundary of what a professional is qualified to do. For a personal trainer it covers training and general activity guidance, and it stops at diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation of an injury and clinical nutrition. A trainer who names their limits clearly has thought about them.
The service that takes an enquiry from this site and arranges an introduction to an independent trainer at one of four UNTIL clubs in central London. It is operated by the UNTIL group, which owns this site. No payment passes per enquiry.