Strength training glossary

Every definition written for our PDF programs, gathered on one page: the vocabulary of the session, the programming and the recovery, without needless jargon.

261 terms

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1.5 rep: One full rep plus a half rep in the hardest zone: it extends time under tension without changing load.
12-minute run: Cover the greatest possible distance in 12 minutes. A common variant of the 3000 m in recruitment tests.
1RM: Heaviest load lifted once on a movement. Estimated here through RIR rather than tested every month.
30/30 intervals: Alternating 30 seconds of marked effort and 30 very easy seconds: the cardio capacity of a ski day, in short form.

A

A session / B session: The two versions of the same day: A steers the session toward strength on the bars, B toward hypertrophy and isolation.
Achilles tendon: Tendon linking the calf to the heel, returning part of the energy of the stride. It adapts slowly, over weeks: the long tempos are for it.
Active stretch: Range produced by your own muscles, without help from hands or gravity. Harder, but it is the one that stays.
Agonist / antagonist: Muscles with opposite functions (push / pull, front / back). Pairing them in a superset lets one recover while the other works.
AMRAP: As Many Reps As Possible: a set taken to the max of clean reps. Here, always keep one rep in reserve.
Anchor: Fixed point the band is attached to: door anchor placed on the side opposite the opening, a post, or any support that cannot move. Test it with one sharp pull before every set.
Antagonist superset: Two exercises from opposite groups linked with no rest, push then pull. Saves time without costing load.
Anterior cruciate ligament: Central ligament of the knee, often shortened to ACL. Its rupture most often happens without contact and affects women far more than men.
Anti-extension: Bracing that stops the lower back arching under load: weighted plank, dead bug. It sends force from the legs to the bar.
Anti-extension core work: Trunk work that stops the low back from arching: plank, dead bug. That is the useful core work, far from sets of crunches.
Anti-lateral flexion: Refusing to lean sideways under a load carried in one hand: side plank, suitcase carry.
Anti-movement core work: Core training where the trunk resists a movement instead of producing it. The function trained throughout this program.
Anti-rotation: Core work where the job is to prevent a movement rather than produce one. It is what holds the line of your stride late in a race.
Archer push-up: Push-up where one arm works while the other, straight out to the side, assists: a step towards the one-arm push-up.
Ascending profile: How resistance changes across the range: a band resists more and more as it stretches, peaking at the end of the movement. The opposite of a dumbbell, which weighs the same from start to finish.
Assistance band: A band fixed to the bar that carries part of your body weight. The thinner it is, the less it helps: that is the progression.
Axial loading: When the weight travels through the spine and the hips: squat, deadlift, shoulder press, carries. It is the most direct stimulus for bone.

B

Back-off set: An extra set lightened by 15 to 25 % after the heavy sets, done for more reps. It adds volume without adding load on the joints.
Bilateral / unilateral: Two supports or two arms versus one. Going unilateral concentrates tension on one side and adds an anti-rotation core demand.
Bird dog: On all fours, opposite arm and leg reaching out, pelvis still. Takes over from the dead bug from the second trimester.
Block / Phase: The block is the full twelve-week programme; a phase is a quarter of it, three weeks with their own intent and their own numbers.
Block and phase: The block is the whole 9 weeks; the phase is a group of 3 weeks with its own intention. Progression happens between phases, not between sessions.
Block M: The first part of every session: two mobility moves aimed at what sitting locks up.
Bone mineral density: The amount of mineral held in a volume of bone. It falls as estrogen declines, and both its measurement and its interpretation are for the doctor.
Box jump: A jump onto a sturdy box: it teaches maximal take-off with a cushioned landing. Always walk back down.
Breathing on effort: Breathe out during the part that pushes or pulls, breathe in on the way back. Never hold your breath, never lock it under a push.
Burpee broad jump: Burpee followed by a jump forward, repeated over 80 m. The station that raises the heart rate the most.

C

Caloric deficit: Eating below your maintenance. Here 300 to 500 kcal a day, that is a loss of 0.3 to 0.7 % of body weight per week.
Clean: Bringing the kettlebell from the floor or from between the legs to the rack in one move, without it crashing onto the forearm.
Collision load: Cost imposed by the impacts, tackles and rucks of a match: it adds to running load and is recovered more slowly.
Concentric-dominant: Effort centred on the push phase, with no braked descent and no bounce: little muscle damage, fast recovery. The mode of the MD-2 jumps.
Continuous breathing: Exhale during effort, inhale on the return, never holding the breath. Rule number one of every set in this programme.
Contract-relax: Contract the stretched muscle 5 s against a fixed support, release on the exhale, then sink one notch deeper. The phase 2 method.
Contrast: Pairing a heavy exercise and an explosive one in the same part of a session. The heavy primes the nervous system, the explosive exploits that state.
Control, production, speed: The neuromuscular progression of the block: first hold the position, then produce force, then produce it fast.
Controlled impact: Brief, fast contact with the ground, dosed and progressive: dropped heel raise, jump rope, small jump, lateral jump. Controlled means a cushioned landing and limited volume.
Copenhagen plank: Side plank with the top leg resting on a bench: adductor strengthening, the key area for a footballer.
Countermovement: The quick dip before take-off: it loads the muscles with tension and makes you jump higher than from a dead start.
Cushioned landing: A controlled, silent landing, with ankle, knee and hip bending together. It is mastered before any jump work.
Cycle: A 3-week loop that repeats all season, reassessed at the end of each loop: performance, freshness, sleep, motivation.

D

Dead bug: Floor core drill: lower back pinned down, opposite arm and leg reaching away slowly. The program's anti-extension standard.
Dead stop: Bar fully set down on the floor between reps, position taken again from scratch: removes the bounce in the deadlift.
Deceleration: The ability to brake the body: every change of direction on court starts with a successful stop.
Deep squat: Full squat, hips below knees, heels down. A resting position before being an exercise.
Deload: A short unloading period to shed accumulated fatigue. Here week 1 already plays that role every cycle, which makes an extra deload rarely necessary.
Density: Amount of work relative to session time. Training density means doing more reps with less load: that is the logic of week 4.
Density set: A rep total to reach within a fixed time (here 2 minutes), in as many mini-sets as needed. Maximum work per minute, with no risk of overrunning.
Diet break: One to two full weeks at caloric maintenance. Taken when the refeed unblocked nothing, or at the end of a block.
Dorsiflexion: Range of the knee travelling forward with the foot flat. Ankle too stiff: heels lifting in the squat and a shallow catch.
Double progression: The progression method of this program: first add reps up to the top of the range, and only then add load and start again from the bottom.
Downhill: The descent. Quads and calves work there in braking: it is the first cause of muscle damage in trail, well ahead of the climbs.
Drop jump: Stepping off a low box then rebounding immediately: the most effective and most costly exercise of the block. It only appears in weeks 7 and 8.
Dropset: On the last set only: as soon as you stop, you drop the load by 15 to 25 % and carry straight on with no rest. Machines and cables only, never the free bar.
Dropset / Rest-pause: Dropset: drop the load by 25 % and keep going. Rest-pause: 20 s pause then more reps with the same load.
Dynamic bracing: A hold where a limb moves while the trunk stays still: shoulder taps, slow climber, bird dog.
Dynamic valgus: Knee caving inward during a foot strike or a landing. It is the most closely watched positioning fault in this program.

E

Eccentric: Phase where the muscle brakes while lengthening: the lowering of a movement, and every stride downhill. The most demanding regime, and the most protective once trained.
Effective volume: The number of sets per muscle per week that is really useful: 5 to 10 at high efficiency, 11 to 18 in the middle zone, beyond that returns drop.
End-range strength: The ability to produce tension where the muscle is most stretched or most shortened: what holds a développé or an active split.
Entry test: The scores measured in week 1 under test conditions. They serve as the reference for the whole block.
Estrogen: Hormones whose concentration peaks at the end of the follicular phase. Their anabolic effect partly explains the better performances measured at that point of the cycle.
Eumenorrhea: A regular, spontaneous menstrual cycle. This is the population covered by the studies behind this program.
External rotation: The thigh turns outwards. Worked by pushing the knees out on the squat and during the monster walk.

F

Face pull: Rope pull toward the forehead, elbows high, finished in external rotation. It strengthens the rear shoulder and the cuff.
Fallout: Arms long, the hands travel out in front and back, hips locked: the straps' signature core drill.
Farmer's walk: Walking loaded without leaning. With a single kettlebell, the suitcase version (one hand) becomes an anti-lean core exercise as much as a grip one.
Farmers carry: Carrying two loads over 200 m. Grip and core decide it, not the strength of the arms.
Ferritin: The iron storage protein, and the only good marker of your stores. Serum iron varies too much to be read on its own.
Floor press: Bench press lying on the floor: the elbows stop at the floor, which protects the shoulders and replaces the bench.
Follicular phase: From day 1 to day 14. It covers the period at the start, then the rise in estrogen that makes it the most productive stretch of the cycle.
Forwards / backs: The forwards (1 to 8) carry the scrum and the rucks; the backs (9 to 15) run, tackle and change direction.
Free weights: Dumbbells and bars, whose path you hold yourself. More demanding, more useful in daily life.
Front rack: Bar resting on the front delts, elbows high. Needs free wrists, triceps and thorax: it is the prerequisite of the clean and the thruster.
Full body: A session that works the whole body. With three sessions a week, each muscle group is stimulated three times, which suits a beginner particularly well.
Full range: Covering the whole joint range available, especially the bottom position where the muscle is most stretched. It comes before the number of reps.
Full range of motion: Covering the whole available joint travel, from most stretched to most shortened. Non-negotiable, even when rest shortens.

G

Gastrocnemius: The two superficial calf heads, active with the knee straight: standing calf raises target them, never seated calf raises.
Gentle pelvic floor engagement: On the exhale, lightly draw up the pelvic floor, as if holding back, then release completely. Gentle, never maximal.
Glute bridge: On your back, feet on the floor, hips rising by pushing through the heels: the first glute exercise of the block.
Gluteus maximus: The biggest of the three. It extends the hip and helps with abduction and external rotation of the thigh.
Gluteus medius: Lateral hip muscle. It holds the pelvis and stops the knee caving in: hence its place in the warm-up and in every part B or C.
Goblet: Kettlebell held by the horns against the chest, elbows tucked in: the grip that makes the squat easier to keep upright.
Good morning: Bar on the back, hips pushed back, torso lowering towards horizontal: the hip hinge under a light load.
Grip: Hand and forearm strength. The first link to fail in judo and grappling, and a good marker of general fatigue.
Grip strength: The gripping force of the hand. Easy to track, it follows the change in overall muscle mass and is trained by carries and hangs.
Ground contact time: How long the foot touches the ground. The shorter it is at equal jump height, the more reactive the strike: the progress criterion in phase 4.
Guided machine: A machine that imposes the path of the movement. Little technique needed, little nervous fatigue: ideal to start.

H

Hamstrings: The muscles at the back of the thigh: they decide your straight-leg forward fold.
Handle band: Tube band fitted with handles, usually sold with a door anchor: the tool for the presses, rows and curls in this program.
Heavy set: Set of a main lift in the strength zone, on its dedicated day. Your weekly counter runs from 2 to 6 per lift.
Hip abduction: The thigh moves away from the body's axis. Trained on the machine and the band monster walk, in long sets.
Hip dominant: Family of movements where the hip joint does the work and the knee barely moves: hip thrust, Romanian deadlift, pull through. The core of glute training.
Hip extension: The thigh returns in line with the torso. First function of the glute max, the one that carries the most load.
Hip flexors: Muscles at the front of the hip, shortened by hours of sitting. They tip the pelvis forward and arch the lower back.
Hip hinge: Bending of the trunk driven by the hips travelling back, shins almost vertical and a flat back. It is the pattern of the swing, the clean and the deadlift. Not to be confused with the squat, where the knees travel forward and the hips drop.
Hip thrust: Hip extension with the upper back on a bench, bar resting on the hip crease. It is the exercise that puts the most tension on the glutes in the shortened position.
Hollow: On your back, lower back glued to the floor, shoulders and legs lifted: the gymnasts' core position.
Hollow hold: Core hold on your back, low back pinned, legs and shoulders off the floor: the base of bodyweight core work.
Hypertrophy: Growth in the volume of the muscle fibres. It takes mechanical tension, repeated volume and enough calories coming in.

I

Intent to move fast: Lifting the load as fast as possible, even if the bar moves slowly: it is the intent that recruits the nervous system.
Inverted row: Horizontal pull of the body under a solid table or a low bar: the pull with no equipment.
Iso overcoming: Isometric where you push into a fixed resistance (hand, wall) for 5 s: very effective for the neck, with no range of motion.
Iso yielding: An isometric where you hold a position under load without moving. Very low neural cost: compatible with a game close by.
Isometrics: Contraction without movement: the muscle holds a position, as in the wall sit. The regime closest to the ski stance.
IT band syndrome: Common name for outer-knee pain in runners, linked to the iliotibial band. Strengthening the gluteus medius is the classic training answer.

K

Kipping: A hip movement that launches the pull-up or the dip. Fast and economical, but it hides a weak pull instead of building it.
Knee / Hip dominant: Leg patterns: knee-flexion dominant (squat) or hip-flexion dominant (deadlifts, hip thrust).
Knee dominant: Family where the knee bends a lot: squat, leg press, lunges, split squat. The quads lead, and the glutes join in all the more as the range gets longer.
Knee straight / knee bent: The two working positions for the calf. Knee straight targets the superficial muscle of the relevé, knee bent the deep muscle of the demi-plié.

L

Landing: The touchdown phase of a jump. Silent and aligned = joints protected. It is trained before you chase height.
Landmine 180: Bar wedged in a corner, end held in both hands: rotation from hip to hip, the reference for resisted rotation.
Lever: Distance between the support and the weight to control. Lengthening it hardens the exercise with no load or time added.
Leverage: Body position that makes an exercise harder or easier at constant weight: raising the feet, lengthening the body, removing a support.
Loaded carry: Walking while holding a dumbbell on one side only, trunk tall: the direct transfer from the program to everyday carrying.
Loading: Mechanical stress applied to the skeleton by a weight carried or lifted. It is the main signal that drives bone to densify.
Luteal phase: From day 17 to day 28. Progesterone dominates, body temperature rises slightly and the body oxidises more fat.

M

Maintenance: Volume cut to a third or a quarter of development volume, enough to keep a quality without costing freshness. That is the logic of phase 4.
Maintenance volume: 1/3 to 1/4 of the development volume: the minimum dose that keeps the strength you gained without creating useless fatigue.
Mark: The number that objectifies a position: hands-to-floor distance, grip width, squat depth. No mark, no visible progress.
Maximal strength: Ability to produce high tension over few reps. It is trained between 4 and 6 reps with long rest times.
MD-1 / MD-2: Match Day minus 1 or minus 2: the day before or two days before a match. The marker for placing the power session.
MD+2 / MD-2: MD = Match Day, game day. MD+2 = 2 days after the game, MD-2 = 2 days before. Both sessions are set by these markers.
MD+3 / MD-2: Markers set on Match Day (the day of the match): MD+3 = 3 days after the match, MD-2 = 2 days before the next one.
Med ball: Weighted ball used for explosive throws: force production with no impact and no heavy load on the back.
Menopause: Permanent end of the menstrual cycles, confirmed after twelve consecutive months without periods. Estrogen production then drops lastingly.
Menstrual cycle: Time between the first day of bleeding and the first day of the next bleed. 28 days in 60 % of female athletes, around 21 days in 28 % of them, 30 to 35 days in 10 to 12 %.
Mini-band: Small closed loop band, placed above the knees or at the ankles, used for the hips and glutes (lateral walk, bridge).
Minimum effective dose: The smallest training volume that still produces adaptation: about 4 sets per muscle per week for hypertrophy. The openly stated frame of this program.
Monster walk: Half-squat walk with a mini-band at the knees, diagonal or lateral steps: the reference exercise for the gluteus medius.

N

NEAT: All activity expenditure outside the session: walking, moving about, daily gestures. It is the 8 000 to 10 000 steps lever.
Neck isometric: Neck contraction with no movement, against the hand or a fixed support: the safest way to strengthen the cervical spine.
Neck isometrics: Contraction without movement against your own hand: the safest way to strengthen the neck before any loaded work.
Nervous cost: Nervous system fatigue left by a heavy session. It requires 48 to 72 hours between two maximal axial sessions.
Neural cost: The fatigue an exercise imposes on the nervous system. High for heavy work and hops, almost nil for isometrics: it decides where each exercise sits in the week.
Neutral back: Natural curves kept, neither arched nor rounded. The reference position on every exercise in the program.
Neutral pelvis: Pelvis neither tilted forward nor tucked, ribs down above it. The reference position for every exercise in the block.
Nordic curl: Braked descent of the torso from kneeling, ankles locked. The reference eccentric exercise for the hamstrings, very sore the first few times.

O

Obliques: On the sides of the trunk. They turn the torso, bend it, and above all resist: twist, bicycle, side plank.
Osteoporosis: Medical term for established bone fragility. Its diagnosis and management are exclusively the doctor's remit: this programme does not address it.
Overhead lockout: Arms straight overhead, elbows locked, ribs down, ears clear. The position that decides every overhead movement.
Ovulation: Around days 14 to 16. Release of the egg after a peak in the hormones LH and FSH, followed by a fall in estrogen.

P

Pallof press: Anti-rotation exercise: band anchored to the side, arms extended in front, torso resisting the pull. Vertical version: band anchored low, pressed overhead.
Parts A, B, C: Order of decreasing demand within the session: A development, B targeted stimulation, C maintenance. The volume of C is about a third of that of A.
Passive static: Holding a stretch without moving, muscles relaxed, letting gravity or a support do the work.
Patellar tendon: Tendon below the kneecap, heavily loaded by jumps and landings. The classic in-season weak point of the basketball player.
Pattern: A fundamental movement shape. There are six, and every machine in the gym is a variation of one.
Pelvic tilt: Tilting the pelvis to pin the lower back to the floor. The prerequisite of every lying exercise here.
Perimenopause: The transition period preceding menopause, marked by irregular cycles and fluctuating hormone production. It can last several years.
Pike: Inverted-V push-up, hips high: shifts the push toward vertical to target the shoulders.
Pike push-up: Push-up in an inverted V, hips high: it moves the push towards vertical to target the shoulders.
Pistol squat: Squat on one leg, the other held straight out front. The assisted version (hand on a support) is the learning step.
Plyometrics: Jump and bounce work where the muscle is stretched then shortened very fast. Trained only after strength, in low volume and with controlled landings.
Pogo: Bounces with legs almost straight, produced by the ankles and the Achilles tendon: the base of elastic spring.
Posterior chain: Hamstrings, glutes and spinal erectors. It is the engine of the propulsion phase in running and the first determinant of top speed.
Power: The ability to produce force quickly. It declines faster than maximal strength with age and is the subject of phase 4 of the block.
PPL: Push, Pull, Legs: sessions split by movement. Pushing, pulling, legs, each region trained twice a week.
Pre-fatigue: Light isolation work done right before a main exercise so the target muscle works earlier in the set. Used in phase 3 on the squat and the deadlift.
Pre-stretch: Tension already present in the band at the start position. Shortening the grip or stepping away from the anchor increases pre-stretch: resistance rises across the whole range without changing bands.
Prerequisite: The minimum range and control without which a movement does not go on the sheet. It is the filter applied to every exercise of the block.
Progesterone: The dominant hormone of the luteal phase. It raises resting body temperature by about half a degree and shifts the use of energy substrates.
Proprioception: Sensing the body's position without looking. It is what lets the foot correct an unstable stance instantly.
Protein: 1.6 to 2.2 g per kilo of body weight per day. In a deficit it is the priority intake, spread over three to four servings.
Pull-up negative: The lowering half of the pull-up only, in five seconds, starting chin over the bar. The doorway to the strict pull-up.
Push / Pull: Pushing / pulling. Horizontal (0 to 45 degrees) or vertical (45 to 90 degrees) depending on the angle.

R

Rack: The kettlebell resting against the forearm and the chest, wrist neutral, elbow glued to the ribs: the start of the press and the finish of the clean.
Rack pull: Partial deadlift, bar starting from supports at knee height: trains the lockout and the upper back.
Ramp-up sets: Light, progressive sets that come before the working load. They prime the pattern and are never logged in the tracking columns.
Range of motion: Distance the joint travels in one rep. Here it shrinks trimester after trimester: that is planned, not a setback.
Rear delt: Posterior deltoid. The most common upper body lag: here 11 sets a week, in face pull and rear delt fly.
Rectus abdominis: The six-pack muscle, from sternum to pubis. It flexes the trunk: crunch, toe touch, hollow hold.
Refeed: One to two days at maintenance, carbs raised, in the middle of a deficit phase. Used to restart a stalled loss.
Reference position: Body rigid from head to heels, hips locked, straps taut: the base posture of every strap exercise.
Regression: A simpler version of a movement in the same pattern, chosen when the prerequisite is missing. It keeps the slot of the exercise in the session.
Rehearsal: The events chained under near-real conditions at the end of each phase 2 week. The best indicator of the day.
Relative strength: Your strength relative to body weight. It is what converts into height: a heavier squat at the same body weight jumps higher.
Rep: One complete movement, there and back: one way down and one way up. Short for repetition.
Rest: The time between two sets, timer in hand. Too short and the next set collapses.
Rest-pause: On the last set only: you go near failure, you rack it for 15 to 20 seconds, then resume with the same load to the limit. A density technique.
RIR: Reps In Reserve: the number of reps you could still do cleanly at the end of a set. RIR 2 means stopping two reps before technique degrades.
Rocking: A small rhythmic movement easing in and out of a range, without bounce or jerk.
Romanian deadlift: A loaded hip hinge, legs almost straight, dumbbells grazing the thighs all the way down.
Rotational power: The ability to produce speed while turning. It is what sends the strike: it starts in the legs and hips, not the arm.
Rotator cuff: The four small muscles that stabilise the shoulder. Smashes and bandejas wear them out: this programme strengthens them first.
Roxzone: The corridor between the running track and the station. The time spent there counts: it is trained like the rest.
RPE: Rating of Perceived Exertion: felt difficulty of a set, from 1 to 10. RPE 8 is around RIR 2.

S

Sandbag lunges: Walking lunges over 100 m with a bag on the shoulders, back knee to the floor on every step.
Sarcopenia: Progressive age-related loss of muscle mass and strength. Resistance training is the best-documented lever for slowing it down.
Scaption: Raising the arms about 30 degrees in front of the body, in the plane of the scapula: the safest angle for the shoulder.
Scapular control: The ability to set the shoulder blades before pulling. That is what the scapular pull-up builds, prerequisite of the muscle-up transition.
Set: A group of reps done one after the other without stopping. “3 x 10” = three sets of ten reps.
SFR: Stimulus to fatigue ratio of an exercise. Stretch bias and full range give the best ratio; machines cost little fatigue.
Shapes I, A, T: Angle of the arm to the torso: I elbows tight along the ribs, A elbows at 45 degrees, T elbows at 90 degrees.
Shuttle run: Runs between two lines 20 m apart, at an imposed pace that keeps accelerating. The beep test format.
Single-leg: Exercise on one leg only. That is the real situation in running: at no point does a runner have both feet on the ground.
Single-leg stance: Standing on one foot. The basis of balance in dance: it is trained with strength and proprioception, not only with static balance.
Single-leg stand: Holding balance on one leg. Both a simple test and direct training for fall prevention.
Single-leg work: Work on one leg at a time: it fixes the left-right gaps that skiing punishes at every change of support.
Sissy squat: Knee bend with torso and hips in one line, heels raised: isolates the quads, straps as counterweight.
Skater: Lateral hop from one leg to the other, balanced landing: the pattern of moving between glass and net.
Skater jumps: Lateral bounds from one leg to the other, stabilised landing: the ski-turn support, reproduced in the gym.
Skater squat: Unilateral squat where the free leg travels back, knee towards the floor: less mobility needed than the pistol.
Ski erg: Vertical pulling machine that mimics the push of a cross-country skier. First station of the race, over 1000 m.
Sled pull: Pulling a loaded sled over 50 m by the rope, walking backwards. It loads the back, the arms and the grip.
Sled push: Pushing a loaded sled over 50 m, in four lengths of 12.5 m. The most costly station of all for the quads.
Sliding rotation: In a 5-day week, shifting the sessions without deleting any: the cycle of six closes in eight days instead of seven.
Snatch: Bringing the kettlebell from the floor to a locked arm overhead in one single move, the wrist turning around the handle without banging.
Soleus: Deep calf muscle, active with the knee bent. It absorbs most of the impact at each foot strike: it is only trained seated, knee bent.
Soreness: Diffuse muscle pain that shows up 24 to 48 h after the effort. It is neither a sign of quality nor an injury.
Spanish squat: Isometric squat with a strap behind the knees, shins vertical: it loads the patellar tendon without crushing the joint.
Specialisation: Short block where one region gets a high volume while the rest goes into maintenance. Here: the upper body, over eight weeks.
Speed intent: Pushing the load as fast as possible, even if it moves slowly: it is the intent that recruits the nervous system.
Split squat: A static lunge, one foot forward and one back, straight down: the best value unilateral exercise for the legs.
Split stance: A split step position, one foot in front of the other. An intermediate step between two-leg work and single-leg work.
Sprint-brake: Padel's permanent sequence: accelerate over 2 or 3 metres then brake hard. Calves and footing on the front line.
Stage: Level reached on the shuttle test: speed rises at every stage, your score is the last stage completed.
Strap pass-over: Strap held with straight arms, passed from front to back overhead. Grip width measures your shoulder progress.
Strap row: Horizontal pull of the body toward the anchor, handles in hand: the move straps do better than any home tool.
Strength endurance: The ability to repeat a loaded effort without losing quality: the sets of 12-15 and more in phase 2 build it.
Strength zone: Range of 1 to 5 reps per set, with 3 to 5 minutes of rest: the zone where strength develops most efficiently.
Stretch bias: Placing the peak load where the muscle is most lengthened: deficit deadlift, high-foot leg press, cable fly. The best stimulus to fatigue ratio known.
Stretch-shortening cycle: A fast stretch immediately followed by a shortening. It is what makes a running foot strike more powerful than a pure push.
Strict: Execution with no swing and no leg drive. Strict always comes before its kipping version in this program.
Suitcase carry: Walking with a load on one side only, torso upright: the trunk resists the tilt, like carrying a shopping bag.
Superset: Two exercises back to back with no rest (A1 then A2), followed by a real rest. The format that fits development into 10 minutes.
Swing: Projecting the kettlebell in front of you with an explosive hip extension, arms relaxed and only going along for the ride. It brushes the top of the thighs at the bottom and stops at chest height at the top. Not a squat, not a front raise: the arms never pull.
Swiss ball: Large gym ball. Against the wall it guides the squat; seated, it mobilises the pelvis and lower back gently.

T

Take-off: The last step before the jump. Two feet in volleyball, often one foot off a run in basketball or handball: phase 2 trains both.
Taper: Gradual drop in volume with intensity kept over the final weeks, so you arrive fresh on race day.
Target pace: The pace per kilometre you aim for on each of the eight running legs, legs already loaded by the stations.
Technical failure: The point where bar speed on the way up collapses or posture changes. That is the limit used here, not full muscular failure, which costs too much fatigue under a bar.
Tempo: Speed of execution in four digits: down, pause at the bottom, up, pause at the top. A 3-2-1-0 tempo means 3 s down and a 2 s stop at the bottom.
Tension 6-7/10: The working intensity: sharp tension, borderline unpleasant, breath still free. Pain is off the scale.
Tension profile: The part of the range where an exercise loads the muscle most: stretched, mid-range, or shortened. Three exercises, three profiles.
Test pace: The pace per kilometre you target on the 3000 m or the 12 minutes. Trained through intervals from phase 2.
The compromise: The switch from one modality to another, here from running to the station and back. This is where a Hyrox is won.
Thoracic: Upper part of the spine, between the shoulders. When stiff, shoulders and lower back compensate as soon as arms go up.
Thoracic spine: The upper part of the spine, between the shoulders. It is what rounds in front of a screen and blocks the shoulders.
Time under tension: Total time the muscle works within a set. It is what tempo lengthens, and it is the main lever when the load available is limited.
Transverse: The deep layer, a belt around the waist. It braces and flattens the wall: vacuum, breathing, dead bug.
Trap bar: Hexagonal bar you stand inside: a more vertical deadlift, closer to the jump, with less strain on the back.
Turkish get-up: Going from the floor to standing with the kettlebell held arm locked above the shoulder, then back down the same way. Seven steps: roll, elbow, hand, bridge, leg swept behind, stand, and return. Your eyes stay on the kettlebell until you are standing.

U

Unilateral: An exercise done one leg or one arm at a time. It exposes gaps between the sides and heavily taxes balance, often neglected after 45.
Upper / lower split: Sessions split by region: two upper body and two lower body sessions a week, each muscle stimulated twice.
Useful mass: Mass gained that serves the game: muscle and solidity, not dead volume. It is judged on the pitch, not on the scales.

V

Vacuum: Full exhale then navel drawn in, shallow breathing held. Gently wakes up the transverse.
Vertical jump: The height gained between your standing-reach mark and your mark at the peak of the jump. The programme's single measure.
Volume: Number of hard sets per muscle per week. Five to ten sets are enough to progress on a given muscle; beyond eighteen, the return becomes very small.

W

Wall ball: Full squat then throw of the weighted ball to a high target. 75 or 100 reps, last station of the race.
Wall sit: Back on the wall, thighs horizontal, position held still. Weighted in phase 2, it is the skier's brake in static form.
Warm-up sets: Progressive build-up to the working load on the first exercise. They do not count towards the prescribed sets.
Windmill: Kettlebell held arm locked overhead, hip shifting out to the side and the free hand travelling down to the floor: mobility and lateral core.
Working angle: Body lean relative to vertical: the closer to horizontal, the heavier the exercise. The TRX's load.
Working load: The weight used on the prescribed sets, the one that matches both the rep zone and the prescribed RIR.

X

X (in the tempo): The third digit replaced by an X: the lift is performed as fast as possible, without losing control.
X (tempo): Explosive intent on the way up: you push as hard as possible, even if the heavy bar moves slowly.

Y

Yielding iso: Isometric work where you hold a position under tension (20 to 45 s): very low nervous cost, perfect close to a match.
Yielding isometric: Holding a contraction without movement, as in a plank. Very cheap for the nervous system, recovered in 12-24 h.

These terms come to life in our programs: every session applies them, week after week.

See the programs