Training

Bodyweight training uses your own body as resistance. No equipment, anywhere, scalable to any level.

A compound exercise trains several joints and muscle groups at once (squat, hinge, press, pull) — high return for strength and hypertrophy.

The concentric phase is the lifting movement, where the muscle shortens under load. It's the active phase that produces force.

The eccentric phase is the lowering movement, where the muscle lengthens under tension. It's the most damaging phase and the key driver of hypertrophy.

Exercise selection is choosing movements that fit the goal, equipment, anatomy and skill — the foundation of a good program.

A full body program trains all major muscle groups in each session, 2-4 times per week. Ideal for beginners and strength training.

Muscle hypertrophy is the increase in muscle fiber size. It's the primary mechanism behind muscle growth from resistance training.

Hypertrophy training aims to maximize muscle growth using moderate loads (65-85% 1RM) with 8-15 repetitions per set.

An isolation exercise targets mainly one joint and one muscle group (curl, lateral raise, leg extension) to add local volume or correct imbalances.

Isometric contraction is when the muscle produces tension without changing length. No visible movement, intense work.

A macrocycle is the global organization of your training over 3-12 months. The highest level of periodization, your annual game plan.

A mesocycle is a 4-8 week training block with a specific objective (hypertrophy, strength, peak, deload). The cornerstone of periodization.

A microcycle is the smallest planning unit in bodybuilding: generally 1 week of training. This is your weekly routine.

Mind-muscle connection is the intentional focus on feeling the target muscle contract — useful for hypertrophy technique and isolation work.

Muscle failure is the point where you cannot complete another clean rep with the target technique — RIR 0 / RPE 10.

Muscular endurance training develops the ability to sustain prolonged effort. Light loads, high reps, short rests.

Muscular endurance is a muscle's capacity to sustain repeated or prolonged contractions without excessive fatigue. Foundation of many sports.

Muscular strength is the maximum force a muscle (or group) can produce. The fundamental physical quality of any athlete.

1RM is the heaviest load you can lift for one clean repetition — the reference for strength programming and percentages.

A PR (Personal Record) is your best performance ever on a movement. The fundamental progress marker.

Periodization is the cyclical organization of training into distinct phases to optimize progression, prevent plateaus, and avoid injuries.

A plateau is a period of stagnation despite consistent training. Identifying the cause is the key to breaking it.

Power is force × velocity — producing force quickly. Trained with intent, moderate loads moved fast, jumps/throws, and adequate rest.

Progressive overload is the foundational principle of training: gradually increasing the demand on your muscles to keep gaining strength and size.

The Push/Pull/Legs program divides the workout into 3 types of sessions: push (chests/shoulders/triceps), pull (back/biceps) and legs. Optimal for all levels with frequency 2x/week per muscle.

RIR (Reps in Reserve) measures how many reps you have left before failure. Modern, intuitive tool to manage intensity.

RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) is a 1-10 scale to measure subjective effort. Essential tool for managing intensity.

A rep is one complete execution of an exercise. The rep range determines whether you primarily develop strength, hypertrophy, or muscular endurance.

RTF means performing reps until no clean rep remains; useful sparingly for hypertrophy, costly if overused on heavy compounds.

Rest between sets is critical and depends on the goal. Strength: 3-5 min. Hypertrophy: 1-3 min. Endurance: 30-60 sec.

A series (or set) is a group of consecutive reps without rest. The basic unit of training programming.

A split workout involves dividing muscle groups over different days. The classic split trains each muscle once a week for 5-6 days.

Strength training aims to develop maximal strength using heavy loads (80-95% of 1RM) with few repetitions (1-6 reps).

TUT (Time Under Tension) measures the total time the muscle is under load during a set. Key variable for hypertrophy.

Tempo is the controlled speed of each phase of a movement. Powerful tool to maximize stimulus and control.

Training density measures the amount of work done per unit of time. Increase it to boost intensity and metabolic stress.

Training frequency defines how many times per week you work a muscle. Discover the optimal frequency to progress.

Bodybuilding intensity measures the difficulty of the effort. Find out how to calculate it with % of 1RM, RPE, and RIR.

Training volume represents the total amount of work performed. Discover the optimal volumes per muscle per week to progress.

The Upper/Lower program divides training into upper body and lower body sessions over 4 days per week. Perfect balance between frequency (2x/week) and volume for all levels.