Gym lingo 101: 7 basic terms to know to avoid 'gymtimidation'

702 and CapeTalk's Africa Melane speaks to presenter and mental fitness coach Liezel van der Westhuizen.

Listen below:

Ever overhear a conversation at the gym and think to yourself... I don't know WHAT you're talking about?

Not understanding gym-specific terms can make you feel some 'gymtimidation' -- as van der Westhuizen calls it, where you might feel overwhelmed or nervous hearing things you don't understand. 

Understanding common gym terms might also help:

• Boost self-confidence and comfort in a space like the gym, especially if you're new to it.
• Enhance communication with trainers or people you train with.
• Follow your workout accurately.
• Reduce injuries by understanding proper form and technique so that you understand what's being asked of you.

Let's get to it, some common gym terms are:

• Reps: short for repetitions, referring to the number of times you perform an exercise. For example, doing sit ups, 10 times.
• Sets: a group of repetitions. For example, do 10 sit-ups, rest, then do another 10 sit-ups, rest, and finally do 10 more sit-ups. 
• Supersets: performing two exercises back-to-back without rest in between. For example, doing 10 sets of bicep curls followed by 10 sets of hammer curls. 
• DOMS: an acronym for: Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness - it refers to the pain in muscles that can occur about 12 to 24 hours after a workout.
• Isolation exercise: exercise that targets a single muscle group. For example: doing bicep curls to focus on biceps.
• Compound exercise: Opposite of isolation exercise because it engages multiple muscle groups. For example: squats, dead lifts.
• PR: another acronym for Personal Record: the best performance you achieve in a specific exercise.  

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the full conversation.