Weightlifter Lingo

Weightlifter Lingo

            I’ve noticed that a lot of people in the gym that may have even been weightlifting for years don’t understand basic weightlifter vocabulary and slang.  This is vital in the gym because what if someone walks up to you and says, “hey man can you help me throw on a plate and give me a spot on that bench, I need to get my pecs and horseshoes bulked”.  You don’t want to look like an idiot and have no idea what he’s saying.  So this post will be going over your basic talk in the gym so you’re not in this awkward situation.

            So to start off with I will be describing the different names and nicknames of muscle groups.  The chest muscles are usually called the “pecs” because this is short for its scientific name “pectorals”.  It can also be called, “chesticles”.  Biceps have many different nicknames just because of their popularity and showy-ness.  These include “guns” “pythons” “apples” “mountain peaks” “baseballs” and “balls”.  Some lesser known nicknames are those for the triceps, these are “trys” and “horseshoes”.  Now for the back muscles, these are commonly called  “lats” short for their scientific name laterals.  Also known as “shield”  “muscle plate” “the V” and “muscle blanket”.  The stomach muscles are very popular as being called “abs” short for abdominals and “six pack”.  Legs are called “quads” and “hammies”.  Shoulders are called “delts” because of their scientific name deltoid also known as “boulders”. 

            Also throughout the gym slang is used while lifting.  A rep is one repetition of a lift, while a set is a series of reps for an exercise.  A bar used in terms of weight is only forty five pounds, also a plate is a forty five pound weight put at the ends of a bar to lift with.  A half plate is a twenty five pound weight also used for lifting.  Pronated, supenated, and nuetral are referring to types of grips.  Pronated is up, supenated is down, and neutral is in between. 

            Also one more thing, when someone is describing there weight lifted and they say something like they had a two plates, they really mean that they had two plates on each side not two plates altogether.  Remember, we’re all in this together, keep your stick on the ice.