Terminology

Here are some terms that I use throughout programming. If you are familiar with CrossFit, you may recognise them

EMOM

Every Minute On the Minute

At the start of each minute, you perform the instructed exercise. The remainder of the minute acts as rest until the next minute begins

An example would be “10 MINUTE EMOM, 5 PRESS UPS, 5 SQUATS”. This means at the start of each minute for a total of 10 minutes you would perform 5 press ups and 5 squats. This might take you 20 seconds to complete meaning you will have 40 seconds rest until the next minute starts and you begin your 5 press ups and squats again. EMOM’s often have different exercises for different minutes. An example would be “12 MINUTE EMOM, 1 = 10 PRESS UPS, 2 = 10 SQUATS, 3 = 10 SIT UPS”. In this example you would perform 10 press ups at the start of minute 1, 10 squats at the start of minute 2 and 10 sit ups at the start of minute 3. You would repeat this cycle for 12 minutes

AMRAP

As Many Rounds/Reps As Possible

Within a given time, you must perform as many rounds/reps of the workout/exercise as possible

Let’s say the workout is a 20 minute AMRAP of 5 Pull Ups, 10 Press Ups and 15 Squats. This means when the timer starts you perform 5 Pull Ups, 10 Press Ups and 15 Squats in that order as many times as possible until the timer ends. If the rounds are being scored it will be the total number completed when the timer ends (5 Pull Ups, 10 Press Ups, 15 Squats = 1 round). If the reps are being scored, it will be the total number of reps accumulated when the timer ends

FOR TIME

This is a simple one, it means complete the workout as fast as you can

ROUNDS

A group of exercises to be completed as per given instructions

As per the AMRAP example, a round would be 5 Pull Ups, 10 Press Ups, 15 Squats. The completion of all reps = 1 round

CIRCUIT

A term for a section of a workout

If the workout was 5 rounds of a 1 minute run, 20 press ups, 20 squats and 5 burpees, the term for all of it would be a “Circuit”. You may rest and then do something different, that would then become your second circuit

WOD

Workout Of the Day

The term given to a full workout on each day. Much like a circuit, WOD’s often involve 1 workout with a warm up before and cool down after

TABATA

From the scientist Dr. Izumi Tabata, this is a set period of work (exercise) and rest (recovery)

TABATA workouts are designed for maximal high intensity output over a short period. One common TABATA split is 40:20. This means you exercise at a high intensity for 40 seconds followed by a 20 second period of rest. This would be repeated for a set amount of time maybe 5-8 minutes. TABATA splits can be anything you choose but should not be too long as it is very difficult to maintain a high intensity output for a long period of time

LADDER

After starting at a chosen number, the amount of reps performed will either increase or decrease (usually) by 1 rep at a time

Ascending means going up and Descending means going down. If the workout was a 1-10 ascending ladder of burpees and pull ups it means you would do 1 burpee, 1 pull up, then 2 burpees, 2 pull ups and so on until you have completed 10 reps of each exercise. You are only going up by 1 rep at a time. A 10-1 descending ladder of the same exercises means you start at 10 burpees, 10 pull ups and work your way down to 1 rep of each, reducing the reps by 1 each time. Most ladders are 1-10 or 10-1. Going up (ascending) is always harder than coming down (descending). Your total reps on a 1-10 ladder will be 55 of each exercise