Health / Fitness Glossary

Amino Acids: Twenty- two basic building blocks of the body that make up proteins.

Anabolic: The term used to describe the body's ability to build muscle tissue.

Anabolic Steroid: Synthetic chemical that mimics the muscle building characteristics of the male hormone testosterone.

Anaerobic Exercise: Activities in which oxygen demands of muscles are so high that they rely upon an internal metabolic process for oxygen, resulting in lactic acid build up. Short bursts of 'all-out' activitie . . . View Full Definition

Anaerobic Threshold: The point at which your body switches from using oxygen as its primary source of energy to using stored sugar. When you’re in poor physical shape, you hit your anaerobic threshold while exer . . . View Full Definition

Angina Pectoris: Chest or arm pain resulting from reduced oxygen supply to the heart muscle.

Antagonist: Muscle that counteracts the agonist, lengthening when the agonist muscle contracts.

Anti - Catabolism: Supplements such as glutamine, used to prevent breakdown within the body, in order to promote muscle growth.

Antioxidants: Vitamins A, C and E, along with various minerals, which are useful to protect the body from 'free radicals'. Free radicals are unstable cells, which react with each, naturally created in the . . . View Full Definition

Arm Blaster: Aluminum or fibre glass strip about 5' x 24', supported at waist height by a strap around the neck. Keeps elbows from moving while curling barbell or dumbbells or doing triceps pushdowns.

Arteriosclerosis: Hardening of the arteries due to conditions that cause the arterial walls to become thick, hard, and none elastic.

Assimilation: The process in which foods are utilized and absorbed by the body.

Atrophy: Decrease in size of a muscle caused by the decrease in the size of its cells. This is usually the case when a muscle or muscle group is inactive over a long period of time.

Babys Butt: Indentation between the two heads of biceps muscles of a very muscular athlete.

Back Cycling: Cutting back on either number of sets, repetitions or amount of weight used during a exercise session.

Back Muscles: Muscles located on the back part of a upper body. The main use of these muscles is to move the arms down and to the side of the body.

Ballistic Stretching: Form of stretching that involves bouncing and bobbing during the stretch. This is not a recommended form of stretching even though you will see it quite often.

Barbell: A metal bar used for free weights. There are many forms of barbells, including curved, wavy, bench and straight barbells. However these barbells all suport the addition of weighted discs at . . . View Full Definition

Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21