AMRAP and other stuff that makes you say WTF?

 Ok, so whether you are new to the fitness world or you have kept your head low for a while, you will notice an abundance of acronyms, buzz words, diets, and trends that seem foreign. Look no further for an explanation. Consider this your fitness dictionary:

AMRAP: As Many Repetitions As Possible (feel free to groan out loud when you see this miserable direction)

WOD: Workout Of the Day. This acronym got its wings with the Crossfitters, and has since been adopted and utilized by most every gym in the free world. 

CrossFit: founded in 2000ish, it is a fitness regime and philosophy. Strength conditioning, Paleo diet and competition are all part and parcel. 

Box: a place where CrossFitters and other fitness enthusiasts work out (in the olden days these were affectionately referred to as 'gyms')

Studio: a swanky term for a small gym. 

PR/PB: Personal Record/Personal Best.  

BPM: Beats Per Minute (heart rate, not music)

BMR: Basal Metabolic Rate (the lowest amount of calories needed to sustain life)

BMI: Body Mass Index aka: Bullshit. 

Fartlek: (real word) run training where pace varies from fast to slow 

Lactic Acid: that terrible feeling in your muscles after what is deemed a "good" workout

HIIT: High Intensity Interval Training (feels like hell, but it is over quicker than the traditional workout)

DOMS: Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.  Occurs 12-48 hours post workout. Affects how you sit on a toilet and how you brush your teeth. 

1-RM: One Rep Max. The amount of weight/resistance that can be lifted/moved one time, but not twice. A sure fire way to test what will injure you. 

RPE: Rate of Perceived Exertion. A scale of 1-10 that rates how you are feeling physically/mentally. 100% of those relaying this # to their trainer are fibbing. 

THR: Target Heart Rate. Recommended range is 60-85% of MHR: Maximum Heart Rate. It is recommended that you always have a heart rate. 

Paleo diet: popular due to the CrossFit regimen. Mimics Hunter/gatherer ancestors. Lean protein (meat/seafood), fruits and vegetables. Off limits: dairy, grains, legumes and starchy vegetables. There is nothing funny about this diet. 

Juice Cleanse diet: toted as detoxing.  Drinking only fruit and vegetable juices (sorry, you cannot juice a chicken on this diet). From this writer's perspective... It is a fad. It doesn't give you the protein and fibre your body requires. Awesome if you need to drink juice... 

Mediterranean diet: high consumption of breads and UNREFINED cereals (wheat), fruit, nuts, vegetables, fish, and cheese. Moderate amounts of wine...HEY, WAIT...SIGN ME UP.

Intermittent Fasting: newest on the scene in the diet world. A typical week would be: eat normally Monday and Tuesday, fast on Wednesday (women consume 500 calories max), regular eating Thursday, Friday fast (>500 cals), regular eating Saturday and Sunday. Here is the scoop: any time between meals is called fasting. Realistically, this diet just lowers the caloric intake for the week...if there isn't a binge that follows the fast. 

GMO: Genetically Modified Organism: altered genetics.  Aka: poison/toxin. It is not a laughing matter. 

Gluten:  it is a glue, a protein composite found in wheat and related grains (makes breads chewy). A small amount of people actually have a sensitivity to it. And an even smaller group have a serious disease (celiac).  Weight related issues can be linked to the consumption of grains. It is not specifically the gluten, but rather that the grains we consume are GMO (toxins get in the way of a properly functioning metabolism). 

WTF: an expression by a fitness enthusiast in response to an unrealistic WOD. 

And with that, TTYL.  

Stay happy & healthy

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