Strength training glossary
The words trainers and lifters use, in plain English, with an example for each and how it works in Kovo Trainer.
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- 1RM
- The most weight someone can lift for one full rep with good form.
- Example: If your client can bench press 225 lb once but not twice, their bench press 1RM is 225 lb.
- 1RM calculatorEstimated 1RM
- 5x5
- Five sets of five reps of the same exercise, usually with the same weight on every set. A common way to build strength on big lifts like the squat and bench press.
- Example: Squat (Barbell): 5 sets of 5 reps, with 3 minutes of rest between sets.
- In Kovo Trainer: The Kovo library has Strength 5x5, a 12-week program you can copy.
- Strength 5x5 programBarbell squat
- AMRAP
- A set where the client does as many good reps as they can, instead of a set number.
- Example: Push-ups: 3 sets, AMRAP. Your client writes down how many they did on each set.
- In Kovo Trainer: Type Max in the reps box.
- Push-up
- Compound exercise
- An exercise that moves more than one joint and trains several muscles at once.
- Example: The squat bends the hips, knees and ankles, and trains the quads, glutes and more.
- Isolation exerciseBarbell squatBarbell deadlift
- Deload
- A planned easier week, with less weight or fewer sets, so the body can recover before training gets harder again.
- Example: After 5 hard weeks, week 6 uses the same exercises with half the sets.
- In Kovo Trainer: Every week of a program runs the same routines, so for a deload week, edit your client's copy or send a lighter routine for that week.
- Drop set
- A set done right after another set of the same exercise, with a lighter weight and little or no rest.
- Example: Lateral raise: 12 reps at 20 lb, then straight away as many reps as possible at 12 lb.
- In Kovo Trainer: Mark the set as D in the workout builder.
- Workout builder
- Each side
- An exercise done with one arm or one leg at a time, so the reps are counted for each side.
- Example: Lunges: 3 sets of 10 reps each side means 10 with the left leg and 10 with the right on every set.
- In Kovo Trainer: Turn on Each side for the exercise in the workout builder. Your client sees "Reps are for each side."
- Workout builder
- Effort
- How hard a set should feel. In Kovo, 100% means the set goes to failure, 90% means one more rep was left, 80% means two were left, and so on.
- Example: 3 sets of 8 to 10 at 80% effort: stop each set with about two reps left.
- In Kovo Trainer: Pick an effort for each set. Your client sees it as a target in grey, and you see the effort they logged.
- RIRRPEWorkout builder
- Estimated 1RM
- A guess at someone's 1RM worked out from a set of more reps, so they don't have to test a true max.
- Example: 185 lb for 5 reps works out to an estimated 1RM of about 216 lb.
- In Kovo Trainer: Each client's exercise stats show their estimated 1RM over time.
- 1RM calculatorProgress tracking
- Failure
- Doing reps until another good rep isn't possible.
- Example: A failure set of curls ends when the next rep would need swinging to finish.
- In Kovo Trainer: Mark the set as F in the workout builder, or set its effort to 100%.
- Effort
- Full-body workout
- A workout that trains the upper body and the lower body in the same session.
- Example: Squat, bench press, row and a carry, two or three days a week.
- In Kovo Trainer: The Kovo library has Beginner Full Body and Full Body 3x.
- Beginner programs
- Hypertrophy
- Muscle growth. Training for hypertrophy usually means moderate weights, 6 to 15 reps a set, and enough sets for each muscle.
- Example: 3 sets of 8 to 12 on each exercise, close to failure.
- In Kovo Trainer: The workout builder shows the sets each muscle gets as you build.
- Bodybuilding programs
- Isolation exercise
- An exercise that moves one joint and trains mostly one muscle.
- Example: A bicep curl only bends the elbow, so it works mostly the biceps.
- Compound exercise
- Personal record
- The best a client has ever done on an exercise, such as the most weight or the most reps.
- Example: Your client squats 185 lb for 5 for the first time. That's a new PR.
- In Kovo Trainer: Personal records are called out on every workout, on your dashboard and in each client's exercise stats.
- Progress tracking
- Progressive overload
- Making training a little harder over time, with more weight, more reps or more sets, so the body keeps getting stronger.
- Example: Week 1: 135 lb for 8 reps. Week 3: 140 lb for 8 reps.
- In Kovo Trainer: When you leave a weight empty, Kovo picks it and adds weight as your client gets stronger.
- Progressive overload calculatorProgram builder
- Push Pull Legs
- A training split with a day for pushing muscles (chest, shoulders, triceps), a day for pulling muscles (back, biceps) and a day for legs.
- Example: Monday push, Wednesday pull, Friday legs.
- In Kovo Trainer: The Kovo library has an 8-week Push Pull Legs program.
- Bodybuilding programs
- Rep
- One full movement of an exercise, from start to finish.
- Example: One squat down and back up is one rep.
- Rep range
- A low and a high number of reps for a set, instead of one exact number.
- Example: 8 to 10 reps: if your client reaches 10 with good form, it's time for more weight.
- In Kovo Trainer: Type a range like 8 to 10 in the reps box.
- Workout builder
- Rest period
- The time between sets. Heavy sets of few reps need more rest than light sets of many reps.
- Example: 3 minutes between heavy squat sets, 60 seconds between lateral raise sets.
- In Kovo Trainer: Pick rest for each exercise, from none up to 5 minutes. It runs as the rest timer in your client's app.
- Workout builder
- RIR
- How many more reps someone could have done at the end of a set.
- Example: RIR 2: your client stops with two good reps left. In Kovo that's 80% effort.
- EffortRPE
- RPE
- A score from 1 to 10 for how hard a set felt, where 10 means nothing was left.
- Example: RPE 8 means about two reps were left.
- In Kovo Trainer: Kovo uses effort as a percent instead. RPE 8 is about 80% effort.
- Effort
- Set
- A group of reps done one after another without resting.
- Example: 3 sets of 10 squats means 10 squats, a rest, 10 more, a rest, and 10 more.
- Strength Rank
- In Kovo, a rank from Bronze to Champion based on how much someone lifts, for each exercise, each muscle and the whole body.
- Example: Your client moves from Silver III to Gold I on the bench press.
- In Kovo Trainer: You see each client's Strength Rank on their page and in your client list.
- Strength Ranks in the FAQProgress tracking
- Strength score
- In Kovo, one number for how strong someone is, worked out from the weights they lift. It sets their Strength Rank.
- Example: A client's Strength score goes from 483 to 524 in 30 days.
- In Kovo Trainer: Each client's page shows their Strength score over 6 months, and your dashboard shows the biggest gains.
- Strength score in the FAQ
- Superset
- Two exercises done back to back, with rest only after both.
- Example: Bicep curl, then tricep pushdown, rest 60 seconds, and repeat 3 times.
- In Kovo Trainer: Tap "Superset with the next exercise" in the workout builder.
- Workout builder
- Tempo
- How fast each part of a rep should go, often written as numbers of seconds down, at the bottom and up.
- Example: 3-1-1 on a squat: 3 seconds down, 1 second at the bottom, 1 second up.
- In Kovo Trainer: There's no tempo field, so write the tempo in the exercise's note.
- Training split
- How a week of training is shared out, such as full body every session or different body parts on different days.
- Example: Upper body on Monday and Thursday, lower body on Tuesday and Friday.
- In Kovo Trainer: A program's routines run in order, one each training day, so the split follows the order you put them in.
- Program builder
- Upper lower split
- A training split with upper body days and lower body days, usually four days a week.
- Example: Upper A, Lower A, Upper B, Lower B.
- In Kovo Trainer: The Kovo library has an 8-week Upper Lower 4x program.
- Bodybuilding programs
- Volume
- How much work was done. In Kovo it's weight times reps, added up over every set.
- Example: 3 sets of 10 at 100 lb is 3,000 lb of volume.
- In Kovo Trainer: Every workout shows its volume, and each client's page has a 12-week volume chart.
- Progress tracking
- Warm-up set
- A lighter set before the working sets, to get ready for the heavy ones.
- Example: Bench press: 10 reps at 95 lb before three working sets at 155 lb.
- In Kovo Trainer: Mark the set as W in the workout builder. If you leave its weight empty, Kovo works one out from the first working set.
- Workout builder
- Working set
- A set that counts toward the training goal, after any warm-up sets.
- Example: In 3 sets of 8 after one warm-up, the 3 sets of 8 are the working sets.
- Warm-up set
Also called: One-rep max
Also called: As many reps as possible
Also called: Unilateral
Also called: Training to failure
Also called: PR
Also called: Repetition
Also called: Reps in reserve
Also called: Rate of perceived exertion
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