Module 5: Elements of Fitness and Principles of Program Design

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms and definitions in ISSA Certified Personal Trainer Chapter 8 (Elements of Fitness) and Chapter 9 (Principles of Program Design).

Cardiovascular Endurance

The measure of the cardiovascular system's (heart and blood vessels) ability to perform over an extended period.

Muscular Strength

The measure of force produced by a muscle or group of muscles.

Muscular Endurance

The ability of a muscle or group of muscles to continuously exert force against resistance over time.

Flexibility

The range of motion of a muscle and its associated connective tissues at a joint or joints.

Body Composition

The physical makeup of the body considering fat mass and lean mass.

Type 2 Diabetes

A long-term metabolic disorder that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin.

Heart Disease

A term used to describe several different heart conditions.

General Warm-up

Nonspecific, low-intensity activity including dynamic stretching and light cardiovascular activity with the purpose of increasing blood flow, respiration, and body temperature.

Specific Warm-up

Movements used to prepare the body for a sport or specific exercises.

Dynamic Stretching

Movement-based active stretching where muscles engage to bring about a stretch.

Flexibility Training

An element of fitness using stretching to increase the range of motion of a joint or group of joints and allow for increased ranges of motion.

Static Stretching

Lengthening a muscle and holding the lengthened position.

Length-Tension Relationship

The amount of tension a muscle can produce as a function of sarcomere length.

Core Training

Refers to strengthening the musculature of the abdominals, back, and lower body that directly influence the lumbopelvic hip complex (LPHC).

Lumbopelvic Hip Complex (LPHC)

The musculature of the hip that attaches to the pelvis and lumbar spine and works to stabilize the trunk and lower extremities.

Abdominal Bracing

Activation of the trunk muscles to support the spine.

Balance Training

Exercises to strengthen the stabilizer muscles and prime movers of the core and legs to improve dynamic stability.

Reactive Training

Quick, powerful movements with an eccentric action followed by an immediate concentric action.

Speed

The ability to move the body in one direction as fast as possible.

Agility

The ability to accelerate, decelerate, stabilize, and change direction with proper posture.

Quickness

The ability to react and change body position with a maximum rate of force production.

Countermovement

A movement or other action made in opposition to another action.

Plyometric Training

Reactive training seeking maximum force in the shortest amount of time.

Stretch-Shortening Cycle (SSC)

The cycling between the eccentric (stretch) action of a muscle and the concentric (shortening) action of the same muscle.

Resistance Training

The category of training that includes physical activities designed to increase muscle mass, improve strength, muscular endurance, or muscular power.

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)

Muscle pain or stiffness resulting from microtearing of tissue during eccentric muscle action that is felt several days after unaccustomed exercise.

Target Heart Rate (THR)

The estimated beats per minute that needs to be reached to achieve a specific exercise intensity.

Rates of Perceived Exertion (RPE)

A subjective sliding scale of a client's perception of their exercise intensity.

Heart Rate Zones

Percentages of maximum heart rate associated with a desired physiological adaptation.

Maximum Heart Rate

The estimated maximum number of times the heart should beat per minute during exercise. Calculated by subtracting a person's age from 220 ($220 - \text{age}$).

Steady-State Exercise

Exercise that maintains a steady level of exertion from start to finish.

Interval Training

Training that varies between high- and low-intensity work to challenge the cardiorespiratory system.

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

Interval training with short intervals at near maximum effort and less intense recovery periods.

Cooldown

Gradually slowing the body after activity to return to homeostasis or close to homeostasis.

Self-Myofascial Release (SMR)

Applying manual pressure to an adhesion or overactive tissue to elicit an autogenic inhibitory response, which is characterized by a decrease in the excitability of a contracting or stretched muscle arising from the Golgi tendon organ.

Fitness Program Design

The systematic development of a fitness program or process using assessments, the elements of fitness, periodization, and periodic reassessment.

Periodization

An organized approach to training involving progressive cycling of various aspects of a training program during a specific time.

Principles of Program Design

Fundamental propositions to serve as the foundation for effective fitness programming.

Acute Training Variables

The components that specify how an exercise or training program is performed.

Hypertrophy

An increase in muscular size as an adaptation to exercise.

Strength

The amount of force that can be created by a muscle or group of muscles.

Power

The combination of strength and speed—the ability for a muscle to generate maximal tension as quickly as possible.

Exercise Type

The techniques, equipment, or methods used to complete an activity.

Exercise Selection

The specific exercises executed in a workout session.

Exercise Order

The order in which exercises are completed within a training session.

Compound Exercises

Multi-joint exercises that require the use of multiple muscles or muscle groups.

Accessory Exercises

Supplementary focused movements or exercises that strengthen synergist and supporting muscles to help a person better perform a primary movement.

Intensity

The measurable amount of force or effort given to an activity or exercise often expressed as a percentage of effort compared to a person's maximum effort.

One-Repetition Max (1RM)

A single maximum-strength repetition with maximum load.

Load

A term used to describe the amount of resistance used in a strength training exercise.

Set

The number of times an exercise or group of exercises is completed.

Repetitions (Reps)

The number of times an exercise is completed within a set.

Intraset Muscle Fatigue

Muscle fatigue that occurs within a single set of an exercise.

Exercise Frequency

The number of times training occurs within a specific period, or the number of times or how often an exercise is executed.

Range of Motion (ROM)

The measurement of movement around a specific joint or body part.

Partial Repetitions

Repetitions of an exercise intentionally done with a reduced range of motion.

Time

The duration of an activity or training session.

Tempo

The speed at which an exercise or movement pattern is completed.

Time Under Tension (TUT)

The amount of time a muscle is engaged as a set, completed from start to finish.

Rest

The amount of time spent in recovery between sets or repetitions.

Recovery Time

The rest time allowed between training sessions.

Active Recovery

Low-intensity exercise or activity that can promote and accelerate muscular and metabolic recovery.

Principle of Specificity

The concept that training must be specific to an individual's goals, as the adaptations they will see will be based on the training completed.

SAID Principle

Specific adaptations to imposed demands—stress on the human system, whether biomechanical or neurological, will require the body to adapt specifically to those demands.

Principle of Variability

Training programs must include variations in intensity, duration, volume, and other aspects of practice.

Principle of Individual Differences

The concept that there is no one specific way to train every client due to the uniqueness of each person.

Diminishing Returns

A concept stating that everyone has a set genetic limit to their potential, and, eventually, the effort put into training will no longer produce the same results.

Principle of Progressive Overload

The body must be forced to adapt to or overcome a stress greater than what is normally encountered.

Training Volume

The total amount of work performed, typically measured as $\text{Sets} \times \text{Reps} \times \text{Load}$ (or intensity).

Training Density

A combination of volume and time equaling the total volume of work in a specific amount of time.

Principle of Reversibility

Clients lose the effects of training after they stop working out.

Detraining

The diminishing of physical adaptations after two weeks or more of not training.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

The three stages of adaptation the body goes through in response to stress—alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Supercompensation

The post-training period during which the trained function/parameter has a higher performance capacity than it did before the training period.

Stimulus-Fatigue-Recovery-Adaptation Principle

The concept that training response is based on the stimulus intensity, and the greater the stimulus intensity is, the longer the recovery needed to produce the adaptations will be.

Training Macrocycle

The overall training period, usually one year or more.

Training Mesocycle

A training phase in the annual training plan made up of three to nine microcycles.

Training Microcycle

A one-week-long cycle of training sessions, or a single session.

Linear Periodization

Progresses from low-intensity to high-intensity across the entire macrocycle.

Undulating Periodization

Short durations of hypertrophy training alternated with short durations of strength and power training.

Speed, Agility, and Quickness (SAQ) Training

The training category including reactive, ballistic, plyometric, and agility training.

Phase Potentiation

The strategic sequencing of programming categories to increase the potential of later training and increase long-term adaptive potential.

Block Periodization

Highly concentrated, specialized workloads focused on achieving maximum adaptation.

Mobility

The ability of a joint to move freely through a given range of motion.

Progressions

Modifications to acute training variables that increase the challenge of a movement pattern.

Regressions

Modifications to acute training variables that decrease the challenge of a movement pattern.

Overreaching

An accumulation of training or non-training stress resulting in a short-term decrease in performance capacity.

Overtraining

An accumulation of training or non-training stress resulting in a long-term decrease in performance capacity.

Overtraining Syndrome (OTS)

A maladapted response to excessive exercise without adequate rest, resulting in perturbations of multiple body systems (neural, endocrine, and immune) coupled with mood changes.