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| photo from Birchbox, commentary my own |
My earliest exercise memories involve the fitness room at my grandmother’s apartment in Florida. I
remember as kids playing (unattended of course) on the treadmill, stationary
bike and that vibrating belt thingy (always our favorite). I joined a gym for
the first time in high school. This gateway membership paved the way for step
classes, powerstrike, personal training sessions, marathons and can I get a
shout out for the completely underrated Reebok slide?
With every type of workout, there’s corresponding lingo.
Some of it is straight forward, other times mean or simply words you would
never understand if you’re among the exercise averse.
Anatomical Lingo
Abs in- maybe
it’s a soft spot but if an instructor tells says “tighten
your core” or “abs in” and looks in my direction, it’s enough to ruin my day.
After my first son, a trainer said this to me and poked my midsection. Her “abs
in” request was met with “this is in” barked in return.
Soften your knees-one
of those phrases that’s counterintuitive, after all knees are hard if nothing else.
Soften your knees really means don’t lock your knees (again vague) or bend your
knees slightly.
Knit your ribs- when
I started barre classes this one escaped me. The
ballerina-ish teachers have a field day with me when it comes to posture. My shoulders are never relaxed
enough and my pelvis is constantly in the wrong place. It’s a wonder I have 2
children. It’s been years but to knit ones ribs you do the opposite of sticking
your ribs out; when you contract your lower stomach “knitting” is easier.
Inspirational Lingo
Set Your Intention as
Carla our nutrition nerd extraordinaire said, “when you're 40 minutes in to spin class, everything seems really
profound. Then you think about it later and you're like, wait, actually all
they said was you can do it".
Takes change to see
change- I am a sucker for some profundity when I am oxygen deprived, I like
motivational clichés.
Workout Specific
Fartleks when I initially heard a running
coach use this term for speed work I thought she said fart leg and logically
assumed it meant running so fast you…turns out it’s a Swedish term for a
certain type of an interval run.
Abbreviations
are especially annoying when you’re out of the loop. In running there’s PR/PB, personal relations, peanut
butter? No personal record, personal best which refers to the shortest amount
of time you have run a certain distance in under race conditions. I liked a
friend’s abbreviation after a race better “PW” (personal worst).
Yoga- don’t get me
started on Sanskrit pretentiousness asana, basana whatever. Or the bird poses
crow, pigeon and eagle not to mention the “dogs” and warrior #’s. The first 6
months I did yoga, my neck was a mess as I contorted to see what the heck all
of this meant. Once I felt I was in the know I’ll admit there’s a little
smugness that went along with it.
Carolyn added,
“I do love being reminded to inhale to lengthen or exhale to relax
but inhale love,
exhale fear, seriously?”
We get so accustom to our workouts that we forget how silly
some of the fitness lingo is. Next time you’re in a class or at the gym, listen
like a newbie and see if you catch anything giggle-worthy.
What types of workouts
do you do? Any phrases that either motivate you or bug you? Are you knitting
your ribs right now?
