The workings of the human body are intricate and complex. But when you overload an already complex issue with unnecessary polysyllabic jargon and euphemisms it’s all but guaranteed you’ll confuse people. And in many cases you can simplify the message you’re trying to get across without talking down to your audience. Of course, you’ve run into some personal trainers or athletes who can’t wait to drop incredibly long words in conversation in an effort to appear more knowledgeable. Maybe they are, maybe they’re just reciting what they’ve read or heard elsewhere. Either way, among the hundreds of terms to know for exercise, these are 10 good ones to start with.

1. Catabolic

The nerdy explanation involves the tearing down of biomolecules; the simple explanation is that when you’re in a catabolic state your body’s ability to build muscle is kaput. Avoid catabolism with proper nutrition, rest, and recovery. That might include giving yourself at least 48 hours rest between training specific body parts, and implementing P4’s workout supplement Recovery Push Formula in your routine (more on this in the next write-up.)

2. Anabolic

The opposite of catabolic, you want to be in an anabolic state — when your body is obtaining energy for growth. In order to achieve this desired state, you must consume energy (food and proper workout supplements). Energy Formula and Recovery Push Formula have a carbohydrate loader that is fast-digesting to give you the extra energy to push through a tough workout and helps preserve muscle mass and support recovery after your last set.

3. Metabolism

Metabolism is the chemical process that occurs in your body to main life. However, a slow metabolism is linked to weight gain. So you want to do things that boost your metabolism, right? Right. But it’s kind of a misleading thing because even with a slow metabolism it’s what you eat and how much you exercise (how many calories you burn) that determines your weight loss or weight gain (barring some medical condition, of course).

4. Energy

Webster’s defines “energy” as the ability to be active: the physical or mental strength that allows you to do things. Essentially, energy is what fuels you. Unless you’re a cyborg, that means food, vitamins, nutrients, and supplements. P4’s workout supplement Energy Formula was engineered with caffeine, electrolytes, and KarboLyn to supply lasting energy levels to provide that sustainability to finish a workout or game with vigor.

Related: The Differences Between P4’s Pre Game Formula and Energy Formula?

5. Hypertrophy

Officially, this is the enlargement of an organ or tissue from the increase in the size of its cells. A one-word definition: growth. When you’re training for hypertrophy you’re looking to add size.

6. Functional training

It’s defined as what you should do to prepare yourself for everyday life, or training to better yourself for movement patterns you often use. Put another way, an MMA fighter focusing on pushing and pulling movements makes sense since he or she will use them in competition; however, training like a bodybuilder to build muscle or for aesthetic purposes would most likely be detrimental seeing as the athlete is not being judged on their physique but their performance. If a good morning exercise won’t help them generate more knockout power or score a submission, it’s not functional.

7. Muscle Confusion

You’ve no doubt heard this term (“trick your muscles” is another variation), and it’s misleading. There’s really no trickery involved. The objective is to prevent your body and muscles from adapting to the same stressors or demands by changing variables — time under tension, resistance, weight load, etc.

8. Plateau

Synonym: stagnation. When progress has stalled you’ve reached a plateau. Keeping a detailed journal of your activities — exercises used and weight and rep schemes — to monitor progress can help prevent plateaus from occurring regularly.

9. Concentric/Eccentric

The concentric portion of the lift is when the muscle shortens; so if you’re doing a dumbbell curl the concentric contraction occurs when you’re curling the weight toward the body. When you lower the weight back toward the start position you’re engaging in the eccentric part of the lift.

10. Anaerobic/Aerobic

These are often used interchangeably, but their meanings differ. Aerobic is activity that increases the body’s need for oxygen; you can perform light activity over a long period of time (i.e. jogging, walking, etc.); anaerobic is higher intensity activity that use quick bursts for short periods of time (i.e. sprints).

Related: The Many Benefits of Taurine!

At Proven4 we believe that proper nutrition, a strict training regimen, and our NSF Certified for Sport workout supplements — Pre Game Formula, Energy Formula, and Recovery Push Formula — can help you achieve optimal results in the gym and on the field.