The Repit Fitness Academy
Clear, no-nonsense explanations of fitness, training, and nutrition terms — from caloric surplus to progressive overload.
Nutrition
Calories, macros, and how what you eat drives results.
Caloric Surplus
Eating more calories than you burn, the driver of weight and muscle gain.
Caloric Deficit
Eating fewer calories than you burn, the requirement for fat loss.
Maintenance Calories
The calorie intake at which your weight stays stable.
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)
The total calories you burn in a day, including activity and digestion.
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)
The calories your body burns at complete rest to stay alive.
Macronutrients
Protein, carbs, and fat — the three nutrients that supply calories.
Protein
The macronutrient that builds and repairs muscle tissue.
Carbohydrates
The body's primary fuel source for training and daily activity.
Dietary Fat
An essential macronutrient for hormones and nutrient absorption.
Fiber
Indigestible carbohydrate that aids digestion and satiety.
Micronutrients
Vitamins and minerals your body needs in small amounts.
Glycemic Index
A ranking of how quickly carbs raise blood sugar.
Protein Timing
When you eat protein around training and across the day.
Meal Timing
How the timing of meals affects performance and body composition.
Intermittent Fasting
An eating pattern that cycles between fasting and eating windows.
Reverse Dieting
Gradually raising calories after a diet to limit fat regain.
Hydration
Maintaining fluid balance for performance and recovery.
Muscle Protein Synthesis
The process of building new muscle protein, stimulated by training and protein.
Leucine
The key amino acid that triggers muscle protein synthesis.
Essential Amino Acids (EAAs)
The nine amino acids your body can't make and must get from food.
Protein Quality
How well a protein source supplies essential amino acids and digests.
Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)
The calories burned digesting and processing what you eat.
Satiety
How full and satisfied a food makes you feel, which affects intake.
Flexible Dieting (IIFYM)
Hitting macro targets without banning specific foods.
Carb Cycling
Varying carb intake across days to match training demands.
Diet Break
A planned return to maintenance calories during a long diet.
Electrolytes
Minerals like sodium and potassium that drive hydration and muscle function.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Essential fats linked to recovery, heart, and brain health.
Added Sugar
Sugars added to foods, a common source of empty calories.
Alcohol & Fitness
How alcohol affects recovery, muscle building, and fat loss.
Training
Principles and methods for building strength and muscle.
Progressive Overload
Gradually increasing training demands to keep making gains.
Hypertrophy
The growth of muscle size through training and nutrition.
Strength
The maximum force a muscle or group can produce.
One-Rep Max (1RM)
The heaviest weight you can lift for a single repetition.
RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion)
A 1–10 scale for how hard a set felt, used to gauge intensity.
RIR (Reps in Reserve)
How many reps you could still do at the end of a set.
Training Volume
The total work done, usually sets × reps × weight.
Training Frequency
How often you train a muscle or movement per week.
Periodization
Structuring training into phases to peak and avoid plateaus.
Deload
A planned reduction in training to recover and supercompensate.
Compound Exercise
A movement that works multiple joints and muscle groups.
Isolation Exercise
A movement that targets a single muscle around one joint.
Range of Motion
How far a joint moves through an exercise, from full to partial.
Time Under Tension
How long a muscle is loaded during a set, driven by tempo.
Eccentric Training
Emphasizing the lowering phase of a lift to drive growth.
Muscle Failure
The point where you can't complete another rep with good form.
Mind-Muscle Connection
Consciously focusing on the target muscle during a lift.
Supersets
Performing two exercises back-to-back with no rest between.
Drop Sets
Extending a set by reducing weight and continuing to failure.
Warm-Up
Preparing the body for training to improve performance and reduce injury.
Repetition (Rep)
One complete cycle of an exercise, from start to finish.
Set
A group of consecutive repetitions performed without rest.
Rest Interval
The recovery time taken between sets.
Concentric Contraction
The lifting phase of a rep, where the muscle shortens.
Push/Pull/Legs Split
A popular routine dividing training into pushing, pulling, and leg days.
Upper/Lower Split
A routine alternating upper-body and lower-body training days.
Full-Body Workout
Training all major muscle groups in a single session.
Training Split
How you divide muscle groups across your training week.
Rest-Pause Training
Extending a set with brief pauses to squeeze out extra reps.
Isometric Exercise
Holding a static position under tension without movement.
Plyometrics
Explosive jump-based training that develops power.
Unilateral Training
Working one limb at a time to fix imbalances and build stability.
Core Stability
The ability of your trunk to resist movement and transfer force.
Grip Strength
Hand and forearm strength that often limits pulling exercises.
Sticking Point
The hardest part of a lift where the bar tends to stall.
Accessory Exercise
Supporting movements that build weak points around the main lifts.
Body & Metrics
Measuring body composition and tracking progress.
FFMI (Fat-Free Mass Index)
A measure of muscle mass relative to height.
Body Fat Percentage
The proportion of your body weight that is fat.
Lean Body Mass
Your total weight minus fat mass — muscle, bone, organs, and water.
BMI (Body Mass Index)
A weight-to-height ratio that ignores body composition.
Body Recomposition
Losing fat and building muscle at the same time.
Bulking
A muscle-building phase run in a caloric surplus.
Cutting
A fat-loss phase run in a caloric deficit while preserving muscle.
Waist-to-Hip Ratio
A simple ratio used to gauge fat distribution and health risk.
Bioelectrical Impedance (BIA)
A body-fat estimate from how an electrical current passes through you.
DEXA Scan
A gold-standard body-composition scan measuring fat, muscle, and bone.
Progress Photos
Consistent photos that track visual change the scale misses.
Scale Weight
Body weight as measured by a scale — useful but noisy day to day.
Water Weight
Short-term weight changes driven by water, not fat or muscle.
Ideal Body Weight
Estimated healthy weight ranges based on height and frame.
Cardio & Conditioning
Cardiovascular training, heart rate, and endurance.
VO2 Max
The maximum oxygen your body can use during intense exercise.
HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training)
Short bursts of hard effort alternated with recovery.
LISS (Low-Intensity Steady State)
Sustained low-intensity cardio for fat loss and recovery.
Steady-State Cardio
Cardio held at a constant, moderate intensity.
Heart Rate Zones
Intensity ranges based on percentage of max heart rate.
NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis)
Calories burned through daily movement outside formal exercise.
Maximum Heart Rate
The highest your heart can beat, used to set training zones.
Resting Heart Rate
Your heart rate at rest, a simple marker of fitness and recovery.
Heart Rate Reserve
The gap between resting and max heart rate, used for precise zones.
Zone 2 Cardio
Easy aerobic training that builds endurance and an efficient engine.
Lactate Threshold
The intensity where lactate builds up faster than it clears.
Anaerobic Threshold
The point where exercise shifts to mostly anaerobic energy.
Fasted Cardio
Doing cardio before eating — popular for fat loss, but no magic.
EPOC (Afterburn Effect)
Extra calories burned recovering after intense exercise.
Aerobic Capacity
Your body's ability to sustain endurance exercise using oxygen.
Recovery
Sleep, rest, and how your body adapts to training.
DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness)
Muscle soreness that appears 24–72 hours after training.
Recovery
The process of adapting to training between sessions.
Sleep & Performance
How sleep quality and quantity affect training and recovery.
Rest Day
A day off training to allow recovery and adaptation.
Overtraining
When training exceeds recovery, hurting performance and health.
Mobility
The ability to move joints actively through their full range.
Stretching
Lengthening muscles to improve flexibility and mobility.
Foam Rolling
Self-massage with a roller to ease tightness and aid recovery.
Active Recovery
Light movement on off days to aid recovery without adding fatigue.
Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
Variation between heartbeats, used to gauge recovery and stress.
REM Sleep
The dream stage of sleep important for the brain and recovery.
Circadian Rhythm
Your internal 24-hour clock governing sleep and energy.
Cortisol
The stress hormone that, when chronically high, hurts recovery.
Sauna & Heat Therapy
Heat exposure used for recovery, circulation, and relaxation.
Contrast Therapy
Alternating hot and cold exposure to aid recovery.
Injury Prevention
Training and recovery habits that reduce the risk of getting hurt.
Supplements
Evidence-based supplements and what they actually do.
Creatine
The most researched supplement for strength and muscle.
Whey Protein
A fast-digesting protein powder used to hit protein targets.
Caffeine
A stimulant that improves focus, endurance, and strength output.
Pre-Workout
A supplement blend taken before training for energy and focus.
Beta-Alanine
A supplement that buffers fatigue in high-rep, high-intensity work.
Citrulline Malate
A pre-workout ingredient that boosts blood flow and pumps.
Vitamin D
A key vitamin for bone, immune, and muscle health, often under-consumed.
Magnesium
A mineral involved in muscle function, sleep, and energy.
Casein Protein
A slow-digesting protein often taken before bed.
Creatine Loading
Taking higher creatine doses early to saturate muscles faster.
Ashwagandha
An adaptogenic herb studied for stress and recovery.