If you're new to Moves App or just starting out on your fitness journey, familiarizing yourself with common workout terms is a great place to begin. From the adrenaline-pumping intensity of HIIT to the steady pace of LISS, and the structured challenges of circuits, supersets, EMOM, and AMRAP, we'll help you navigate some of these hard-to-remember acronyms and terms!

Let's dive into the world of workout terminology and uncover what these terms mean for your sweat sessions!

Depending on the plan you are following, most workouts begin with a “guided” warm-up that is designed to increase blood flow prior to training while actively focusing on the muscle group to be trained.

You can also choose to warm up using the cardio options you prefer and have available, but a DYNAMIC warm-up is recommended (moving vs static stretching).

This term isolates muscles specifically to be used in higher demands (heavier lifts) later in the workout so they are primed and ready to work! This added fatigue helps to guarantee muscle breakdown, ideal for hypertrophy training.

This term is typically seen at the END of a workout and is designed to take your muscles to their maximum failure with a combination of cardio, higher reps and minimal rest times!

HIIT is the most challenging aerobic activity – you’ll be pushing yourself out of your comfort zone for short bursts of time. The goal is to elevate the heart rate by going all out for a short amount of time, then bring the heart rate down by fully resting for an allotted time. Think running sprints, biking sprints, jump rope, rower, burpees, dancing, jumping jacks, etc.

The opposite of HIIT! LISS is low to moderate intensity aerobic activity. The goal is to elevate your heart rate slightly and allow it to get into a fat burning zone. Think walking, cycling, elliptical, swimming, light jogging, walking your dog, etc. Your heart rate should be around 65-100 bpm.

A circuit is a group of three or more exercises that you complete back to back for a certain number of rounds. After completing all of the exercises and prescribed reps once, you will rest and then repeat the block of exercises again. You repeat this process for the allotted number of rounds. Example:

A superset is two exercises performed back to back. The pattern in which you move through a superset is similar to how you move through a circuit. You’ll complete round 1 of exercise 1, round 1 of exercise 2, then rest. Repeat that pattern for the allotted number of rounds.

A single exercise is just ONE movement with multiple sets to perform. You will want to rest adequately in between sets and you will complete all sets before moving on to the remainder of the workout.

This type of circuit involves a timed challenge. Perform the specified reps at the start of each minute. Use the remaining time to rest before the next exercise. For unilateral exercises, complete both sides within the minute and rest. If you can't finish the reps in a minute, move to the next exercise without rest. The circuit is done top to bottom, one set per round.

Example: Complete 10 bicep curls in minute 1. If it takes 30 seconds, rest for the remaining 30 seconds before starting the next exercise in minute 2. Use a stopwatch to keep track of time.

Tip: Use a stopwatch to keep track of time. The app has timers that can be utilized.

This will be a block of exercises that you complete back to back for as many rounds as possible during the allotted time.

Example: if given AMRAP 10, you will complete the given circuit as many times as possible in 10 minutes. Your goal is to take as little rest as possible, without compromising form by hurrying through the exercises.