30 Must-Know Weightlifting Terms, Phrases and Slang

66 weightlifting terms explained, from snatch, clean and jerk and hook grip to 1RM, lockout and drop set, plus the slang lifters use.

A training log written in weightlifting terminology is close to unreadable from the outside: sets, singles, tempo, PRs. The list below unpacks it. It covers the words related to weightlifting equipment, the words associated with the lifts themselves, and the weightlifting terms and definitions that separate the Olympic sport from general gym work, plus the slang that lives around both. The weightlifting glossary below is the short version.

New to the sport? Our guide to weightlifting rules explains how a competition works and is scored, which makes most of the terms below fall into place.

👉 Think you know weightlifting? Test yourself with our Weightlifting Quiz.

Must-Know Weightlifting Terms, Phrases and Slang:

Weightlifting Glossary: Every Term A to Z

Numbers and Terms A to C

Term	What It Means
1RM	One-rep max, the heaviest weight you can lift once with sound form. Training loads are often set as a percentage of it.
Attempt	One of the three tries a lifter gets in each competition lift.
Barbell	The long bar loaded with plates at both ends. The men’s bar is heavier and longer than the women’s.
Bench Press	Lying on a bench and pressing a barbell from the chest to straight arms. Chest, shoulders and triceps.
Block	A raised stand the bar rests on to start lifts above the floor.
Bodybuilding	Training to build muscle size and shape, judged on appearance rather than weight lifted.
Bro split	A program that trains one muscle group per day.
Bumper plate	A rubber-coated plate that can be dropped from overhead without damaging bar or floor. Standard in Olympic lifting.
Catch	The moment the lifter receives the bar in the snatch or clean.
Chalk	Magnesium carbonate rubbed on the hands to dry them so the bar does not slip.
Clean	Lifting the barbell from the floor to the front of the shoulders in one movement, receiving it in a squat.
Clean and Jerk	The heavier of the two Olympic lifts: clean the bar to the shoulders, then drive it overhead.
Collars	The clamps that hold the plates on the bar. In competition they are a fixed weight and count toward the total.
Concentric	The lifting half of a rep, where the muscle shortens under load.
Curl	Bending the elbow against resistance to work the biceps, with a barbell, dumbbells or a machine.

Terms D to L

Term	What It Means
Deadlift	Lifting a loaded bar from the floor to standing at the hips. The whole posterior chain works.
Drop Set	Working to failure, stripping weight off and going straight back to work without rest.
Dumbbell	A short bar with fixed or loadable weight, used one in each hand.
Eccentric	The lowering half of a rep, where the muscle lengthens under load. Slower eccentrics build control and soreness.
Failure	The point where another clean rep is not possible. Useful in small doses, costly in large ones.
Front Squat	A squat with the bar racked on the front of the shoulders. Harder on the upper back, heavier on the quadriceps.
Good lift	A lift approved by the referees, signaled with white lights.
Grip	How the bar is held. Overhand, underhand, mixed and hook grips each suit different lifts.
Hang	Starting a lift with the bar held above the knees instead of on the floor.
Hook Grip	Trapping the thumb under the first two fingers against the bar. Painful at first, and standard in Olympic lifting.
Hypertrophy	Growth in muscle size. Trained with moderate loads and higher rep ranges.
Jerk	Driving the bar from the shoulders to locked arms overhead, usually receiving it in a split.
Kettlebell	A cast weight with a looped handle above the body, swung and pressed as well as lifted.
Lifting belt	A stiff belt worn at the waist to brace against. It raises abdominal pressure and supports the spine in heavy squats and pulls.
Lockout	The end of a lift with the joints fully straight and the weight held still. Without it the lift does not count.

Terms N to P

Term	What It Means
No lift	A lift rejected by the referees, signaled with red lights.
Olympic Lifting	The competition sport of the snatch and the clean and jerk, scored on the best of three attempts at each.
Overhead Press	Pressing the bar from the shoulders to overhead with no help from the legs.
Plate	A weight disc loaded onto the bar. A standard large plate is 20 kilograms or 45 pounds.
Platform	The wooden lifting area where lifts are performed.
Plyometrics	Explosive jumping and bounding work that trains fast force production.
Power clean	A clean caught high, above a full squat. Lighter than a full clean but faster to learn.
Power jerk	A jerk caught with the feet moving out sideways and only a partial squat, no split.
Power snatch	A snatch caught above parallel instead of in a full squat.
Powerlifting	The competition sport of the squat, bench press and deadlift. Different from Olympic weightlifting.
PR (Personal Record)	Your best ever result in a lift. Also written PB, personal best.
Press-out	Pushing the bar up with bent arms at the end of a snatch or jerk, which makes it a no lift.
Progressive overload	Adding weight, reps or sets over time. The reason training keeps working.
Pull	The first phase of the snatch or clean, from the floor until the bar is moving up fast.
Pyramid set	Working up in weight set by set and often back down again, with reps falling as the load rises.

Terms R to S

Term	What It Means
Rack	The uprights the bar is taken from and returned to. Also the shoulder position the bar sits in after a clean.
Rack position	The bar resting on the front of the shoulders, as at the top of the clean.
Rep	One repetition, a single complete cycle of an exercise, down and up.
Set	A run of reps done without stopping. Sets are separated by rest.
Single	A set of one rep. Chasing singles means working near maximum for one rep at a time.
Snatch	Lifting the bar from floor to overhead in one continuous movement. The fastest and most technical lift in the sport.
Split Jerk	A jerk received with one foot forward and one back, which lets the heaviest loads be fixed overhead.
Spotter	Someone standing by to help if a lift stalls, most often on the bench press and the back squat.
Squat	Lowering the hips from standing and driving back up, loaded or not. The base of every leg program.
Squat jerk	A jerk caught in a full squat, used by a few elite lifters.
Stance	Where the feet are set for a lift. A sumo deadlift is wide, an overhead press is narrow.
Strength Training	Training against resistance to build strength, muscle and anaerobic endurance.
Sumo deadlift	A deadlift with a wide stance and the hands inside the knees, which shortens the pull.
Superset	Two exercises done back to back with no rest, usually working different muscle groups.

Terms T to W

Term	What It Means
Tempo	The prescribed speed of each phase of a rep, written as counts, for example three seconds down and three up.
Total	The sum of a lifter’s best snatch and best clean and jerk in competition.
Triple extension	Straightening the ankles, knees and hips at once to drive the bar up.
Upright row	Pulling a bar up the front of the body toward the chest with the elbows high.
Warm-up	Light work before the heavy sets to raise temperature and rehearse the movement.
Weight Class	The bodyweight category lifters compete in, so lifters meet others of similar size.
Wraps	Elastic wraps around the knees or wrists for support.

What Is It Called When…? Weightlifting Terms by Situation

Know what happened but not the word for it? Find the situation on the left and the weightlifting term on the right.

When…	It Is Called
You lift the bar from the floor to overhead in one movement	Snatch
You lift the bar to your shoulders and then overhead	Clean and jerk
You lift the bar from the floor to your shoulders	Clean
You lift as much as you can for one rep	1RM
You lift a weight you have never lifted before	PR
You keep going until you cannot do another rep	Failure
You only lower the weight slowly	Eccentric
You lower the weight and keep going without rest	Drop set
You do two exercises back to back	Superset
You squat with the bar on the front of the shoulders	Front squat
You lift the bar from the floor to hip height	Deadlift
You start a lift with the bar above the knees	Hang
You trap the thumb under the fingers	Hook grip
You push the bar up with bent arms at the end	Press-out
Someone stands by to help if you fail	Spotter
You add a little weight every week	Progressive overload
You train only one muscle group a day	Bro split

#1 Barbell

A long steel bar loaded with plates at each end. A men’s Olympic barbell is 2.2 meters long and weighs 20 kg, the women’s bar 15 kg with a thinner grip. The sleeves at the ends spin, so the bar can turn in the hands during fast lifts.

In a sentence: “Load the barbell to 60 and we’ll start the warm-up sets.”

#2 Bench Press

Lying on a flat bench and pressing the bar from the chest to straight arms. It is one of the three powerlifting lifts, alongside the squat and deadlift, and the most popular lift in commercial gyms. In competition the bar must pause on the chest before the press command.

In a sentence: “Touch the chest, wait for the press call, then drive.”

#3 Clean and Jerk

The second of the two lifts in Olympic weightlifting. The lifter pulls the bar from the floor onto the shoulders in the clean, stands up, then drives it overhead in the jerk. It is the lift in which the heaviest weights in the sport are lifted overhead.

In a sentence: “He made all three clean and jerks and took gold on the total.”

#4 Deadlift

Lifting a loaded bar from the floor until the lifter stands straight with hips and knees locked. It is the third powerlifting lift and usually the heaviest weight a lifter can move. Conventional deadlifts are pulled with the feet narrow, sumo deadlifts with a wide stance.

In a sentence: “Keep the bar close to your shins on the deadlift.”

#5 Front Squat

A squat with the bar resting on the front of the shoulders and the elbows high. It forces an upright torso and is the squat closest to the bottom position of the clean, which is why weightlifters do so many of them.

In a sentence: “Elbows up on the front squat or the bar rolls forward.”

#6 Grip

How the hands hold the bar. The main types are overhand, underhand, mixed, with one palm facing each way, and the hook grip. Grip width matters too: snatch grip is very wide, clean grip about shoulder width.

In a sentence: “Your deadlift is fine, it’s your grip that gives out.”

#7 Jerk

The second part of the clean and jerk, driving the bar from the shoulders to locked arms overhead. The lifter dips, drives up with the legs and drops under the bar. The split jerk is most common, the power jerk and squat jerk are the alternatives.

In a sentence: “Your jerk dip is too deep, keep it short and fast.”

#8 Lifting belt

A thick leather or nylon belt worn tight around the waist on heavy lifts. Lifters brace their core against it to raise pressure in the abdomen and keep the spine stable. Most lifters wear it only on their heaviest sets.

In a sentence: “Belt on for anything over 90 percent.”

#9 Overhead Press

Pressing the bar from the shoulders to straight arms overhead without help from the legs, also called the strict press or military press. The press was an Olympic lift until 1972, when it was dropped because judging the back bend had become impossible.

In a sentence: “No leg drive, this is a strict overhead press.”

#10 PR (Personal Record)

A lifter’s best ever weight for a lift or rep range, also called a PB, personal best. Lifters chase PRs in training and competition and track them in a log. A rep PR is more reps at a weight than ever before.

In a sentence: “That’s a 5 kg PR on the snatch, ring the bell.”

#11 Snatch

The first lift in Olympic weightlifting: the bar goes from the floor to locked arms overhead in one movement, with a very wide grip. The lifter pulls the bar up and drops into a full squat under it. It is the fastest lift in the sport.

In a sentence: “Three good snatches, now on to the clean and jerk.”

#12 Split Jerk

A jerk in which the lifter splits the legs into a lunge, one forward and one back, to get under the bar. The split gives a wide base front to back. The lifter then steps the front foot back and the rear foot forward to finish with feet in line.

In a sentence: “Recover front foot first on the split jerk.”

#13 Squat

Bending at the hips and knees with a bar on the back until the hips drop below the knees, then standing back up. The back squat is the first of the three powerlifting lifts. In competition the crease of the hip must go below the top of the knee.

In a sentence: “Hit depth, the judges want hip crease below the knee.”

#14 Warm-up

The lighter sets before the working weight, increasing step by step. In competition lifters warm up in the back room and time their last warm-up so they walk out ready when their name is called.

In a sentence: “Two more warm-up sets and you’re on the platform.”

#15 Weight Class

A body weight category, set so lifters compete against others of similar size. Lifters weigh in two hours before their session. The International Weightlifting Federation has changed its classes several times since 2018.

In a sentence: “He cut five kilos to make the weight class.”

#16 Chalk

Magnesium carbonate rubbed on the hands to absorb sweat and improve grip. Most competitions have a chalk bowl next to the platform, and many commercial gyms have rules against it because of the dust.

In a sentence: “Chalk up, you’ll need it for this deadlift.”

#17 Collars

Clips that hold the plates in place on the bar so they cannot slide off. Competition collars weigh 2.5 kg each and count toward the total weight. Training collars are lighter spring clips or lock-jaws.

In a sentence: “Collars on, every set.”

#18 Drop Set

Doing a set to or near failure, then immediately reducing the weight and continuing without rest. It is a bodybuilding method for building muscle, not a weightlifting competition technique.

In a sentence: “Last set of curls is a drop set, three drops.”

#19 Failure

The point at which a lifter cannot complete another rep with good form. Training to failure is common in bodybuilding. Strength and Olympic lifters usually stop a rep or two short to keep technique clean.

In a sentence: “Leave a rep in the tank, don’t go to failure.”

#20 Hook Grip

Wrapping the thumb around the bar first and then trapping it with the index and middle fingers. It locks the bar in the hand and is standard in the snatch and clean. It hurts at first, but the thumb gets used to it.

In a sentence: “Use the hook grip, your thumb will stop hurting in a few weeks.”

#21 Lockout

The end of a lift, when joints are straight and the weight is stable: arms locked overhead in the jerk, hips and knees straight in the deadlift. In weightlifting a soft elbow at lockout is a press-out and a no lift.

In a sentence: “Strong lockout, hold it for the down signal.”

#22 Olympic Lifting

The sport of weightlifting with its two lifts, snatch and clean and jerk, also called Olympic weightlifting or Oly. It has been part of every Summer Olympics since 1920 and was also held at the first modern Games in 1896. The result is the total of the best attempt in each lift.

In a sentence: “He came from CrossFit into Olympic lifting.”

#23 Plyometrics

Jump and bounce exercises that train the muscles to produce force quickly, such as box jumps, depth jumps and bounding. Weightlifters use them to build explosiveness off the floor.

In a sentence: “Box jumps after the squats, three sets of five.”

#24 Rep

Short for repetition, one complete lift from start to finish. Low reps of one to five build maximum strength, while higher reps build more muscle and endurance.

In a sentence: “Three reps at 100, then we’ll go up.”

#25 Set

A group of reps done without a break, followed by rest. Programs are written as sets by reps, so 5×5 means five sets of five reps.

In a sentence: “Last set, make it count.”

#26 Spotter

A training partner who stands by to help if the lifter fails a rep, mainly on bench press and squat. In Olympic lifts there is no spotter: the lifter drops the bar on bumper plates.

In a sentence: “Can you spot me on this bench set?”

#27 Stance

The position of the feet. Lifters pull the snatch and clean with feet about hip width, then land in a wider receiving stance. In powerlifting, squat and deadlift stance can range from narrow to very wide sumo.

In a sentence: “Widen your stance a bit for the squat.”

#28 Strength Training

Training with resistance to build strength, using barbells, dumbbells, machines or body weight. It covers every style from bodybuilding to powerlifting. Weightlifting as a sport is one specific form of it.

In a sentence: “Strength training twice a week is enough for most runners.”

#29 Superset

Two exercises done back to back without rest, then a rest after both. Pairing opposing muscles, such as bench press with rows, saves time in the gym.

In a sentence: “Superset the pull-ups with dips.”

#30 1RM

One rep max: the heaviest weight a lifter can lift once with correct form. Programs often prescribe weights as a percentage of 1RM, such as five sets of three at 80 percent. It can be tested directly or estimated from a heavier set of reps.

In a sentence: “We’re working at 75 percent of your 1RM this week.”

Weightlifting Slang Players and Fans Actually Use

Slang	What It Means
Gains	Increases in muscle or strength, as in “making gains”.
Swole	Very muscular.
Gym rat	Someone who seems to live at the gym.
Bro split	A program that trains one muscle group per day.
Leg day	The training day for legs, famous for being skipped.
Pump	The swollen, tight feeling in a muscle after high-rep sets.
Plate	A 20 kg or 45 lb plate, as in “two plates” for two on each side of the bar.
Ego lifting	Lifting more weight than you can handle with good form, just to look strong.
Grinder	A slow, hard rep that takes every bit of effort to finish.
Chasing singles	Working up to heavy single reps in training to test or build maximum strength.
Oly	Short for Olympic weightlifting.
Bulk and cut	Eating extra to gain muscle, then dieting to lose the fat.

Weightlifting Expressions and Sayings in Everyday English

Heavy lifting: The hard part of any job, as in “she did the heavy lifting on the project”.
Punch above your weight: To perform better than your size suggests. It comes from weight classes in boxing and applies just as well to lifting.
Pull your weight: Do your fair share of the work.
Light weight, baby!: Ronnie Coleman’s famous shout during heavy lifts in his training videos, quoted in gyms everywhere.
Never skip leg day: A gym joke aimed at people with big upper bodies and thin legs.

FAQ

What do you call the exercise where you lift a barbell from the floor to your shoulders?

A clean. Followed by driving the bar overhead it becomes the clean and jerk, and a clean caught above a full squat is a power clean.

What is it called when you only do the lowering part of a lift?

An eccentric or negative. The lifter lowers the weight slowly, often a weight too heavy to lift on their own, and a partner helps on the way up.

What is the term for lifting weights to exhaustion?

Training to failure. The set ends when the lifter cannot complete another rep with good form.

What is the Olympic lift where the bar goes overhead in one motion?

The snatch. The bar travels from the floor to locked arms overhead in a single movement, with the lifter dropping into a full squat underneath.

What does chasing singles mean in weightlifting?

Working up to heavy single reps in a session, often near the 1RM. Lifters do it to practice maximal lifts or test strength before a competition.

What is a female weightlifter called?

Simply a weightlifter or lifter. There is no separate term in the sport, and women have competed in Olympic weightlifting since Sydney 2000.

What are some words related to weightlifting?

Lifts like snatch, clean and jerk, squat and deadlift, equipment like barbell, plates and collars, and training words like rep, set, 1RM and PR. The weightlifting glossary above lists them all.

What are some weightlifting terms for beginners?

Rep, set, 1RM and PR cover most training plans. Add barbell, collars, spotter and warm-up, and the names of the main lifts.

What are some weightlifting slang terms?

Gains for progress, swole for very muscular, gym rat for a regular, ego lifting for lifting too heavy and leg day for the most skipped workout. The slang table above has more.

What is a famous weightlifting phrase?

Light weight, baby! from bodybuilder Ronnie Coleman is the best known gym quote. Outside the gym, the phrase heavy lifting means doing the hardest part of a job.