Read each term where it’s used
In Augment’s notes, a marked term shows its definition when you hover or tap it, and each page ends with the terms it introduces.
In Augment’s notes, a marked term shows its definition when you hover or tap it, and each page ends with the terms it introduces.
112 terms from Response, each defined in a sentence or two, with the part of the syllabus where you first meet it. 35 of them are HL only, and marked.
A fall in muscle or blood pH caused by hydrogen ions accumulating faster than they are buffered during high-intensity exercise; it inhibits enzymes such as phosphofructokinase and calcium binding.
Low-intensity exercise performed after training or between bouts to keep blood flow high and speed the removal of metabolites such as lactate and hydrogen ions.
An immediate, short-term change in the body during or just after a single bout of exercise, which returns to resting values during recovery.
A skill-related component of fitness: the ability to change the direction of the whole body quickly and accurately while maintaining control.
The build-up of fatty plaques of lipid, cholesterol, immune cells and fibrous tissue in the walls of arteries, which narrows them, reduces their elasticity and can lead to a blocking blood clot.
A skill-related component of fitness: the ability to keep the centre of mass over the base of support, either when stationary (static) or when moving (dynamic).
The minimum rate of energy expenditure needed to maintain essential body functions at complete rest, measured lying down, awake, after fasting and in a comfortable temperature.
Measuring an individual's fitness and related values before a training programme begins, so that intensities can be set and later progress compared with the starting point.
The relative proportions of fat mass and fat-free mass (muscle, bone, organs and water) in the body, usually expressed as body fat percentage.
Body mass in kilograms divided by the square of height in metres, used to classify adults as underweight, healthy, overweight (25–29.9) or obese (30 or more); it does not distinguish fat from muscle.
The amount of mineral, mainly calcium, per unit area or volume of bone, measured by a DXA scan and used as an index of bone strength.
The ability of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems to supply oxygen to working muscles during sustained whole-body exercise; its best single measure is VO₂ max.
Any disease of the heart or blood vessels, including coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral arterial disease and heart failure; most is caused by atherosclerosis.
Fatigue originating in the brain and spinal cord, where reduced neural drive recruits fewer motor units or fires them at a lower rate, so less force is produced.
A debated theory that the brain regulates pacing and exercise intensity, using feedback from the body and the expected task duration, so that exercise stops before homeostasis is lost.
A long-term structural or functional change in the body that results from repeated training over weeks or months and is lost through detraining.
A roughly 24-hour cycle in body processes such as sleep and wakefulness, core temperature and hormone release, controlled by a clock in the hypothalamus and set mainly by light.
A recovery technique in which the body is immersed in cold water, typically 10–15 °C for 10–15 minutes, after exercise to reduce soreness, inflammation and core temperature.
Tight-fitting garments that apply external pressure to the limbs, worn during or after exercise to reduce swelling and soreness and speed the recovery of muscle function.
Exercise performed at a steady, submaximal intensity without rest intervals, usually for at least 20 minutes, to develop cardiorespiratory endurance.
A recovery technique alternating short immersions in cold and warm water over several cycles, proposed to cause alternating vasoconstriction and vasodilation that pump blood through muscle.
A skill-related component of fitness: the ability to move two or more body parts together smoothly, efficiently and accurately.
Disease of the heart caused by atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries, which reduces the blood supply to the heart muscle and can cause angina and myocardial infarction.
An enzyme in muscle that breaks down phosphocreatine; its blood concentration rises when muscle fibres are damaged, so it is used as an indirect marker of muscle damage.
A supplement form of creatine that raises muscle creatine and phosphocreatine stores, improving repeated high-intensity performance and recovery between efforts; it often increases body mass.
Muscle pain and stiffness beginning about 12–24 hours after unaccustomed or eccentric exercise, peaking at about 24–72 hours and caused by muscle damage and inflammation.
The relationship between energy intake and energy expenditure; when the two are equal, body energy stores and body mass stay stable.
The total energy used by the body over a period, made up of basal metabolic rate, the thermic effect of food and the energy used in physical activity.
The total chemical energy taken into the body in food and drink over a period, from carbohydrate, protein, fat and alcohol, usually in kJ or kcal per day.
Physical activity that is planned, structured and repetitive, done to improve or maintain one or more components of fitness or health.
The planning of an individualised exercise programme, specifying frequency, intensity, time and type of exercise and how they progress, based on a person's health, fitness, goals and preferences.
Microscopic damage to muscle fibres and connective tissue after unaccustomed or eccentric exercise, causing temporary strength loss, inflammation, raised creatine kinase and delayed-onset muscle soreness.
A form of continuous training in which speed and intensity are varied, often over varied terrain, so that both aerobic and anaerobic energy systems are stressed.
A reduction in the maximal force or power that muscles can produce, or a rise in the perceived effort needed to maintain a given output, caused by exercise and reversed by rest.
The ability to meet the physical demands of a task or environment, such as daily life, an occupation or a sport, without undue fatigue.
A planning aid for applying overload by adjusting the frequency, intensity, time (duration) and type of exercise.
The range of motion available at a joint or a group of joints, determined by joint structure and the extensibility of muscles, tendons and ligaments.
A planned, short-term increase in training load that causes a temporary fall in performance lasting days to about two weeks, followed by improved performance after recovery.
The fall of glycogen stores in working muscles and the liver to very low levels during prolonged exercise, which slows ATP resynthesis from carbohydrate and forces a lower intensity.
A hormone released by the anterior pituitary gland, mainly during slow-wave sleep and exercise, that stimulates protein synthesis, tissue growth and repair, and fat breakdown.
The difference between an individual's maximum heart rate and resting heart rate, representing the range of heart rate available for exercise.
The variation in the time interval between successive heartbeats, reflecting sympathetic and parasympathetic balance; a fall below an individual's normal resting value suggests incomplete recovery.
Repeated bouts of high-intensity exercise, typically above 80% of maximum heart rate, lasting seconds to several minutes, separated by rest or low-intensity exercise.
A resting blood pressure that is persistently at or above 140/90 mmHg in WHO and many European guidelines, or 130/80 mmHg in the 2017 American guideline; also called high blood pressure.
An abnormally high core body temperature resulting from heat production and gain exceeding heat loss; near about 40 °C during exercise it causes fatigue and risks heat illness.
An abnormally low blood glucose concentration (below about 3.9 mmol per litre); in prolonged exercise it follows liver glycogen depletion and contributes to central fatigue.
The ability of the immune system to detect and destroy pathogens and abnormal cells, through physical barriers, white blood cells and antibodies.
A training principle stating that a programme should be designed for the needs, goals, abilities, health and responses of the individual rather than copied from someone else.
A phosphate ion released when ATP and phosphocreatine are broken down; its accumulation in high-intensity exercise reduces cross-bridge force and calcium release, causing peripheral fatigue.
A reduced response of muscle, liver and fat cells to insulin, so that more insulin is needed to lower blood glucose; insulin sensitivity is the opposite.
Training that alternates periods of work with periods of rest or low-intensity recovery, with work and rest durations chosen to target a particular energy system.
A model of the relationship between exercise load and the risk of upper respiratory tract infection: risk is lower with regular moderate exercise than with inactivity, but higher with very prolonged, intense exercise.
A temporary disturbance of sleep, alertness, digestion and performance after rapid travel across three or more time zones, caused by a mismatch between the body clock and local time.
A method of calculating target heart rate by adding a chosen percentage of heart rate reserve to resting heart rate: target HR = HRrest + intensity × (HRmax − HRrest).
The longest cycle of a periodised programme, usually a season or a year, built around the main competitions and divided into preparatory, competition and transition phases.
A hormone released by the pineal gland in darkness, mainly in the evening, that promotes sleep and helps synchronise the circadian rhythm; light suppresses its release.
A medium-length training cycle, typically 3–6 weeks, with a specific training goal; several mesocycles make up each phase of a macrocycle.
A unit of exercise intensity expressing energy use as a multiple of resting metabolic rate; 1 MET is about 3.5 mL of oxygen per kilogram of body mass per minute.
The shortest training cycle, usually about one week, that sets out the content, order and intensity of individual sessions and the recovery between them.
Physical activity at an intensity of about 3 METs or more, the range in which most of the health benefits of activity are gained.
The process by which muscle cells build new proteins such as actin and myosin from amino acids; it is stimulated by exercise and by eating protein, allowing repair and growth.
The ability of a muscle or muscle group to perform repeated contractions, or sustain a contraction, against a submaximal resistance for an extended period without fatigue.
The maximum force that a muscle or muscle group can generate in a single maximal contraction.
A technique applying sustained pressure to muscles and their fascia, by a therapist or self-applied with a foam roller, to reduce tension and soreness and increase range of motion.
The energy used in everyday physical activity that is not planned exercise, such as walking, standing, fidgeting and household tasks; it varies greatly between people.
An accumulation of training and non-training stress that lowers performance for weeks to months, with psychological and physiological symptoms, and gives no performance gain after recovery.
An excess of body fat that impairs health; in adults it is commonly defined as a body mass index of 30 kg per square metre or more.
The greatest mass that can be lifted once with correct technique through the full range of an exercise; a measure of strength used to prescribe resistance training loads.
A disease in which bone mineral density and bone quality are reduced, so that bones become porous and fragile and fracture easily; defined by a bone density T-score of −2.5 or lower.
A long-term decline in performance lasting months or longer, caused by an imbalance between stress and recovery, with severe physiological, psychological and immune symptoms; diagnosed by excluding other causes.
Reaching the highest level of performance at the planned time of the most important competition, through the organisation of training and a taper.
The planned division of a training programme into cycles with different aims, volumes and intensities, so that the athlete peaks at the most important competitions while fatigue is managed.
Fatigue originating at or beyond the neuromuscular junction, where changes in excitability, calcium release, fuel supply or cross-bridge function reduce force for the same neural drive.
Any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure above resting levels, including activity at work, at home, for transport and in leisure time.
Explosive exercises such as jumps, hops, bounds and throws in which a rapid eccentric stretch of a muscle is followed immediately by a powerful concentric contraction, to develop power.
A distribution of training intensity in which about 75–80% of training is at low intensity, very little at threshold intensity, and the rest at high intensity.
A large group of plant compounds in foods such as tart cherries, berries and cocoa with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, used to try to reduce soreness and speed recovery.
A skill-related component of fitness: the ability to exert a large force in a short time, combining muscular strength with speed of contraction.
The process of identifying, before a person starts an exercise programme, any medical conditions or risk factors that require medical clearance or a modified programme, often using the PAR-Q+.
A training principle stating that training must demand more of the body than it is used to, and that this demand must rise gradually as the body adapts so that improvement continues.
A subjective rating of how hard exercise feels, usually on the Borg 6–20 scale or the CR-10 scale, used to monitor and prescribe exercise intensity.
The time between the presentation of a stimulus and the initiation of the response to it.
The processes by which the body returns to its pre-exercise state after exercise, restoring energy stores, fluid balance and tissue so the next session or competition can be performed.
A training principle stating that adequate rest between sessions and within a programme is needed for the body to repair, refuel and adapt; without it fatigue accumulates and performance declines.
A stage of sleep with rapid eye movements, fast brain activity, dreaming and relaxed skeletal muscles, concentrated late in the night and linked to memory and skill consolidation.
Exercise in which muscles contract against an external resistance, such as free weights, machines, elastic bands or body weight, to improve strength, endurance, hypertrophy or power.
Individuals who show large improvements (responders) or little or no improvement (non-responders) in a given measure after following the same standardised training programme, partly because of genetics.
A training principle stating that training adaptations are gradually lost when training stops or falls below the level needed to maintain them.
The progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass, strength and function with ageing, which increases the risk of falls, frailty and disability.
Any waking behaviour with very low energy expenditure, at or below about 1.5 METs, while sitting, reclining or lying, such as screen time, desk work and driving.
The habits and conditions that promote good sleep, such as a regular schedule, a cool, dark, quiet bedroom, and avoiding caffeine, alcohol and bright screens before bed.
The deepest stage of non-rapid eye movement sleep, with large, slow brain waves, concentrated early in the night; most growth hormone is released during it.
A training principle stating that adaptations are specific to the type of training performed: the energy systems, muscle groups, movement patterns, speeds and contraction types used.
A skill-related component of fitness: the ability to move the whole body, or a part of it, from one point to another in the shortest possible time.
A form of interval training using a few short (about 10–30 s) all-out efforts above the intensity that elicits VO₂ max, separated by long recoveries.
A rapid eccentric contraction of a muscle followed immediately by a concentric contraction, which produces more force than a concentric contraction alone because of stored elastic energy and the stretch reflex.
The rise in performance capacity above its previous baseline that follows recovery from a training stimulus, which guides the timing of sessions and tapers.
A simple method of judging exercise intensity by the ability to speak: at moderate intensity a person can talk but not sing, and at vigorous intensity they can say only a few words without pausing.
A planned reduction in training load, mainly volume, for about 1–3 weeks before an important competition, to remove accumulated fatigue while maintaining fitness.
A population group, such as children and adolescents, older adults or pregnant individuals, whose physiological, psychological or social characteristics require exercise to be adapted.
The increase in energy expenditure above the resting level caused by digesting, absorbing and storing food, about 10% of daily energy expenditure.
The application of heat for recovery or treatment, such as hot packs, hot-water immersion or a sauna, causing vasodilation and increasing blood flow and tissue elasticity.
Training at or just below the intensity of the lactate inflection point, continuously or as long intervals with short recoveries, to raise the pace that can be sustained.
The overall stress a training session or period places on an individual, combining intensity and volume; often quantified as session RPE multiplied by duration in minutes.
The general rules that guide the design of a training programme so that it produces the desired adaptations safely, including specificity, progressive overload, recovery, variety, reversibility and periodisation.
A range of exercise intensity, defined by heart rate, speed, power, RPE or blood lactate, within which training produces a particular set of adaptations.
Tiredness and disturbed sleep caused by the demands of a journey itself, such as long sitting, early starts and dehydration, with or without crossing time zones; usually resolves after sleep.
A chronic disease in which blood glucose is persistently high because of insulin resistance and, later, insufficient insulin production by the pancreas; strongly linked to inactivity and excess body fat.
A training principle stating that methods, exercises and environments should be varied, within the limits of specificity, to maintain motivation, prevent boredom and reduce overuse injury risk.
A measurement of the circumference of the abdomen, used as an index of abdominal (visceral) fat; values above about 102 cm in men and 88 cm in women indicate high health risk.