This glossary of bodybuilding terms tackles S and T, and it’s the richest section yet. You’ll find essential exercises that were surprisingly missing until now, like the squat and the trapezius, training techniques like supersets, trisets, and time under tension, and a long list of equipment, anatomy, and recovery concepts in between — from the Smith machine and straps to tendinitis and testosterone. Browse the full list below, or use the navigation links to jump straight to a specific term.
- Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy
- A type of muscle growth involving an increase in the volume of sarcoplasm — the fluid and energy-storing components surrounding the muscle fibers — rather than the contractile proteins themselves. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is generally associated with higher-rep, higher-volume training, as distinct from myofibrillar hypertrophy.
- Set
- A group of consecutive repetitions of an exercise performed without resting, such as 10 reps of a biceps curl performed back-to-back.
- Sets across
- A set and rep structure in which the same weight is used for every working set of an exercise, rather than increasing or decreasing the load across sets as in pyramiding. For example, performing 3 sets of 8 reps all with the same weight is training “sets across.”
- Shoulder girdle
- The ring of bones at the shoulder — technically an incomplete ring — that provides the attachment points for the muscles allowing movement of the shoulder and elbow joints. → Interactive human skeleton tool
- Shrug
- An exercise performed by elevating the shoulders straight upward while holding a barbell, dumbbells, or other resistance, primarily targeting the trapezius muscles. → Cable shrug exercise guide
- Side delt (lateral deltoid)
- The middle portion of the deltoid muscle, located on the outer side of the shoulder, primarily responsible for shoulder abduction. The side delt is a major contributor to overall shoulder width and is commonly trained with lateral raises. → Lateral deltoid: functional anatomy guide
- Single-joint exercise
- Another name for an isolation exercise — see the full entry under “Isolation exercise” in the I-L glossary. → See “Isolation exercise” in the I-L glossary
- Six-pack
- A slang term for visibly defined abdominal muscles, named for the six bulges (three per side) that appear when the rectus abdominis is well developed and body fat is low. → Why your abs aren’t showing
- Skeletal muscle
- Also called striated muscle, this is the type of muscle attached to the skeleton and under voluntary control. Contracting skeletal muscle is what allows you to move your body deliberately, as opposed to smooth or cardiac muscle. → Interactive muscle anatomy
- Slow-twitch muscle fiber
- A type of muscle fiber with high endurance capacity but limited ability to generate fast, powerful contractions. Slow-twitch fibers are heavily relied upon during long-duration, lower-intensity activities such as distance running. → Types of muscle fibers: slow-twitch vs. fast-twitch
- Smith machine
- A common piece of gym equipment consisting of a barbell fixed within a set of parallel steel rails, restricting its movement to a controlled vertical path. The fixed path makes it useful for certain exercises but limits the natural stabilization demands of a free barbell. → Smith machine exercises → Smith machine strength training: pros & cons
- Smooth muscle
- A type of muscle found in the walls of the body’s hollow internal organs, such as the intestines and blood vessels, that is not under voluntary control.
- Somatotype
- A term describing an individual’s overall body characteristics, including muscle size, bone size, body fat level, and general build — most commonly categorized into the three broad types: ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph. → The 3 somatotypes explained: ectomorph, mesomorph, endomorph
- Soreness
- The mild pain or discomfort felt in muscles after a workout, typically appearing 12 to 24 hours after exercise and most pronounced with unfamiliar or unusually intense training. Modern research attributes soreness primarily to microscopic muscle damage and inflammation rather than lactic acid buildup, which clears from the muscle within an hour or so of finishing exercise. → Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS)
- Spinal erectors
- Long, rope-like muscles running along either side of the spine that help maintain posture by keeping the upper body upright. The spinal erectors are heavily engaged during deadlifts, good mornings, and other hip-hinge movements. → The anatomy of lower back muscles: erector spinae
- Split routine
- A training program in which the body is divided into segments trained on different days, typically more than the roughly three sessions per week common among beginners. A popular example divides the body into three parts trained over three consecutive days, followed by a rest day, in a repeating cycle. → Training split design
- Sponges
- Small foam pads used to protect the hands from blisters and calluses during heavy lifting, offering many lifters a more convenient alternative to gloves.
- Spotter
- A training partner, or other person, who assists a lifter during an exercise, ready to help if the lifter cannot complete a repetition. A spotter allows a lifter to safely train closer to or past muscle failure on potentially dangerous exercises such as the bench press. → The art of spotting: how to be a good weightlifting spotter
- Squat
- A fundamental compound exercise performed by bending the knees and hips to lower the body, then standing back up, typically while holding a barbell across the upper back or front shoulders. The squat is widely considered one of the three core lifts, alongside the bench press and deadlift, and primarily targets the quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings. → Basic bodyweight squat exercise
- Stabilizer muscles
- Muscles that help steady a joint or limb during an exercise without directly contributing force to move the weight. Free-weight exercises generally demand more from the stabilizer muscles than machine-based exercises, which often take over much of the stabilization role.
- Staggered grip
- A grip in which one hand uses an overhand grip and the other an underhand grip, commonly used on the deadlift, since the alternating grip styles help prevent the bar from rolling out of the hands under heavy load.
- Static hold
- An exercise variation in which a position is held motionless under tension for a set duration, rather than performing repetitions — for example, holding the bottom position of a squat, or a plank. Static holds are a form of isometric training.
- Static stretch
- A low-force, long-duration stretch in which a muscle is held at its greatest comfortable length for roughly 20 to 30 seconds, without bouncing or active movement. Static stretching is most often recommended after training rather than as part of a warm-up.
- Steroids
- Synthetic derivatives of the hormone testosterone that allow users to build muscle mass and strength more rapidly than would be possible naturally. Anabolic steroids also tend to increase the rate of fat oxidation, contributing to the leaner, more “ripped” appearance often associated with their use, but carry significant health risks and are banned in most competitive bodybuilding federations. → The side effects of anabolic steroids → The complete guide to anabolic steroids in bodybuilding
- Sticking point
- The specific point during a repetition where the working muscle is at its mechanically weakest, often where the lift is most likely to fail. Identifying and addressing a sticking point — for example, with accommodating resistance or targeted accessory work — is a common strategy for breaking through plateaus.
- Stiff-leg deadlift
- A deadlift variation performed with the knees kept nearly straight throughout the movement, placing significant stretch and tension on the hamstrings. It is closely related to the Romanian deadlift but typically performed with even less knee bend and a greater emphasis on hamstring flexibility. → Stiff-leg deadlift: proper form, muscles worked & hamstring growth guide
- Straps
- Long, narrow strips of material wrapped around the lower forearm and the bar to increase gripping power, tightening further as the lifter pulls. Straps are commonly used on grip-limited pulling exercises such as deadlifts, shrugs, and chin-ups. → Wrist straps in weightlifting
- Strength curve
- The pattern of how much force a muscle can produce at different points throughout an exercise’s range of motion. Most exercises have an “ascending,” “descending,” or “bell-shaped” strength curve, which is one reason different exercises or equipment (bands, cables, free weights) can feel easier or harder at different points in the movement.
- Strength training
- A form of resistance training specifically aimed at building the strength of the skeletal muscles, typically using progressively heavier loads over time. → Strength training with barbells: the pros and cons
- Stretch marks
- Red or purple lines on the skin caused by thinning and a loss of elasticity, most often resulting from rapid muscle growth, though rapid fat gain can also cause them. The pec-delt tie-in is one of the most common sites for stretch marks in bodybuilders, and there is no reliably effective method of prevention or removal.
- Stretching
- A form of exercise primarily aimed at increasing flexibility, also commonly used to warm up the body and prepare it for more demanding activity.
- Striations
- Fine grooves or bands visible on the surface of a muscle, caused by the underlying structure of the muscle fibers showing through the skin. Striations are most visible in very lean, well-developed bodybuilders with extremely low body fat.
- Strict form
- A training technique involving slow, controlled movement through a full range of motion, performed without the assistance of a partner or the use of cheating techniques such as excessive momentum.
- Sumo deadlift
- A deadlift variation performed with a wide stance and the hands gripping the bar inside the legs, resulting in a more upright torso position than the conventional deadlift. The sumo deadlift places relatively more emphasis on the quads and inner thighs and can be advantageous for lifters with longer torsos or certain hip structures.
- Supersets
- An advanced training technique in which two exercises are performed back-to-back with no rest in between. Supersets may target the same muscle group (such as dumbbell curls followed by barbell curls) or opposing muscle groups (such as triceps extensions followed by biceps curls). → The power of supersets in bodybuilding
- Supinated grip
- A grip in which the palms face upward, toward the lifter, with the thumbs pointing outward and away from each other — commonly known as a reverse grip. An example is a close-grip chin-up performed with the palms facing the body. → Handgrip types & width in strength training
- Supination
- Rotation of the wrist or forearm outward, away from the body — for example, the rotation that occurs during a dumbbell curl as the palm turns from facing the body to facing upward. More broadly, supination refers to any movement in which a limb rotates away from the body’s centerline.
- Supine
- Lying horizontally on the back, as in a flat bench press or lying leg curl. The opposite of prone.
- Supplements
- Vitamins, minerals, protein, or other nutrients taken in addition to a regular diet, available in forms including tablets, capsules, powders, oils, or whole-food extracts. → Creatine supplement guide: benefits, side effects, types & best usage tips
- Symmetry
- In a bodybuilding context, the overall visual balance and proportion of the physique, in addition to its more literal meaning of left-right similarity. Symmetry is closely related to proportion and is a key judging criterion in bodybuilding competition. → Achieving the symmetrical ideal in bodybuilding
- Synergist
- A muscle that assists in performing a movement by contributing additional force, without being the primary muscle responsible for that movement. For example, the triceps act as a synergist to the pectoral muscles during the bench press.
- Tabata
- A specific high-intensity interval training protocol consisting of eight rounds of 20 seconds of maximal effort followed by 10 seconds of rest, totaling four minutes. Tabata is one of the most time-efficient and intense forms of HIIT.
- Tempo (training tempo)
- The speed at which each phase of a repetition is performed, often written as a sequence of numbers representing the eccentric, pause, concentric, and top-pause durations in seconds (for example, a “3-1-1-0” tempo). Deliberately manipulating tempo is a common way to change a lift’s training stimulus without changing the weight. → Weight lifting tempo (repetition speed)
- Tendinitis
- Inflammation involving a tendon and the point where it attaches to muscle or bone, typically caused by repetitive overuse of a particular area. Bicep tendinitis is a particularly common complaint among bodybuilders due to the high volume of pulling and curling movements in typical training. → Biceps tendonitis and weightlifting
- Tendon
- A band of dense, fibrous tissue that connects muscle to bone, transmitting the force generated by a contracting muscle to produce movement of the bone. → Meet your tendons: 12 FAQ and answers
- Testosterone
- The primary natural androgenic and anabolic hormone, produced mainly by the testes in men and in smaller amounts by the adrenal glands in both men and women. Testosterone plays a central role in maintaining muscle mass and strength, and drives the development of secondary male characteristics such as a deeper voice and increased body hair. → Testosterone: the master muscle-building hormone
- Tibialis anterior
- A muscle running along the front of the shin, responsible for dorsiflexion (lifting the toes toward the shin). Despite its relatively small size, the tibialis anterior plays an important role in ankle stability, walking mechanics, and injury prevention. → Tibialis anterior muscle: functional anatomy guide
- Time under tension (TUT)
- The total duration a muscle spends under load during a set, determined by combining repetition tempo with the number of reps performed. Manipulating time under tension — for example, by slowing the eccentric phase — is one strategy used to increase the metabolic and mechanical stress placed on a muscle. → Time under tension: the missing key to muscle growth
- Trace minerals
- Minerals the body needs only in very small amounts, typically measured in micrograms, including chromium, copper, cobalt, silicon, selenium, iron, and zinc. Despite the tiny quantities required, deficiencies in trace minerals can still meaningfully impair health and performance.
- Training diary
- A daily journal kept by bodybuilders to track details such as body weight, exercises performed, sets, reps, calorie intake, and overall motivation, providing a record useful for spotting trends over time.
- Training log
- A record kept by a lifter of their workouts, typically including exercises performed, weight used, sets and reps completed, rest taken, and how the lifter felt during and after the session. A training log helps track progress objectively and stay motivated toward specific goals.
- Training partner
- A person who trains together with you on most or all of your training days, often providing motivation, spotting assistance, and accountability.
- Training to failure
- Continuing a set until the working muscle can no longer complete another repetition with proper form, regardless of effort. Most bodybuilders train to this point of “positive failure” and may then have a training partner assist with a few additional forced reps beyond it.
- Trapezius
- A large, kite-shaped muscle spanning the upper back and neck, responsible for shrugging, retracting, and rotating the shoulder blades. The trapezius is divided into upper, middle, and lower portions, each emphasized differently by exercises such as shrugs, rows, and face pulls. → Trapezius muscle: functional anatomy guide for bodybuilders
- Traps
- A slang term for the trapezius muscles — the large, kite-shaped muscles spanning the upper back and neck. → Meet your muscles: trapezius
- Triceps
- The three-headed extensor muscle located on the back of the upper arm, working in opposition to the biceps to straighten the elbow and extend the lower arm. → Triceps brachii: anatomy guide for bodybuilding
- Triceps pushdown
- A cable isolation exercise performed by extending the elbows to push a bar or rope attachment downward, primarily targeting the triceps. It is one of the most common triceps-isolation exercises found in gyms. → Cable triceps pushdown: proper form, muscles worked & technique tips
- Tris
- A common gym slang term for the triceps muscles.
- Trisets
- Similar to supersets but involving three different exercises performed back-to-back for the same muscle group, without rest between them. → Triset training system: types, pros, cons & examples
- TRX (suspension training)
- A form of bodyweight training using adjustable straps anchored overhead, allowing the body to be suspended at an angle to increase or decrease exercise difficulty. TRX training is widely used for core stability, pulling movements, and functional strength work. → TRX inverted row: exercise guide
