12 Labours Fitness Glossary

Capacity
How much physical work your body can perform before fatigue. Training increases your capacity over time.

Core Strength
Stability and power through the muscles of your abdomen, back, and hips. A strong core supports every movement.

Endurance
Your ability to sustain effort over time — whether lifting, running, or rowing. Built through consistent conditioning.

Intensity
The effort level of your workout. It’s individual, based on how challenging, safe, and sustainable the session feels for you.

Stability
Your ability to maintain control through movement or load. Stability comes from strength, coordination, and practice.

Form
The way you perform a movement. Good form ensures safety and makes your workouts more effective.

Mobility
A consistent focus across weekly programming. Mobility work prepares joints and muscles for safe, effective movement and supports recovery after challenging sessions. It helps members move freely and maintain good positioning in every lift or workout.

Recovery
An intentional part of every training week. Coaches emphasize recovery strategies — such as active rest, nutrition, hydration, and mobility — to help members rebuild, adapt, and sustain steady progress over time.

Reps
Short for “repetitions.” Each rep is one complete movement of an exercise, such as one squat or one push-up. Tracking reps helps measure volume and progress.

Sets
A set is a group of reps performed before resting. For example, three sets of ten squats means you’ll do ten squats, rest, and repeat for three rounds.

Stimulus
The intent of the workout, guided by strength and conditioning principles. Each workout is designed to create a specific adaptation — whether metabolic, strength-based, or neuromuscular — to support consistent, long-term progress.

Resiliency
A regular part of the weekly class structure. Resiliency work focuses on preventing injury, building strength, and reinforcing proper movement patterns. It helps members develop durability and body awareness so they can move safely and confidently in every workout — and in everyday life.

Scaling
A core part of every 12 Labours class. Scaling means adjusting weight, reps, or movement complexity to match each member’s ability, fitness level, or goal. Every workout includes built-in scaling options to ensure all members train safely and effectively while preserving the intended purpose of the session.

Sport
Scaled for members who want to train and compete in CrossFit at a local or regional level. This track emphasizes performance, preparation, and skill development in a competitive environment.

Fitness
Scaled for members focused on improving overall fitness or using training to enhance performance in other sports or active pursuits. It balances strength, conditioning, and skill work for broad capability.

Wellness
Scaled for members whose primary goal is improving general health and well-being. This track emphasizes longevity, safe movement, and consistent progress for everyday strength and energy.

Chipper
A workout with a long list of exercises or reps completed sequentially. Encourages pacing and mental endurance.

Hero Workout
Named workouts that honor fallen service members. Designed to challenge physical and mental resilience.

Benchmark Workout
A repeated workout used to measure personal progress over time. Focus on improvement, not comparison.

For Time
A workout style where you complete all prescribed work as quickly as possible while maintaining good form.

Tabata
A high-intensity interval format of 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest for eight rounds.

Time Cap
The maximum time allowed to finish a workout. Promotes consistency and prevents burnout.

Work-to-Rest Ratio
The relationship between effort and recovery in interval training. Adjusting ratios tailors workouts to goals and fitness levels.

AMRAP (As Many Rounds or Reps as Possible)
Complete as many rounds or repetitions of a set of movements as you can in a set time frame. Focus on steady effort and good form.

EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute)
Start a specific exercise or set at the beginning of each minute. Rest for the remainder of the minute before starting again.

Metcon (Metabolic Conditioning)
A workout designed to improve endurance and stamina by challenging both strength and cardio.

Barbell
A long steel bar used for many strength movements. You can load it with weight plates for squats, presses, or Olympic lifts.

Dumbbell
A short bar with weight on each end, often used for single-arm or unilateral exercises to build balance and strength evenly.

Kettlebell
A round weight with a handle used for swings, carries, and strength conditioning. Trains power, grip, and coordination.

Front Squat
A squat variation where the bar rests on the front of your shoulders, developing core stability and leg strength.

Back Squat
A foundational lift where the barbell rests across your upper back. Builds total-body strength with a focus on the legs and hips.

Overhead Press
A standing lift that strengthens the shoulders, arms, and core by pressing a barbell or dumbbells overhead.

Pull
Any movement that draws weight toward your body — such as rows or deadlifts. Builds strength in the back and arms.

Push
Any movement that moves weight away from your body — such as presses or push-ups. Builds power and upper-body strength.

Superset
Two to four exercises performed back-to-back with little or no rest between them. Supersets maximize training time while continuing to build strength, improve form, and maintain intensity.

Squat
A foundational movement where you bend your knees and hips to lower and raise your body. Builds strength in the legs and core.

Deadlift
Lifting a barbell or object from the ground to a standing position. Focus on posture and core engagement for safety.

Press
Any movement that pushes weight away from your body — overhead, bench, or shoulder presses. Strengthens the upper body and stability.

Clean & Jerk / Snatch
Olympic lifts that train total-body power and coordination. Coaches teach these step-by-step with emphasis on safety and technique.

Tempo
Used regularly in class to help members control their pace and strengthen movement patterns. Slowing the tempo increases awareness, stability, and power through the full range of motion.

Aerobic Training
Steady, lower-intensity exercise (like rowing or running) that builds cardiovascular endurance and supports recovery.

Anaerobic Training
Short bursts of higher-intensity work that build power and speed, such as sprints or heavy intervals.

Circuit Training
A series of exercises performed in sequence with minimal rest. Builds strength and stamina together.

Intervals
Alternating work and rest periods that help develop both endurance and recovery capacity.

Output
Your measurable effort — such as pace, watts, or calories on a machine. A simple way to track consistency.

Work Capacity
Your body’s ability to perform repeated bouts of effort over time. Improves with consistent training and recovery.

Active Recovery
Gentle movement — like walking, light rowing, or mobility work — to increase circulation and speed up recovery between sessions.

Time Cap
The maximum time allowed to complete a workout. Helps maintain intensity while promoting safety.