Precision Nutrition Abbreviations

Precision Nutrition Definitions

% of 1 rep max: This is another way of prescribing the intensity for a lift.   

1 Rep Max: Your 1 rep max is the heaviest load you’re able to successfully complete a single rep with for a particular exercise.  

Amino Acid: These are the building blocks of protein.  You can read more here - Amino Acids

α-linolenic acid: This is the main plant Omega 3 fatty acid and is the parent compound for the body’s product of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

α-lipoic acid: A potent antioxidant with a range of potential benefits, including but not limited to, blood sugar control, liver detox and blood lipid (cholesterol) lowering.

Barbell: A full size Olympic barbell weighs 45 pounds. Commonly used for squats and bench presses.

As Long As Possible: Prescription for exercises that require a position or contraction to be held for as long as possible.  An example of an exercise where one would attempt to hold position for as long as possible would be a plank.

As Many Reps As Possible: Instruction to perform as many reps as possible for a given set of a given exercise.  An example would be the instruction to perform as many push-ups as possible.

Branched Chain Amino Acid:  A subset of 3 essential amino acids - Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine.  Read more here - BCAA Review

Basil Metabolic Rate: The amount of energy expended at complete rest.  Testing of basal metabolic rate serves to assess the amount of energy required by the body’s vital organs. 

Body Fat: Also known as Adipose tissue. Can be measured in a variety of ways, the most common being, by skin fold measurements or bioelectrical impedance analysis

Carbohydrate: One of the 3 macronutrients; supplying ~4kcals per gram.  In simple terms, there are 3 general categories of carbohydrates: starch, sugar and fibre.
 
Conjugated Linoleic Acid: An omega 6 fatty acid, CLA may have a beneficial influence on metabolism and inflammation.  Animal studies strongly support supplementation while human models are more equivocal.  

Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist: One of the more respected certifications put out by the NSCA for personal trainers and strength coaches.  

Docosahexaenoic acid: One of the two main omega 3 fatty acids found in fish oil, DHA plays an integral role in brain development and protection. Evidence also suggests that DHA has a positive effect on diseases such as hypertension, arthritis, atherosclerosis, depression, adult-onset diabetes mellitus, myocardial infarction, thrombosis, and some cancers.

Essential Amino Acid: A group of 9 amino acids that cannot be synthesized by the body and thus must be supplied by protein consumption. They are: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine

Energy Expenditure Work: Non-resistance training exercise performed for the purpose of fat loss.  The misnomer “cardio” is most often used to represent energy expenditure work.

Essential Fatty Acid:  Comprised of the fat families - Omega 3 and Omega 6 – essential fatty acids, not unlike essential amino acids, are those fatty acids that the body needs but which it cannot produce and thus must consume by way of dietary fat.  Typically North Americans consume way too many omega 6s and far too few omega 3s.  This disparity has been cited as a potential cause or contributor to many of today’s diseases. 

Eicosapentaenoic acid: One of the two main omega 3 fatty acids found in fish oil, EPA serves to lower serum lipid concentrations, mitigates inflammation, prevents platelet aggregation (blood clots) and positively influences metabolic rate; to list but a few general benefits. 

Energy System Work: An umbrella term for exercise, other than resistance training, targeting one or more of body composition, general physical preparedness (“fitness”), and/or sport specific work. 
  
Free Fatty Acid: Fatty acids that are not attached to other molecules.  Essentially, free fatty acids are ‘free’ to supply fuel to working tissues.

Fat Free Mass:  Also known as lean mass, fat free mass refers to the amount of muscle, bone, water and other non-adipose tissues. 

EnerGy Flux:  Known as G-flux, the concept is that energy requirements scale to energy outputs.  Exercise more + Eat More = better physique.  Read “all about” G-Flux

Gastrointestinal:  Refers to the stomach and intestines.  Generally it’s used in reference to digestion.

Glycemic Index: An index which ranks how rapidly a given carbohydrate rich food increases blood glucose.  Control of blood glucose is one of the many important factors for preventing high spikes in insulin.  The lower the GI of a food, the lower the blood glucose rise and by extension the lower the degree of blood glucose influenced insulin release.   By controlling insulin in this way, diabetes, obesity and other metabolic syndrome risk factors can be influenced.

It’s important to note that while the glycemic index is useful for gauging the degree to which blood glucose will influence insulin secretion, it doesn’t detail the degree to which fats, proteins and non-macronutrient compounds are exerting influence.  For instance, milk has a relatively low glycemic index score but results in a large spike in insulin secretion. 

Glycemic Load: The glycemic load is simply the glycemic index ranking of a food multiplied by the carbohydrate content of a given portion.  For instance, let’s say food X has a glycemic index score of 93 but in 100g of food X there are only 3g of carbs.  To get the glycemic load, you’d multiply 0.93 x 3 = 2.79.  Contrast that against food Y which has a lower glycemic index score, let’s say 36 but per 100g has 43g of carbs.  In multiplying the glycemic index of food Y (0.36) by the amount of carbs in 100g (43) you get an output of 15.5 which is over 5x that of food X

What this provides, in many ways, is a more practical tool for evaluating the carbohydrate impact of a given food.  If a food with a high GI has very few carbs, these carbs aren’t going to do much damage.  On the other hand, if a food with a low or moderate GI is stuffed with carbs or if you eat a lot of it, the impact on your blood sugar will be much more significant. 

Gourmet Nutrition: The cookbook made famous by PN.

General Physical Preparation: A series of movements and/or drills aimed at improving more than one general athletic attribute at a time. Improving your GPP will assist you in virtually every aspect of training. Some of the more important qualities GPP training improves are:  cardiovascular fitness, active flexibility, stability strength, and maybe even balance (if balance can be trained).

High Intensity Training:  A training system which focuses primarily on short, relatively infrequent, maximal effort resistance training performed to failure.  It’s probably known best by its cult-like following or HIT-Jedi’s as they’ve been referred.  Three of the most prominent advocates being Ellington Darden, Arthur Jones (of Nautilus fame) and the late Mike Mentzer.

High Intensity Interval Training:  Somewhat like the energy expenditure version of high intensity training, high intensity interval training, or HIIT for short, is exactly as it sounds – high intensity sprint work interspaced or “intervaled” with low intensity energy work.  The merit behind this type of energy work is that it allows for a large amount of energy expenditure to occur in a shorter period of time than steady state, long duration energy work. 

Protocols vary widely with the ratios of sprint to jog ranging from 1:4 to 1:1 with durations of 6 minutes upwards of half an hour. 

Insulin Index:  The insulin index picks up where the glycemic index falls short – at least in terms of representing the expected insulin response to a particular food.  Measuring insulin directly, the insulin index quantifies the degree to which the sum of a food – the proteins, fats, carbs and non-macronutrient content – elicits an insulin response.  Because controlling insulin is a key factor in preventing metabolic syndrome, the insulin index is a very useful tool.

Kilocalorie: The proper term for what are normally referred to as calories.  When one reads that X food has 100 calories, what that X food actually has is 100 000 calories or 100kcals. 
 
Lean Body Mass: Also known as fat free mass, lean (body) mass refers to the amount of muscle, bone, water and other non-adipose tissues. 
 
Metabolism Advantage:
The Metabolism Advantage

Book Description: Revving up the body so that it optimizes nutrition and turns flab into lean body mass can be accomplished easily and quickly and at any age, even after the body’s metabolism has supposedly slowed down. That’s what sought-after fitness trainer and nutrition expert John Berardi demonstrates in this new book. Drawing on the best scientific research, including his own ongoing studies, Berardi has developed a supremely effective plan that enables his clients who include athletes, models, and ordinary men and women of different fitness levels to stoke their metabolic fires, burn more calories, build lean muscle, and improve their health, too!  

Metabolic Syndrome:  A relatively new term used to umbrella a number of medical conditions that are more frequently showing up together.  These conditions are risk factors for, among other things, cardiovascular disease and diabetes and include abdominal obesity, atherogenic dyslipidemia (“high cholesterol” causing arterial plaque build-up), elevated blood pressure, insulin resistance / glucose intolerance, a prothrombotic state (increased chance of blood clot) and a proinflammatory state. 

Massive Eating: Nutritional strategy that Scrawny to Brawny was born out of.  You can check out the articles by following these links –

Massive Eating - Part 1 (Calorie Needs)
Massive Eating - Part 2 (Meal combos and individualization)
Massive Eating Reloaded – Part 1 (revisiting the science of getting big) 
Massive Eating Reloaded – Part 2 (revisiting the science of getting big)

No Nonsense Nutrition: A DVD by Dr. Berardi discussing many of the habits of PN as well as laying out the “one size fits all meal plan” - No Nonsense Video

Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis:  The energy expended for everything that is not eating, sleeping or pointed exercise.  It includes but is not limited to, chores, work related tasks, fidgeting, chewing gum, and walking as a mode of transportation.

Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity: The measured degree to which a particular food acts as an antioxidant. 

Precision Nutrition:  The nutrition system used by Dr. John Berardi's personal clients and athletes to build lean, muscular, high-performance physiques in record time. The complete nutritional system includes manuals, gourmet cookbook, digital audio/video library, online membership, and more. Read more at precisionnutrition.com

Precision Nutrition Network:  Network of nutritional guidance and support for those professionals looking to implement Precision Nutrition with their clientele. Read more at - http://www.precisionnutrition.com/network.html

Protein: One of the 3 macronutrients; supplying ~4kcals per gram.  Protein and it’s building blocks, amino acids, play an integral role in bodily structure (e.g. muscle), function (e.g. immune system) and energy supply (e.g. gluconeogenesis)

Potential Renal Acid Load: The net acid or base load of a given food.  You should care because acidic diets are implicated in a number of conditions and diseases.  To read more about potential renal acid loads and just why the heck you should care, check out this article -
http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/bases.htm

Post Workout: the period of time immediately following an intense workout when your body is best able to handle carbohydrate. 60-90 minutes long.

Phytoestrogen: Plant derived compound that acts like an estrogen in animals (humans).  Some of these phytoestrogens exert a more mild effect than and compete with endogenous estrogen and thus can be used to counter too much estrogen production by the body.  Others are more potent than endogenous estrogen and/or have deleterious effects due to their structure.  These phytoestrogens should be avoided as the deleterious effects range from cancer to reproductive interference. 

Range of Motion: A joint's ROM is usually measured by the number of degrees from the starting position of a segment to its position at the end of its full range of the movement.
Every exercise will also have a ROM. It is generally believed that the greater the range of motion used for a given exercise, the greater it’s effectiveness will be.

Repetition maximum: The number of repetitions you can perform with a given weight before reaching muscular failure.

Resting Metabolic Rate: The amount of energy required to keep you alive at rest.  Contrasted against the basal metabolic rate which doesn’t include eating or digestion, the resting metabolic rate isn’t as strict or precise a measure.  One way to measure resting metabolic rate is multiply your body mass in kg by 22 and then add 500.  For a 65kg individual, the resting metabolic rate output would be (22 x 66) + 500 = 1930kcals

Resistance Training: Term generally interchanged with “weight training” or “weight lifting,” resistance training is most commonly defined as anaerobic training against resistance.  Implements and strategies used in resistance training include but may not be limited to – dumbbells, barbells, machines, bands, chains, cables, body weight, and/or immovable objects such as a wall.

Scrawny to Brawny:
Scrawny to Brawny

Book Description:  A state-of-the-art weight-lifting and nutritional blueprint for "skinny" guys who want to pack on muscleLet's face it, naturally skinny guys are at a distinct genetic disadvantage when it comes to building muscle mass. But with the proper advice, these "hardgainers" definitely can realize their fitness goals. In Scrawny to Brawny, the authors draw on their years of practical experience as private strength and nutrition coaches to provide hardgainers with:o A progressive, state-of-the-art program that optimizes results with shorter, less frequent workouts that maximize compound exerciseso A unique, action-based perspective on nutrition that shows how to prepare quick muscle-building meals and snacks-and how to take advantage of several critical times in the day when muscle growth can be stimulated by food intakeo Vital information on how to identify and fix any weak links in their physiques that may be precursors to injuryDesigned not only for frustrated adult hardgainers but also-with its strong anti-steroid message-a terrific book for the large teen market, Scrawny to Brawny fills a significant gap in the weight-lifting arsenal.

Summer Prep Plan: 12 week training program designed by Carter Schoffer by those who are hell bent on getting that six pack for summer (or for any reason for that matter)
Summer Prep Plan

Testosterone: Is a steroid hormone from the androgen group. Testosterone is primarily secreted in the testes of males and the ovaries of females, although small amounts are also secreted by the adrenal glands. It is the principal male sex hormone and an anabolic steroid. In both males and females, it plays key roles in health and well-being. Examples include enhanced libido, energy, immune function, and protection against osteoporosis. On average, an adult human male body produces about eight to ten times more testosterone than an adult female body.

Thermic Effect of Food: Put simply, this is the metabolic cost of digestion and absorption. Protein has the highest thermic effect at 25-30% kcals wasted on processing.  This in effect serves to ramp up metabolic cost thus increasing energy expenditure thus resulting in favourable body comp change.

Thermogenics: Often spoken of in the context of “fat burner” supplements, thermogenics result in thermogenesis which is the generation of heat.  How this applies to fat burners is that certain supplements or drugs increase the amount of heat production by the body by making energy production less efficient. 

To wrap your head around that, think of an energy efficient engine vs. a non-energy efficient engine.  With the efficient engine, very little fuel is wasted; with the non-efficient engine, a greater amount of fuel is wasted.  When it comes to the body, kcals are our fuel so if one is looking to lose fat, they’d rather have the fuel wasted than stored. 

Xenoestrogen: Synthetic substances released from plastics and other man-made compounds, that are either active in the human body as estrogen or potentiate endogenous estrogen.  Xenoestrogens are implicated in a number of medical conditions from cancer to reproduction.