Glossary
Fitness terms, in plain language
The words you'll hear around strength, mobility, protein and menopause—explained simply, for women 45+.
Fitness terms A–Z
- Balance training
- Simple practice like standing on one foot to improve stability and reduce the risk of falls.
- Daily Mobility for Stiff Joints
- Bone density
- How strong and dense your bones are. Weight-bearing and resistance exercise help maintain it as you age.
- Strength Training After 50: A Kind, Confident Start
- Cardio
- Aerobic activity that raises your heart rate, like brisk walking—supporting heart health, mood and energy.
- Walking Your Way to Real Fitness
- Compound exercise
- A move that works several muscle groups at once, like a sit-to-stand or push-up—efficient and functional for everyday life.
- Simple Home Workouts You'll Actually Do
- Core strength
- Strength in the muscles around your trunk that support your spine, balance and posture.
- Simple Home Workouts You'll Actually Do
- Flexibility
- The length a muscle can stretch to. Useful alongside mobility, though controlled movement matters most day to day.
- Daily Mobility for Stiff Joints
- Menopause
- The point when periods have stopped for twelve months. Strength, protein and mobility can help you feel your best through it.
- Exercise During Menopause: What Actually Helps
- Mobility
- How well a joint moves through its full range with control—key for everyday ease and staying independent.
- Daily Mobility for Stiff Joints
- NEAT
- Non-exercise activity thermogenesis: the energy you use through everyday movement like walking, chores and standing.
- Walking Your Way to Real Fitness
- Perimenopause
- The transition of several years before menopause when hormones fluctuate and periods become irregular.
- Exercise During Menopause: What Actually Helps
- Progressive overload
- Gradually asking a little more of your muscles over time—a touch more weight, reps or sets—so they keep getting stronger.
- Strength Training After 50: A Kind, Confident Start
- Protein
- A nutrient that helps build and repair muscle and keeps you feeling full. Needs often rise a little after 50.
- Protein for Women 50+: How Much and Why A Kind Approach to Weight Management
- Range of motion
- The distance and direction a joint can move. Gentle daily movement helps you keep it.
- Daily Mobility for Stiff Joints
- Recovery
- The rest between sessions when your body adapts and gets stronger. Rest days are part of the plan, not a break from it.
- Strength Training After 50: A Kind, Confident Start
- Reps and sets
- A rep is one full movement; a set is a group of reps done back to back. 'x10, twice' means 10 reps for 2 sets.
- Strength Training After 50: A Kind, Confident Start
- Sarcopenia
- The natural loss of muscle that tends to speed up with age. Regular strength training can slow or reverse much of it.
- Strength Training After 50: A Kind, Confident Start
- Strength training
- Exercises that make your muscles work against resistance—bands, weights or your own bodyweight—to build and keep muscle as you age.
- Strength Training After 50: A Kind, Confident Start Simple Home Workouts You'll Actually Do
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