Glossary

A few years ago I read a book by Pehr Torell called Bodybuilding och Styrkelyft, a kind of encyclopedia of bodybuilding and powerlifting. The book is from 1986, a time when information in strength training reached people almost only through text. It tells the story of strongmen and strongwomen, then and now (with now being 1986): competition results, organisations, companies, gyms, exercises and the words of the trade. That last part stuck with me and I loved it. Today I feel those words have almost died out, at least the Swedish ones. So ever since, I have meant to write them down, not just the ones in the book but newer ones too. Newer, established terms, but maybe most of all the ones I have made up myself.

Many will be older, established terms that plenty of people recognise. Others may have several interpretations, and then I write mine. Then there are the words that might exist but have been forgotten, and finally the ones I have made up or will make up. I won't only write about exercises and training words, but also words that tie different kinds of gyms together. With so many directions in strength training today, that makes everything easier and broader. You create several categories, and whether you feel you fit into one or not is up to you.

Josef Eriksson