What Do These Words Even Mean? Part Two (Load, Effort, and Why We Train)

In Part One, we talked about the body, the biomechanics, the patterns, and the nuts and bolts of how you move.

Now let’s shift gears. This part is about the language we use for load: how much, how hard, and why we do certain things. This is where the coach-speak really shows up. Just a few terms to help you understand the “dosage” side of training.

Regression / Progression

The easier version (regression) or harder version (progression) of a movement. Push-ups on a box vs. push-ups on rings. This isn’t about passing or failing, it’s about matching the training load to your level that day. It’s better to think about these as options for intensity.

When we try movements that we haven’t adapted to yet, our bodies can’t create intensity because it is simply too challenging. Form breaks down, compensations appear everywhere. The weight might move, but all you’ve done is train your ego instead of your muscles.

Pick the option that allows for max intensity or volume depending on your goal for that movement.

Volume vs. Intensity

Volume = the total amount of work (sets × reps × load). Sometimes we need more reps, sometimes we need more load. It all depends on what we’re training for and why. Be careful about adding more of anything just for the sake of it. More isn’t better. Better is better.

Intensity = how heavy it feels.
Most people confuse intensity with “how sweaty and out of breath I am.” (Thanks, Instagram HIIT.) But in strength training, intensity means load on the bar, more range of motion, better form, or more power. Sweat means your body is warm, nothing else. Intensity means you are training.

Rest vs. Recovery

Rest = the time between sets.

Recovery = the big picture: sleep, food, hydration, stress.
You can rest well in the gym but still fail at recovery if you’re underslept and running on fumes.

These are vital aspects of making training actually work. We often think, “I just need to train harder.” Yes, but it’s completely pointless if we aren’t allowing the body to recover and adapt. Nothing fancy, just good sleep and decent nutrition.

RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion)

Fancy way of saying: “How hard does this feel, 1–10?”

• RPE 1 = “I could do this all day and twice on Sundays.”
  

• RPE 7 = “This is really hard, I’m working.”
  

• RPE 10 = “If I do one more rep my spleen will explode out of my body.”
  

Why it matters: It adjusts to your day. Slept badly, stressed, or sore? Your “RPE 7” weight might be lighter than usual, and that’s okay. It keeps training flexible and personal. Just understand why you are where you are, and why you’re training there.

It’s really easy to undertrain. Most of us have never experienced a true 10, and that is totally fine. Over the course of training, you’ll fine-tune this scale more and more.

% of Loads

When we say “work at 70% today,” we mean 70% of your max effort. For strength training, that’s often your “1-rep max” (the most weight you could lift once).

But here’s the secret: most people don’t know their 1-rep max, and that’s fine. Percentages are really just effort zones. 70% should feel like “medium heavy.” Not a warm-up, not your all-time best, but something you can do with good form. Very similar to RPE.

As you get more used to what you can lift, these percentages can become a lot more accurate.

Strength

This is the obvious one. Lifting more, pressing more, holding longer. Strength gives you resilience: bones, joints, and muscles that handle stress better. It’s not about chasing numbers for ego, it’s about building capacity so everything else in life feels easier.

Strength is a lifetime pursuit. As you gain strength in one area, you’ll find weaknesses in others. It becomes a lifelong game of strength whack-a-mole.

For strength, you generally want to be training at 7–8 RPE to maintain good form and allow the body to adapt correctly. More intensity, less volume. Every so often, push to test yourself with a 9 or 10 RPE.

Skill

Skill is practice. It’s learning how to move. Think of kettlebell swings, they’re not just brute force, they’re timing and coordination. Skill training is about drilling movement patterns until they feel smooth, natural, automatic. Strength without skill is like power steering with no steering wheel.

Skill takes much longer and is something that is never truly achieved. When you train skill, drop intensity and think smooth instead of sweat.

Accessory Work

The “side quests.” Smaller exercises that support the big ones. Band pulls, single-leg work, core drills. They don’t look glamorous, but they keep your joints healthy and your big lifts improving.

The volume should be higher and intensity lower here, usually RPE 6–7.

Mobility

This is strength through range. Not just being bendy, but being able to use that range under control. Dropping into a deep squat and standing back up. Reaching overhead without pain. Twisting, rotating, bracing, and owning every inch of it.

We train this with both static stretches (to increase the range of motion we have) and integrated movements (to build coordination and rhythm, letting us use that new ROM).

Power

The ability to produce force quickly, strength × speed. Most people confuse power training with conditioning.

But power should be about producing short bursts of extreme force, not sloppily doing lots of reps with little force. Jump as high as you possibly can. Run as hard as you possibly can. It won’t last long, but that’s training power.

Conditioning

This often refers to building endurance, both cardiovascular and muscular. It involves higher reps (more volume) and lower intensities.

The longer you want conditioning to last, the lower the intensity should be. This is one of the few places where high heart rates, panting, and sweat might actually indicate a job well done.

Hypertrophy

The science word for “building muscle.” Not Frankenstein stuff, just good old bigger, stronger muscles.

Many people think about getting “toned.” That word drives trainers crazy because it implies a gentler form of strength training, one that doesn’t work. To “tone,” you have to build muscle. To build muscle, you have to train hard.

This often scares people because they imagine ending up like Arnold Schwarzenegger. But really, hypertrophy reduces all-cause mortality, lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease, and improves mental health. So whether you care about appearance or not, it’s worth learning the term hypertrophy.

Superset

Two exercises back to back with little rest. We use these often because they’re time efficient. To make them less taxing, we usually pair two exercises that work either different body parts or different mechanisms within the same area.

For example:

• A squat paired with a row. One works lower-body pushing strength, the other upper-body pulling strength.
  

• Or a squat with a quad stretch. One works the quads, the other stretches them. Different mechanisms, same area.
  

Either way, it lets you work and rest at the same time.

Wrapping Up Part Two

This is the numbers side of the language. Percentages, RPE, volume, intensity, these are not meant to confuse you. They’re tools to make training progressive, adaptable, and sustainable.

Add in the reasons for training: strength, skill, mobility, and you start to see the method behind the madness.