Natty

Definition

Short for natural, meaning someone who builds muscle without performance-enhancing substances, which on the internet is apparently everyone and simultaneously no one. Claiming to be natty is the fitness world's version of "I woke up like this."

Example Usage

"He claims to be natty despite gaining forty pounds of muscle in six months, and honestly I'm more impressed by his acting skills than his bench press."

Related Terms

Beginner

spotter leeching

When a spotter assists so much during a lift that they're basically doing a workout themselves, transforming your heroic max attempt into a sad two-person collaboration.

⚽ Sports / Fitness

Intermediate

transformer legs

Legs that pull off the ultimate deceptive maneuver by looking unimpressive at rest but transforming into sculpted muscle columns the moment they're flexed. Like shape-shifting robots, these calves and thighs have more than meets the eye—literally a case of Autobots versus Flab-icons.

⚽ Sports / Fitness

Beginner

contractions

In the fitness world, when your muscles shorten and tighten during use, proving they're actually doing something besides just existing on your body. In the medical world, it's what pregnant people experience when their uterus is preparing to evict its tenant. Either way, it's your body's way of squeezing things really hard for a purpose.

⚽ Sports / Fitness

Advanced

sarcoplasmic hypertrophy

Muscle growth from increasing the volume of sarcoplasm (the fluid and energy substrates in muscle cells) rather than contractile proteins. It's the type of growth that makes you look bigger without proportional strength gains, beloved by bodybuilders and Instagram.

⚽ Sports / Fitness

Advanced

functional movement screen

A standardized assessment of seven movement patterns to identify limitations and asymmetries. Physical therapy's report card that tells you exactly how dysfunctional your movement really is.

⚽ Sports / Fitness

Advanced

GPP

General Physical Preparedness—the development of broad fitness attributes and work capacity that support specific training. It's the vegetables of your training diet: unsexy, often ignored, but probably what you actually need.

⚽ Sports / Fitness

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