Aerobic base
A broad description of comfortable, repeatable effort that supports longer activity and an understanding of pacing.
Perma glossary
Words for a more precise conversation
Training language can become confusing when a familiar word is used to mean several different things. This glossary offers working definitions for terms used across Perma articles, events, resources, and discussions.
Definitions are intentionally practical. They are starting points for reading, not complete technical references, and the meaning of a term may change with the method, setting, or source being discussed.
Capacity
The amount or quality of an activity that can be performed in a given context, including its limits and conditions.
Functional movement
Movement considered in relation to ordinary tasks, coordination, control, environment, and purpose.
Perceived effort
A person’s description of how demanding an activity feels, recorded alongside the task and its context.
Recovery
The wider process of returning attention and readiness after activity, influenced by sleep, workload, routine, and setting.
Threshold
A term used in different ways to describe a change in how effort is experienced or sustained; the specific definition should be stated by the source.
Using a term responsibly
| Term type | Check before applying | Example clarification |
|---|---|---|
| Technical term | Definition and measurement method | Threshold can refer to different protocols |
| Everyday term | What the writer means in this article | Fitness may refer to capacity, habit, or sport |
| Personal description | Who experienced it and under what conditions | “Felt heavy” is meaningful with context |
| Comparative phrase | What is being compared | “More sustainable” needs a time and task frame |
Reading route
Four steps for unfamiliar language
- Find the definition used on the page.
- Check whether the term describes a measurement, an observation, or an interpretation.
- Look for the setting, duration, and population connected to the term.
- Follow the source link when a conclusion depends on technical detail.
- Ask for clarification rather than assuming a familiar meaning.
- Keep a personal note in plain language alongside the formal term.
- Do not use a glossary entry to infer an individual condition.
Definitions have edges
A definition is a map, not the whole landscape. The same word can carry a different emphasis in a coaching conversation, a research paper, a community discussion, or a personal training log.
“Precision begins when we ask what a word is doing in this particular sentence.”
Glossary questions
Can I suggest a term?
Yes. Send the word, the context in which it appears, and why the current explanation feels unclear.
Are these formal medical definitions?
No. They are editorial working definitions designed to make Perma’s general content easier to read.
Why do some definitions include limitations?
Because a term without scope can sound more certain than the underlying source supports.
Language, context, and translation
Many training terms travel between research, coaching, journalism, and everyday speech. A translation may be technically correct while still missing the emphasis intended by the original source. Perma therefore explains the working meaning used on a page and avoids presenting one translation as the only acceptable wording.
Readers in Indonesia may encounter English terms in equipment manuals, event descriptions, or international research. The glossary can provide a bridge, but a precise decision may require returning to the cited source and checking its method, population, and date.
- Read the local sentence before searching for a standalone definition.
- Check whether the term refers to a task, a measurement, or an interpretation.
- Notice whether the source uses the term narrowly or broadly.
- Ask the editorial team when two pages appear to use the word differently.
Term families
| Family | Examples | What to clarify |
|---|---|---|
| Effort | Pace, intensity, threshold | How was effort described or measured? |
| Movement | Control, range, coordination | What task and environment are involved? |
| Time | Routine, recovery, adaptation | What period is being considered? |
| Evidence | Observation, source, interpretation | Which sentence is supported by which material? |
A term family is a navigation aid, not a claim that related words are interchangeable. If a distinction affects the meaning of an article, Perma will explain it in the article itself rather than relying only on this index.