The following is the naming convention we use at Cavemantraining and IKU. This is a live document that will be updated as changes are required or content is added.
Why Naming Matters
A good naming convention makes things immediately clear. Someone new to exercising should know what’s required when the instruction is “Wide Grip Pull-up” rather than just “Pull-up.” Without specificity, the name leaves too much to assumption — and assumptions create confusion, miscommunication, and inconsistent training.
This problem runs through the entire fitness industry. When a coach says “deadlift,” most people assume a hip hinge. But a deadlift is a starting condition, not a movement pattern. When someone says “kettlebell swing,” most people assume a hip hinge swing. But a swing can be performed with a squat pattern, a hip hinge, or a double knee extension — each producing measurably different muscle activation.¹
A peer-reviewed study comparing social media exercise content found that only 38.79% of posts met acceptable quality thresholds.² Another study evaluating AI-generated exercise information found significant accuracy problems across multiple platforms.³ Clear naming conventions are one of the most practical ways to combat this — if the name itself describes the exercise precisely, there is less room for misinterpretation.
Our naming convention builds exercise names from components: what the exercise is (the base), how the body moves (the movement pattern), where the weight starts (the starting condition), and how the athlete is positioned (grip, stance, position). Not every component is needed every time — it depends on context. But when precision matters, the system scales up.
The Building Blocks
Every exercise name in this system can include some or all of the following components:
Base exercise — what happens to the weight or body: swing, lift, clean, press, pull-up, push-up, snatch.
Starting condition — the state of the weight when the exercise begins: dead (motionless on the ground), hang (suspended in the hands), racked (in a rack or resting position), bounced (rebounding off the ground).
Movement pattern — how the body moves: hip hinge, squat, lunge, single-leg, pendulum.
Grip — how the hands hold the weight or bar (see Grip section below).
Stance — the position of the feet (see Stance section below).
Position — the athlete’s orientation: standing, seated, prone, supine.
A fully specified name reads as: [stance] [movement pattern] [starting condition] [base exercise]. For example: sumo hip hinge dead lift or staggered squat swing clean. In practice, most names use two or three components — adding specificity only when context demands it.
Push-up
The push-up refers to the athlete pushing themselves away from a surface. The base name tells you only that: push yourself up.
The distance between the hands determines the primary emphasis. Hands positioned under the shoulders with elbows tucked tight to the body is commonly known as a triceps push-up — it shifts emphasis toward the triceps compared to wider hand placements. Hands positioned wide shifts emphasis toward the chest. These are the common push-up variations; there are many others.
Examples: triceps push-up, wide push-up, diamond push-up, staggered push-up, decline push-up, single-arm push-up.
Pull-up
The pull-up refers to the athlete pulling themselves up toward a bar or fixed point. The base name tells you only that: pull yourself up.
The expected height can be defined by chin-up (chin clears the bar) or chest-to-bar.
The expected starting point can be defined by strict, hang, or dead. In this context, dead means the athlete begins from a completely still position — for example, standing on the ground with hands gripping the bar overhead, then pulling up from zero momentum. A person already hanging from their arms may not be completely still, which is why “dead hang pull-up” and “strict pull-up” are not identical. A dead start means no momentum. A strict pull-up means no kipping or swinging, but the athlete may already be hanging.
Examples: strict chin-up, dead hang pull-up, chest-to-bar pull-up, wide grip pull-up, close grip chin-up.
Grip
Hand position is defined by forearm rotation and width.
Rotation: The underhand grip (supinated) is where the palms face toward the athlete. The overhand grip (pronated) is where the palms face away from the athlete.
Width: Neutral is in line with the shoulders. Close is where the hands are positioned closer together than neutral. Wide is where the hands are positioned farther apart than neutral. Hybrid is between neutral and wide.
Stance
Stance describes the position of the feet. Some common variations: neutral, staggered, sumo, narrow, hybrid, single-leg.
Lift
A lift is where the weight is moved from a lower position to a higher position. The weight is commonly lifted from dead (on the ground, motionless) or from hang (already in the hands) until the athlete is in a standing position.
A lift is a strength exercise. The objective is to move the weight against gravity, not to generate explosive power — that is the domain of the clean and snatch. The movement speed during a lift ranges from slow to fast, but the intent is force production, not ballistic acceleration.
The width between the arms can vary with a barbell; with a kettlebell, the grip is typically single or double arm.
A hip hinge is a movement pattern, not a lift. A hip hinge describes how the body moves — hips travel backward, torso tilts forward. A dead lift describes the starting condition and the action — the weight starts dead, and it is lifted. You can deadlift with a hip hinge, a squat, a lunge, or a single-leg stance. The movement pattern is a separate choice. We cover this in detail in What Is a Deadlift?
The range of a deadlift goes from dead (on the ground) to hang (in the hands at standing). The range of a hang lift goes from hang to a higher position. In the Romanian deadlift, the weight never goes dead — it stays in the hands throughout — making it a hang lift, not a deadlift.
Examples: hip hinge dead lift, squat dead lift, sumo dead lift, single-leg dead lift, staggered hang lift.
Many more types and variations of kettlebell lifts can be found here.
Clean
A clean is where the weight is brought from a lower position (below the hips) into a racking position via one explosive movement. Unlike a lift, a clean is a power exercise — the intent is explosive force production.
The starting condition determines the type: a dead clean starts from the ground, a hang clean starts from the hands, and a swing clean uses a swinging action to generate momentum.
Examples: dead clean, hang clean, swing clean, hip hinge swing clean, single-arm dead clean.
Many more types and variations of kettlebell cleans can be found here.
Press
A press is where the weight is pressed away from the athlete. The athlete can be standing, seated, or lying down. The most common position is standing, so that will be assumed when omitted.
The stance can vary when standing: staggered, single-leg, narrow, neutral, wide, hybrid.
The direction of the press can vary: overhead (vertical), floor press (horizontal from supine), side press (lateral angle).
Examples: standing overhead press, seated press, floor press, single-arm press, staggered stance press, side press.
Many more types and variations of kettlebell presses can be found here.
Swing
A swing is where the weight moves in a pendular arc — back and forth or side to side — while suspended from the hands. The name “swing” describes the path of the weight, not the movement pattern of the body.
The movement pattern determines the variation: a hip hinge swing uses a hip hinge pattern, a squat swing uses a squat pattern, and a double knee extension swing (also known as a pendulum swing, Girevoy Sport swing, or sport style swing) uses a double knee bend during the cycle for efficient energy cycling in high-rep endurance work.
Research confirms these are measurably different exercises. Del Monte and colleagues found that hip hinge, squat, and double knee extension swings produced statistically significant differences in hamstring muscle activation.¹
We cover this in detail in The Kettlebell Swing Is Not a Hip Hinge.
Examples: hip hinge swing, squat swing, double knee extension swing, single-arm hip hinge swing, double swing.
Snatch
A snatch is where the weight is moved from a lower position to an overhead lockout in one continuous explosive movement.
Like the clean, the starting condition determines the type: a dead snatch starts from the ground, a hang snatch starts from the hands, and a swing snatch uses a swinging action. The movement pattern can be further specified: hip hinge swing snatch, squat swing snatch.
Examples: dead snatch, hang snatch, swing snatch, hip hinge swing snatch, single-arm dead snatch.
A Complete List
A great list of all kettlebell exercises can be found here.
Related Articles
- What Is a Deadlift? Why the Fitness Industry Got It Wrong — why a deadlift is a starting condition, not a movement pattern
- The Romanian Deadlift Is Not a Deadlift — the RDL is a hang lift
- Deadlifts in CrossFit: Deadlifting or Bounce Lifting? — bounced as a starting condition
- The Kettlebell Swing Is Not a Hip Hinge — swing describes the weight’s path, not the body’s movement
- Squat Deadlift — Deadlift Squat Style — another deadlift variation proving the starting condition argument
References
- Del Monte, M.J., Opar, D.A., Timmins, R.G., Ross, J.A., Keogh, J.W.L., & Lorenzen, C. (2020). “Hamstring myoelectrical activity during three different kettlebell swing exercises.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 34(7): 1953–1958. PMID: 28930870. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28930870/
- Marocolo, M., Meireles, A., de Souza, H.L.R., Mota, G.R., Oranchuk, D.J., Arriel, R.A., & Leite, R.D. (2021). “Is social media spreading misinformation on exercise and health?” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(22): 11914. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8618405/
- Zaleski, A.L., Taylor, B.A., McKay, R.G., Gonzalez, J.G., & da Silva, S.G. (2024). “Evaluating the accuracy and consistency of ChatGPT-4 in providing exercise prescription information.” Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness, 22(2): 130–135. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10811574/
