Glossary

Combed Cotton

Combed cotton is cotton whose fibers are aligned and stripped of shorter fibers with fine combs before spinning.

Dimensional Stability

Dimensional stability describes how well a garment retains its original measurements and cut after washing and wear.

French Terry

French terry is a jersey fabric with a smooth outside and small, uncut loops on the inside.

GSM (fabric weight)

GSM stands for grams per square meter — the weight of a fabric per square meter.

Heavyweight Cotton

Heavyweight cotton is an informal market label for comparatively heavy cotton fabrics; there is no universally binding GSM threshold for the term.

Jersey

Jersey is a stretchy knitted fabric that forms the basis of most t-shirts.

Loopback (Loopback Jersey)

Loopback is a jersey fabric with a smooth outside and an inside made of uncut loops.

OEKO-TEX (general)

OEKO-TEX is an international testing label that checks textiles for substances harmful to health.

Organic Cotton

Organic cotton is cotton from certified organic farming — grown without synthetic pesticides or genetically modified plants.

Ringspun Cotton

Ringspun cotton refers to cotton yarn produced with ring spinning; the term describes the yarn-production method rather than the quality of the finished garment by itself.

Shrinkage

Shrinkage is the reduction of a textile’s length or width after washing.

Athletic Fit

Athletic fit is a cut with more room across shoulders, chest and arms and a slight taper toward the waist.

Drop Shoulder

Drop shoulder is a cut detail where the shoulder seam intentionally falls below the actual shoulder line.

Oversized

Oversized refers to cuts intentionally wider and longer than the marked size would suggest.

Slim Fit

Slim fit is a tight, body-conscious cut with narrow sleeves and waist.

DTF (Direct-to-Film)

DTF is a print method where artwork is printed onto a film first and then transferred to the fabric with heat and pressure.

DTG (Direct-to-Garment)

DTG is a print method where a specialised textile printer sprays ink directly onto the fabric — comparable to an inkjet printer.

Embroidery

Embroidery is a method where designs are stitched into the fabric with yarn.

Garment Wash / Garment Dye

Garment wash or garment dye refers to processes in which the already sewn garment is washed or dyed.

Pigment Dyeing

Pigment dyeing fixes color pigments to the fiber surface with a binder — without the pigment chemically reacting with the fiber.

Puff Print

Puff print is a screen-printing variant where the ink expands under heat, creating a raised 3D relief.

Reactive Dyeing

Reactive dyeing is a dye process in which the dye forms a chemical bond with the cotton fiber.

Screen Printing

Screen printing is a print method that presses ink through a fine mesh screen directly onto fabric.

Seam Construction

Seam construction describes how the fabric pieces of a garment are stitched together — from a simple overlock to double topstitching.

1RM (One-Repetition Maximum)

The 1RM is the heaviest load that can be lifted exactly once with clean technique in a given exercise.

Body Recomposition

Body recomposition describes simultaneous muscle gain and fat loss — with body weight staying roughly stable.

Deload

A deload is a planned period of temporarily reduced training stress, for example through lower volume, load or effort.

Energy Balance

Energy balance is the difference between calories consumed (nutrition) and calories expended (basal rate, movement, digestion).

Hypertrophy

Hypertrophy is the enlargement of muscle fibers as an adaptation to mechanical loading.

LISS Cardio

LISS stands for “low-intensity steady state” — endurance work at a steady, low intensity over a longer period.

Muscle Failure

Muscle failure is the point in a set at which no further clean repetition is possible despite maximum effort.

Muscle Protein Synthesis

Muscle protein synthesis (MPS) is the process by which the body builds new muscle proteins — the biological basis of muscle growth.

NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis)

NEAT covers the energy expended for every movement outside planned exercise — walking, standing, gesturing, everyday activity.

Progressive Overload

Progressive overload is the gradual increase of training demand over time so the body keeps receiving stimuli that drive muscle growth.

RIR (Reps in Reserve)

RIR indicates how many clean reps could still have been performed at the end of a set.

RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion)

RPE is a subjective scale that rates the effort of a set, typically from 1 to 10.

TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)

TDEE is the total number of calories your body burns per day — basal metabolic rate plus movement plus digestion.

Training Volume

Training volume describes the amount of training work; for hypertrophy it is often represented by challenging work sets per muscle group per week.