Skydiving — Glossary

Every Skydiving term explained in plain language: technique, equipment, rules and slang – with tips on avoiding the classic mistakes.

Arch (Movement)

The base position of stable belly flight: hips forward, chest to earth, head up, arms and legs slightly spread. It stabilises you without you balancing at all.

Break-off (Rule)

The planned separation of a freefall group before deployment. The accepted minimum is 1,500 ft above the highest planned opening altitude, and 2,000 ft from six jumpers up.

Burble (Slang)

The turbulent wake of a jumper. Drift into it and you lose drag and control in an instant — 'you were in my burble' is never a compliment.

Dirt Dive (Cheat code)

Walking the whole jump through on the ground beforehand — exit, formation, break-off — with real sightlines and real grips. Jumps get planned on the ground, not invented in the air.

Flare (Movement)

Pulling both steering lines evenly just above the ground: the angle of attack rises, sink rate and forward speed drop — the approach turns into a landing.

Wing Loading (Equipment)

Exit weight divided by canopy area, in lbs/ft². Student canopies fly at 0.7–0.9, competition canopies above 3.0 — the same canopy gives a different number for a different body.

General

Terms from training theory that apply in every sport.

1RM (One-Repetition Maximum) (Rule)

The maximum weight you can move for exactly one clean repetition. The reference value behind almost every training plan.

BMR & TDEE (Rule)

BMR is your basal metabolic rate at complete rest; TDEE is total daily expenditure including everyday movement and training. Nutrition targets always work off TDEE.

Cadence (Movement)

Steps per minute when running, or pedal revolutions when cycling. For most runners, 170–180 steps per minute sits in the sweet spot.

Core Tension (Movement)

Active stabilisation of abdomen, back and pelvis — the bridge that lets force travel between legs and arms at all.

Deload (Cheat code)

A deliberately lighter week with volume or intensity clearly reduced, so adaptation can catch up.

DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) (Cheat code)

Delayed muscle soreness 12–72 hours after unfamiliar load. Not a measure of training quality.

Knee Valgus (Movement)

The knees collapsing inward during squats, jumps and landings. One of the key risk markers in technique analysis.

Progressive Overload (Cheat code)

The one principle no training works without long-term: the stimulus has to grow over time, otherwise adaptation stops.

RIR (Reps in Reserve) (Rule)

How many clean reps you had left at the end of a set. RIR 2 means two more were available.

RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) (Rule)

A scale for perceived effort. In strength training it usually runs 1–10, where RPE 8 means you had two more reps in the tank.

Zone 2 (Aerobic Base) (Cheat code)

The easy endurance zone where you can still hold a conversation in full sentences. The base of almost every endurance plan.