I was just in the gym and I was thinking of all the fun expressions and phrasal verbs that we use in English to describe different types of exercises. I don’t know why, but for some reason we use many phrasal verbs to talk about exercise. Here are some of my favourites. I hope you enjoy them and don’t forget to use them in your writing exam. They will get you extra points!
Exercise Vocabulary
To Work Out – When you do exercise, you can say you are going to “work out”. This is an American expression but we also use it in Britain too.
- “I’m going to the gym tonight to work out. I need to exercise after eating too many ice-creams!”
- “I’ve got a new bikini and I think I need to work out so I good for the beach this summer!”
- “I hate working out at the gym, I prefer to go running at the beach!”
To Shape Up – When you want to improve your body and make it look better, you can say that you want to shape up.
- “I’ve been eating too much tapas this year. I need to go to the gym and shape up!”
- “Have you seen Jordi? He has been at the gym 5 times a week recently, he has really shaped up!”
To Get in Shape – This is like “shape up” and when you say that you want to improve your body you can say that you want to get in shape.
- “I am going on holiday this summer and I want to get in shape so I can buy some new clothes!”
- “I have put lots of weight on recently, I need to go to the gym and get in shape!”
To Pump Iron – When you lift weights up and down at the gym, to make your muscles bigger, you can say that you are pumping iron.
- “I’m going to the gym to pump some iron”
- “My muscles are getting bigger because I have been pumping lots of iron”
- “I need to pump some iron at the gym to keep my body in shape!”
Push Ups – Push ups are when you push your body up and down while you face the ground. 
Sit Ups – Sit ups are a good way of make your stomach muscles stronger.
Chin Ups or Pull Ups – When you pull your body up off the ground, it is called a chin up or a pull up.
It was really necessary to put that picture with the guys making chin ups? I almost lost my sight…
But you’ll never forget it, will you? 🙂