How to Talk about the Gym and Workouts in English | Denglisch Docs

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Welcome to Denglisch Docs!

The gym. How can we sound natural talking about it? And what expressions are we likely to hear while working out?

In English, even though we’re talking about fitness, we don’t usually describe someone as “physically fit.” It sounds too stiff — you’re more likely to hear it at the doctor’s office. Keep in mind that in British English, the word “fit” also means sexy, or attractive. So be careful before you go describing someone’s mom as fit!

The most common thing we say instead is “in shape,” as in, “I need to stop eating so much pizza and get in shape for the summer!” The opposite is “out of shape,” which is what happens when we stop working out.

In some regions, you might hear people say, “I need to tighten up!" This simply means that they want “to slim down” or “firm up” their muscles.

When we go to the gym, we “work out” or “exercise.” We can “do cardio” or “endurance training,” “lift weights,” and stretch “to warm up” at the beginning of our training, or “cool down” at the end.

Asking someone “Do you work out?” sounds like a stereotypical bad pickup line. So it’s better to just ask your friend or colleague if they “like to exercise,” “go to the gym,” or “hit up the gym.”

Something you might also hear while working out is another person asking if they can “work in.” For example, someone may ask, “Do you mind if I work in with you?” This means they want to alternate using the same machine or equipment. In other words, after you do ten or twenty “reps” — the number of times you lift a particular weight (also known as a “set”) — they’ll want to take a turn before you continue.

People at the gym might also ask you for “a spot” or if you can “spot them” during an exercise, as in, “Hey, can you spot me on the bench press?” This means to serve as a kind of partner for the sake of safety, making sure they don’t drop the weight on their heads if they’re not able to lift it.

How to describe a person who is in really great shape? If their muscles are big, we can call them “jacked.” If they are really defined, we would call them “ripped,” or we can just use the word muscular. A word that used to be popular in the 80s and 90s is “buff,” but nowadays it sounds a bit strange, or we can use it as a joke.

If someone tells you that they’re “bulking up” or that you need to “bulk up,” they’re simply talking about building bigger muscles. Some people use the term “swole” when talking about big and muscular gym members, but it’s best to steer clear of this term, because some take it as a compliment, while others find it extremely offensive . . . because “swole” can also mean bloated.


Some of us are “Gym Bros” who work out all the time and others of us are “Weekend Warriors,” who only workout on the weekend. But no matter how many times we go to the gym, we try “to make gains,” which simply refers to progress we’ve made in the gym.

Time to review. You’ll go the gym to get in shape, stay in shape, tighten up, or bulk up. While there, you’ll work out or just plain old exercise, maybe doing a mix of stretching, cardio, and strength training. You may ask if someone can spot you to keep you safe or to work in with them so you’re not waiting too long. Once you finish all your reps and your sets, you’ll be ripped and ready to hit the beach this summer.

Thanks for tuning in to Denglisch Docs!