What you think happens at the gym is likely not 100% accurate. You see, there’s a growing nation of people who like to come up with cool catchphrases and words for one reason or another.
Perhaps it’s to impress chicks or maybe it’s to boost their ego. Regardless, these slang terms are about to be unveiled to you, so do what you will with this information. Just don’t get into any fist fights!
1. Bro
Regardless of whether you’re male or female, you’ll probably be referred to as “bro” by a bodybuilder. This is an absolute definite if you set foot into a CrossFit gym.
And just for the record, you might also be called “broski” or “brah.” They’re often used synonymously, so be prepared!
Usage: “Bro, can I get a spot from ya?”
2. Swole This is the act of getting pumped and “swollen” from your workout. It’s basically an abbreviated word for swollen. Some people aren’t smart enough to pronounce two-syllable words so please forgive them.
Usage: “Stand back. I’m about to get swole.”
3. Boss Really top-notch and held in high regard.
Usage: “Those new workout pants are boss, dude!”
4. Derailed Have you ever seen a professional wrestling match? Oftentimes one opponent will get knocked off his feet by way of a clothesline and flattened. The announcer will say, “Ewwwwww, he just got derailed!”
Well, if you do an intense workout session and get your ass handed to you to a point where you’re lying on your back motionless afterwards, you got derailed.
Usage: “Johnny just got derailed from that kettlebell workout!”
5. Punked Shown up and embarrassed. This usually happens to guys who talk a lot and don’t back it up.
Usage: “Tommy was shooting his mouth off to Steve about how chiseled his abs were. Then they lifted their shirts in front of the entire weight room and Tommy got punked!”
6. Mula bandha bitchslap Getting verbally accosted for doing an ungracious act.
Usage: “Simon left weight plates on the bar again and he got a mula bandha bitchslap from the owner of the gym.”
7. Pencil-neck geek A guy who is skinny and who does high reps with really light weights.
Usage: “Tim thinks he’s a badass, but he’s really just a pencil-neck geek.”
8. Butter face A term used to describe a woman with a great body but not a great face. This is really cruel, but it’s used often.
Usage: “Everything about Janette is nice, except she has a butter face.”
9. Wine baby
Drinking too much alcohol the night before you work out.
Usage: “I went to a birthday party last night and drank too much pinot. Now I have a wine baby.”
10. Buddha belly
Like the wine baby, but longer lasting. You have excess belly fat that’s annoying.
Usage: “Look at this Buddha belly! I really have to get in shape!”
11. Garage sale When you have a thousand pieces of equipment strewn all over the gym floor. This is generally not a good thing as it annoys a lot of people.
Usage: “Look at that idiot having a garage sale over there!”
- Jabrone
Just for the record, it’s pronounced ja-bro-nee. This is someone who thinks they’re all that but they’re really nothing but an idiot. People often talk smack about them, too.
Usage: “Look at this guy with five wheels on each side of the leg press. His range of motion is about 3 inches! What a jabrone.”
- Guido
A person who wears cologne and baggy pants, often with a headband and a bunch of chains hanging from his neck. He’s usually also loud, offensive, and talks on his phone in the weight room.
Usage: “Hey, guido, can’t you read the sign? No cellphones on the gym floor!”
- Tool
A guy who hits on chicks, acts like he’s lifting heavy weights, and tries to be the center of attention at all times.
Usage: “Trent is such a tool! Did you see him flexing in front of Katherine?”
- Rummy
The rummy is the distant cousin of the jabrone and guido. This guy walks into the gym and does the most ridiculous things with weights and machines. He has horrible form, too.
Usage: “Look at that guy on the lat pulldown. He’s swaying back and forth to get momentum. What a rummy!”
- Donkey
Simply put, this is an ass. Someone who complains all the time about irrelevant things and stirs up trouble just for the sake of it.
Usage: “If that donkey complains about the music being too loud one more time, I’m going to knock him out!”
- Hulking up
Getting psyched right before lifting a heavy weight. It’s often accompanied with grunting, groaning, and stomping in place.
Usage: “Gary is hulking up to break his PR on the deadlift.”
- WOD
This is an abbreviation for Workout of the Day. It’s used in CrossFit circles particularly. But there’s been a crossover of bodybuilding and CrossFit lately, and bodybuilders have adopted the word into their vocabulary.
Usage: “Today’s WOD really kicked my ass, bro!”
- Sun’s out, guns out
Used to describe a guy showcasing big arms. And he’s usually wearing a sleeveless shirt.
Usage: “Hey, Charlie. Whoa! Sun’s out, guns out!”
- Bitchaz!
This is used in the singular and the plural. It’s not an insult. It’s more of a term of endearment with which to address a friend or workout partner. Also used after a successful feat of strength in celebratory fashion with other words.
Usage I: “What’s up, bitchaz? Let’s do this!”
Usage II: “Mula bandha, bitchaz!”
- Throw down
A fancy name for a workout.
Usage: “Take off the skirt and let’s throw down!”
- Skeletor
A dude who’s really ripped but also really skinny.
Usage: “Skeletor over there just benched three wheels on each side!”
- Alligator arm
An expression used to describe not using a full range of motion.
Usage: “He’s alligator arming those barbell curls.”
- Miracules (pronounced mer-rack-you-lees)
Expression used to describe a huge dude who does crazy things with heavy weights, like leg pressing over 500 lbs with good form.
Usage: “Damn, Miracules, that’s some serious weight you’re pushing!”
- Chesticles
Another name for the chest.
Usage: “I gotta get my chesticles up to par for the beach, bro.”
- Besmirch
How you feel when someone looks down on you because they think they’re better than you.
Usage: “I said hello to Nick and he walked right past me like I was painted on the floor. I feel besmirched.”
- Load it up!
To add lots of weight to a bar.
Usage: “How much weight do you want on the bar? Just load it up!”
- One-up
This is actually used as a verb and it means to trump someone or go one better.
Usage: “No matter how much I lift, he always has to one-up me. What a tool.”
- Janet from another planet
Sometimes you’ll find chicks in the gym who act crazy and do unthinkable things. “Janet from another planet” is used to describe them.
Usage: “Dude, that chick is cray cray!” “You mean Janet from another planet?”
- Airplane mode
When someone just walks around confused, staring at the equipment and not doing a thing.
Usage: “That guy’s been here for an hour and he’s barely done two sets. He’s in airplane mode.”
- Got served
There are often know-it-alls in the gym. When one of these guys gets outlifted after bragging about their strength, they got served.
Usage: “Woooo hoo! Lucas just benched 10 more pounds than Mikey. His ass got served!”
- Grind
A slow and steady lift that takes a lot of strength.
Usage: “That 450-lb deadlift that I pulled was one hell of a grind.”
- Barbie
A woman who comes to the gym all dolled up in makeup and with her hair done perfectly. She never usually breaks a sweat and spends more time socializing than working out.
Usage: “Look at the Barbie over there on the leg extension. I need that machine to actually do something worthwhile.”
- Fancy-pants
A man or woman who wears brand name clothing and is all about image, but who can’t lift a weight to save their life.
Usage: “I wish fancy-pants over there would get out of the squat rack. I need to bust out some sets.”
- Knee-buckler
A really heavy squat that would make a common man’s knees buckle.
Usage: “Arnese just did an insane knee-buckler on the squat rack!”
- Railbreaker
Expression used to describe a really hard exercise that can break an iron rail.
Usage: “I don’t stand a chance of doing one of those crazy railbreaker exercises!”
- Toss your cookies
To throw up from a really intense workout.
Usage: “Nate tossed his cookies halfway through a set of clean and presses.”
- Galloper
A person who has really bad running form on a treadmill and makes a clopping sound that annoys everyone in the entire gym.
Usage: “Listen to that galloper up there on the treadmill. I wanna go unplug their machine.”
- Scooby snack
One of the many meals a bodybuilder eats during the day.
Usage: “It’s time for my 3 o’clock Scooby snack. You wanna join me?”
- Slim Shady
A creepy looking guy who’s also really skinny, and who always has a look on his face like he’s up to no good.
Usage: “You’d better steer clear of Slim Shady over there on the curl machine. He’s got a scary disposition.”
- Dig deep!
Expression used when someone is spotting someone else. It’s usually screamed pretty loudly.
Usage: “Come on, Bob, you got this. Dig deep and move that bar!”
- Namby-pamby
Someone who acts like they’re all that, but who’s actually pretty weak and ineffective.
Usage: “He acts tough but he’s really just a namby-pamby. He doesn’t scare me.”
- Sandbagging
When someone brings a huge duffle bag onto the gym floor that’s in everyone’s way. They usually go back to the bag numerous times and it’s filled with protein shakes, workout gloves, chalk, extra clothes and a bunch of other things that you can clearly see when open.
Usage: “This guy who’s sandbagging better move his stuff or I’ll move it for him!”
- Glamor hound
A man or woman who always has to have everyone’s attention, even for the most remedial of stuff.
Usage: “You only lifted the bar! Believe me, there’s no need to be a glamor hound.”
- Piston-popping
Pushing so hard in workouts that the veins in your neck are super-dilated.
Usage: “Damn, Wade, that was a piston-popping set. I thought your veins were going to explode!”
- Plate-breakers
People who love to drop weight plates, dumbbells, and barbells on the floor when they’re done with them − and they usually leave them there. They’re not in good standing with other members of the gym.
Usage: “I see we have another plate-breaker in the weight room today. Where do these guys come from?”
- Junk show
When a guy wears really tight shorts or workout pants and his junk is visible for all the world to see.
Usage: “I had the unfortunate experience of catching a junk show today at the bench press.”
- Gearing up
Getting in position to do an exercise and putting on the necessary gear, such as gloves, a belt, and chalk.
Usage: “Britton is gearing up for a PR on the military press.”
- Machine hog
One who does a set of an exercise, then sits there like a dope for five minutes until he does another set. He’s blocking others from using the machine, thus hogging it.
Usage: “Can someone please ask this machine hog to step off so I can get a set in?”
- Sausage factory
When the entire gym is packed with nothing but big, burly guys hoisting heavy weights.
Usage: “Geez, you’d think there’d be at least one hot chick here today. It’s nothing but a sausage factory in the gym!”
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this list of slang terms. Use them at will, just make sure you don’t cause a ruckus and get yourself in trouble. Nothing is ever worth getting beaten up over.
