What do we call people who go to the gym?

I'm afraid I can only provide two words: gym rat.

He is a gym-nerd. Still not exactly one word, but might work in your case.

In my younger days such a person was usually referred to as a fitty or a fit-boy. I can't run down a reference for this, though; the nearest I have found is here:-

1 dial chiefly Eng : suitable and becoming : appropriate

2 dial chiefly Eng (a) : being in good order : trim (b) : handsome, striking

(meaning 2a).

How about callin g him "a gym dandy"?

From my humble non native speaker point of view, most of the expressions suggested above (gym-nerd, gym dandy, gym rat, ...) sound pretty negative, if not insulting.

If one used one of these with me, I would probably put him in my black list.

In martial arts, which I practiced for several years, we used normally the equivalent of the term "practitioners" (martial arts are often intended also as ways of life).

If one has to make up expressions, why not to be more positive and ecouraging: not everybody is a "library rat" or a "library nerd" :-)), and some moderate exercise is certainly good for health.

So I'd propose also: "gym enthusiast", "fitness enthusiast", "practitioner" (depending on the context).

EDIT. I have seen you have added also "palestrato". This is suggesting that you are possibly looking for a more negative connotations, and probably in the area of body building.

In this area, I can suggest these:

buff, pumped, ripped

the native speakers maybe can explain the differences. "buff" should be much more positive than the Italian "palestrato", and "ripped" or "sculpted" definitely desirable.

The perfect living caricature of a "palestrato" is this guy (Davide di Porto): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im7mbBxw7aU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6WN4ghnX6A

In this case the ("romanaccio") word "Appalestrato" is used, which is a lot funny and self-ironic. The "A" suggesting, I guess, a sort of addiction, but also a typical Roman inflexion ("Aho", "Allo?").

(It's actually hard to describe how funny these videos are.)

Gym probably derives from gymnasium. Maybe gymnast is technically correct, but wrong based on accepted usage.

Part of the difficulty is that Gym is not one thing. There are lifters, walkers, joggers, runners, yogis all in one place with different objectives, slimmers, bodybuilders and so on. There are professionals, amateurs, athletes, and bored housewives.

I have heard people saying 'gymming' to mean that they are going to the gym, as in 'I am gymming from 6 to 8'. Maybe it is time to coin 'gymmers'?

How about: gymnies - not yet a proper word but covers many perceptions

It doesn't pertain specifically to going to the gym as distinct from, say, running or jogging a lot, but my first thought is keep-fit fanatic.

(I don't think I've heard any of the other terms suggested, but then, I did my best to avoid the gym at school and have done so ever since!)

It's called megarexia

This word is informal, rather playful and tends to be used less in a derogative sense.

A rather less elegant variant is bigorexia

There is no harm in calling them gym-bugs non-pejoratively is there? In fact googling *gymbug*produced a number of fitness centres with that name. And fitness bug is a commnonly used phrase.

Muscle Head & Fitness Freak may apply too.

As an active gym enthusiast, I will share with you the two terms we use.

1. She is such a great cyclist! But, she only does spin class, she doesn't ride outdoors. Her boyfriend is a competitive body builder. She has been teaching him how to incorporate more cardiovascular workouts.

2. Even though she cannot train outside because of her injuries, she is an excellent athlete.

We use specifics and we say: Athlete. Maybe because of the endorphins, we're feeling positive? Seriously, the definition of athlete is a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.

We also say, Gym Rat. But only to tease a friend, it can feel rude. A lot of present and former competitors use the gym. Reducing a person's accomplishments down really trivializes their life's work. It's similar to a blonde joking with another blonde, but brunettes, please don't tell blonde jokes.

A triathlete at the gym is not a gym rat. A retiree at her first yoga class is a newbie.

Fitgit?

git: nounBRIT.informal -- 1. an unpleasant or contemptible person.

This seems to be perfect timing to ask such a question. Recently a gym, Planet Fitness, has attempted to coin the term "lunk" to describe people who go the gym excessively, and are disgustingly muscular, have a "bro" mentality, or have massive egos. Another thing that may help you understand, is that everyone who "grunts" while they exercise, matches the description of "lunk", everything else I said, is just what stereotypically describes the personality of someone who grunts while exercising. They are airing commercials on some major television networks (I've seen commercials on FX, CNN, Comedy Central, and more). Rather than feebly attempt to describe the exact meaning and connotation they're trying to convey, I'll just leave a link to their commercials that use/describe this word.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsX4e6AF38

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn5mzEAMAkY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQfmpXsLV_4

If you are looking for a single word or shorter phrase that captures exactly the concept in your title, someone who goes to a gym frequently, with no other connotation, then no, there is no single word that captures that concept.

Certainly there are many words or phrases that do include as the primary meaning 'goes to a gym frequently', but they all add a little bit extra, all to the extent one can easily say "That person goes to the gym frequently but they are not an X' (fill in all the examples so far). For example,

That person goes to the gym frequently, 5 times a week for cardio to help with their diabetes, but they're not a gym rat.

And there are many non-pejorative words for people who into fitness or sports where the gym is not a primary preoccupation. But there is nothing that captures exactly that idea.

In the end, to say that someone goes to a gym or fitness center regularly or frequently, you should say that

they go to the gym frequently

That says everything you want and no more.

If you wanted some additional nuance, like they are a fitness fanatic, then please specify. Is it to augment their sports training? Is it for general health? Is it for the social aspect? Also, what connotations? Is it pejorative? Is it laudatory? Do you want a neologism or advertising slogan?

There are many concepts in our heads that don't necessarily have a single word to label them. That's why most languages allow multiple words to get closer to the nuance desired.

This is not a joke, but how about a: Trainee.

train·ee [trey-nee]

noun

1. a person being trained, especially in a vocation; apprentice.
2. an enlisted person undergoing military training.

Gym-junkie if they go way too often e.g. every day, too many hours.

How about fitness-chondriac? I like Gymnaholic too. Those are titles for people that are crazy addicted to workout facilities and don't do any outdoor exercise at all. But a person who does both and not obsessively, I would call just plain healthy. That would mean the rest of their lives follow suit with nutrition and avoiding bad habits as well, however.

Most words in most languages are derivatives of other existing words. That being said, we can start with... JOCK

Definition of JOCK from Merriam-Webster Dictionary

1: athletic supporter

2: athlete; especially : a school or college athlete

3: pilot; especially : a fighter pilot

4: a person devoted to a single pursuit or interest (computer jocks)

Now the second definition is a good root for the new word, as gyms are associated strongly with both schools and athletes. Further, the fourth definition only goes to strengthen the choice for the root, as it also applies in the context of the definition for the question posted. So let's take that root and increase it's specificity to isolate the location, and we end up with...

Gymjock

Even if it does sound like a Klingon word, LOL

In the English language, when a noun does an activity, in usual cases it is shown by, attaching a verb, in this case a "to-be" verb. Similarly, A group of people who regularly attend gym classes or work-out, are called; "Gym Goers". Gym (Gymming) - The Act and Go (Goer) The verb.

How about "gym attendee" and "gym buff?"

If gym goer isn't enough, e.g. because you want to stress that the person is very focused on the gym, often lifter can convey the meaning. Sure, as Kinjal Dixit says a gym goer doesn't necessarily lift, but a lifter usually needs a gym of sorts.

For the "pro" kind, bodybuilder may be in order.

Then there are the options which don't focus on the means used by the person, in your case the gym, but rather on how the person is/shows.

• If you want to stress the end result i.e. the muscular type, with a positive or negative connotation depending on what one thinks of muscles, you could say hunk.
• If you want to stress the social/sexual/psychological aspect, then see the answer on jock.