gym rat

See also: gym-rat

English

Alternative forms

• gym-rat, gymrat

Etymology

US origin, late 1970s.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

gym rat (plural gym rats)

1. (colloquial) A person who spends an unusually large amount of time at a gym.

   Synonym: gym bunny

   • 1977, Newsweek‎^[1], volume 89:

     Three decades ago, the trappings of sports equipment in those rooms took a magnetic hold on "gym rat" McGuire.

   • 1989, Larry Bird, Drive: The Story of My Life, page 42:

     I was a real "gym rat." I'd go home and eat, then come back to the gym and play some more. I mean, I practically lived in that gym.

   • 1995, David Rabe, A Primitive Heart:

     This gym rat dripping tattoos in a sweatshirt with the sleeves ripped off was brooding at the juke box, like it had just asked him a very difficult question that he was determined to answer.

   • 1998, Arnold Schwarzennegger, The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, page 672:

     They wore suits, casual pants, and sports shirts and generally managed to look like solid citizens rather than gym rats.

   • 2010, Eric Velazquez, “Power Pairings”, in Reps!, volume 17, number 84:

     For the average gym rat, Anthony recommends being wary of longer-than-necessary rest periods.

   • 2025 October 2, Arthur C. Brooks, “The Mind-Altering Effect of a Good Workout Routine”, in The Atlantic‎^[2]:

     These guidelines do not exactly enter “gym rat” territory: at least 150 minutes a week (that’s about 21 minutes a day) of moderate activity such as brisk walking, plus a few body-weight exercises on different muscle groups (such as sit-ups or push-ups), at least twice a week.

Translations

Translations

• Portuguese: rato de academia m, rata de academia f
• Spanish: fanático del gimnacio m, fanático de la gimnacia m

See also

• musclehead

Further reading

• “gym rat n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present.