Pop Culture dictionary
gym math
[ jim math ]
What does gym math mean?
Gym math is a phrase used jokingly to refer to the math calculations done in gyms or to illogical exercise habits and beliefs.
The phrase gym math is almost always used humorously, especially on social media.
Often, gym math is used as an in-joke to refer to the math calculations performed by people who frequently train or go to the gym. For example, in “regular math” the sum of 90 and 90 is 180. If you’re using gym math to calculate the weight of a barbell holding 90 pounds on each side, though, you might say that the sum of 90 and 90 is 225. That’s because the barbell is 45 pounds, making the calculation 90 pounds + 90 pounds + 45 pounds, which is 225 pounds.
Relatedly, the phrase gym math is also playfully used when a person incorrectly performs a math calculation during gym exercise.
Gym math is also sometimes used jokingly to refer to illogical exercise or fitness beliefs a person has, such as suggesting that eating the meat of herbivorous animals is the same as eating vegetables.
Where does gym math come from?
Gym math is a combination of the words gym and math. Often, the phrase jokingly refers to the specific or incorrect math calculations performed by people who frequently work out at a gym.
The phrase gym math has been used since at least the mid-2010s. However, it seems to have been used very rarely at that time.
Don't use "gym math". Unlike I've heard said more than once spreading it over more plates does… https://t.co/tgX91VrhDl
— Phil Duffy (@DuffyBrewingInc) June 17, 2016
“@_LiftingProbz_: Gym math pic.twitter.com/rE4XvdHR6e” seriously though
— Joshua Guidry (@JoshuaGuidryy) June 9, 2014
Gym math became more commonly used starting in the later 2010s, often used jokingly to refer to math calculations performed by gym goers.
Some of the gym math I see is mad, they’ll stack on two 10kg plates and will tell people they bench 150kg 😂
— +263 🇿🇼 (@tpjx1) October 15, 2018
When you make gym math more complicated than it should be 😅 pic.twitter.com/FQ5u3BAol3
— Holly Q (@HollyQM13) December 7, 2017
Examples of gym math
Who uses gym math?
Gym math is often used humorously on social media to refer to the specific math calculations or illogical habits of people who frequently work out at the gym.
Gym math: you go to the gym + forget your watch = the workout doesn’t count.
— Jesus Shuttlesworth🧚🏽 (@foxinaa_) November 22, 2023
Gym math is not remembering if it was your 2nd or 3rd set but doing it over again and letting count as your 2nd set👌🏾
— Neighborhood Dealer (@lord_seyi) September 28, 2023
If you ever catch me staring at you in the gym, I apologize I promise you I’m not. I’m just zoned out trying to do gym math in my head😩
— Amanda Christine (@amandaa_pina) October 8, 2021
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of gym math like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of gym math that will help our users expand their word mastery.