pump iron

verb

1. slang,  (intr) to exercise with weights; do body-building exercises

Idioms and Phrases

Lift weights, as in She's started pumping iron three times a week. This idiom was born with the late-20th-century stress on physical fitness. [Second half of 1900s]

Example Sentences

I walk to the gym so I can pump iron and sweat out the toxins of modern life.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Nearby, men pump iron at an immaculate outdoor gym with rows of high-quality weight machines, exercise bars and even padded arm-wrestling tables.

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Analysts note that Equinox, on the luxury end, and Planet Fitness, on the value end, were both quick to launch workout apps in the early weeks of the outbreak, keeping their members engaged, even if they couldn’t pump iron or practice yoga at their physical locations.

Read more on Washington Post

You can also pump iron if you have dumbbells, or find a cable TV station with yoga or other workout programs.

Read more on Salon

New research is validating what I feel every time I pump iron: peace of mind and a sense of achievement.

Read more on Washington Post

Related Words

• develop 
• exert 
• improve 
• prepare 
• train 
• work out