Quick English: Phrasal Verbs About Exercising

Have you ever been involved in any sports activity that you wanted to talk about, but you were not sure how to express it in English? It happens really often that a lack of vocabulary limits our conversations. That is why we will look at some phrasal verbs to help us describe a few of the most common actions you will find in sport.

Are you a football fan? Do you play any sports? Is exercise a big part of your life? If you answered yes to at least one of these questions, then you will benefit from our vocabulary tips. Below there's a list of phrasal verbs that all involve exercising. Read through and learn new ways of saying things.

Phrasal Verbs:

• to get into swimming - use get into when you want to say that you are involved in an activity. In this case: swimming.

John got into swimming lately.

• to warm up - In this case, to warm up means to get ready before starting any type of exercise. The literal meaning is that muscles actually get warmer when doing some light or easy exercise in order to prepare for proper exercise later on.

Sarah knew how important it was to warm up in order to avoid sports injuries, that's why she stretched before running.

• to kick off - in this case, kicked off expresses the beginning of the game, when the match starts.

The match kicked off at 2 pm.

• to be sent off for bad behavior - the verb send off indicates when someone is told to leave the game.

Jamie was sent off for fouling the other team's player.

• to be knocked out of the league - being knocked out in this case means to be eliminated.

Lucy's volleyball team got knocked out of the competition!

• to catch up - whenever the topic is sport, to catch up means trying to reach who's ahead, therefore go faster.

Sam needed to catch up with Karl in the 100 meter race or he was going to lose.

• to join in - to take part in a game, a group or a class.

Silvia joined in our netball game last September.

• to drop out - when someone decides to leave or quit a team, a game, a sport in general

Jimmy dropped out of hockey because he was injured.

• to work off - In this case, work off is used to describe doing exercise in order to lose weight which was previously gained through a specific action.

Tim decided to go for a walk to work off the cookies he had been eating all day.

These are just few of the many ways to express something related to sport. If you have any question or wish to know more about it please leave us a comment or browse through our blog and you'll find many more phrasal verbs to help you out!