Sports Vocabulary

  

Term	Definition	Example
sport	An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another, following rules	Jamie always struggled with his schoolwork but was excellent at sports.
extreme sport	a sport that is exciting but also dangerous, such as skydiving	Esther became interested in extreme sports when she tried bungee jump on a trip to New Zealand.
fitness	the condition of being physically fit and healthy	I’m trying to improve my fitness by walking to work each day.
to keep fit	to keep the body in good physical condition by exercising regularly	I do several things to keep fit but dancing is the one I enjoy the most.
fitness fanatic	to be obsessed with keeping fit	Dylan is a real fitness fanatic and goes to the gym every day.
to exercise	to do an activity requiring physical effort, generally to, improve health and fitness	I make sure that I exercise every single dayAn  even if it’s only taking the dog for a walk.
strenuous exercise	exercise that needs a lot of physical effort	I used to hate strenuous exercise until I took up running to lose weight, and now I andreally enjoy it.
to get into shape	to become fit	Jae Hwa was so determined to get into shape that she started cycling to work.
to take up (a sport)	to start playing a sport	I have always wanted to take up archery and am going to join the new club that has just started in my area.
to warm up	to prepare for strenuous activity by doing gentle exercise first	We always warm up before we start our workout session in the gym.
to cool down	to end a session of strenuous activity with gentle exercises to allow the heart rate to come down and the body return to a near resting state	It’s essential to cool down after exercising hard, as this helps to prevent injury.
to be out of condition	to be not physically fit (unfit)	My friend is so out of condition that she gets out of breath walking up the stairs.
training	to work hard at physical exercise and skills to be fitter and better at a sport	I often don’t feel like training, but I know I have to if I want to win more races.
to train hard	to train with a lot of effort and passion	The team trained hard before the match and beat the other team easily.
fitness programme	a planned timetable of activities to help someone improve their health and physical condition	Following a fitness programme at my local gym helped me to stay motivated as I got back into shape after having a baby.
aerobic fitness	having a strong heart and lungs and being able to carry out sustained exercise such as jogging, swimming or cycling	To,   be a competitive rower, you need a high level of aerobic fitness.
to work out	to exercise, usually in a gym	Dhruv worked out at the gym three evenings a week.
a workout	a session of exercises, usually in a gym	Cressida found that a workout at the gym helped her de-stress after a hard day at work.
to bulk up	to make your body bigger and heavier, especially by gaining more muscle	He felt so much stronger since he started working out with weights and his body was really beginning to bulk up.
boot camp	a short, intensive, and rigorous course of training	William couldn’t believe he’d agreed to go along to the boot camp with his friend. He didn’t even like exercising.
sports facilities	places and buildings used for sporting activities, such as swimming pools and running tracks	There are excellent sports facilities at my university, which is one reason I chose it.
stadium	a large building, with tiers of seats for spectators, where people watch sports events such as football matches or athletics	The stadium was buzzing with excitement as the two teams came out onto the pitch for the start of the game.
fitness centre	a place where people go to do physical exercise; usually has a gym, weightA is  equipment and rooms for exercise classes	I can’t wait for the new fitness centre to open as they’re advertising some great exercise classes.
sports centre	a building where people can do a range of different sports	We have a great sports centre in our town which offers everything from martial arts training to indoor bowls.
gym	a large hall or room with special equipment for doing physical exercises	If it’s raining when I want to go running, I run on the treadmill in the gym instead.
athletics track	a sporting facility with a track for running and areas for other sports, such as high jump, long jump and javelin throwing	Each summer,A    we have a big competition for all the schools in our area down at the local athletics track.
pitch	a surface on which a particular sport is played, such as a football pitch or baseball pitch, that is marked out with lines	Victor felt nervous as he waited with his team to go out onto the pitch for the first big match of the season.
court	a surface where you play sports such as tennis, badminton and squash	Shelley was playing an excellent opponent who made her run from one side of the tennis court to the other throughout the match.
swimming pool	an area of water, often in a building, created for swimming in	My mum took me to the swimming pool every Saturday morning when I was a child.
changing room	a room in a sports building or school where people can change their clothes before exercise	The changing room smelt awful with all the sweaty bodies in there after the football match.
locker room	a changing room where people can leave their clothes in a small lockable cupboard	Matilda put in a complaint as many of the lockers in the locker room were broken.