Everyday Dialogues

Going to the Gym

In this lesson, you will learn useful words and
expressions to use when working out at a gym.
Let’s start by having a chat about exercising.

Pre-Reading
A. Warm-Up Questions

1. What do you like to do for exercise?

2. D
 o you like working out indoors or outdoors?
Explain your preference.

3. W
 hat types of equipment and amenities
(useful features/facilities) do gyms often have?

B. Vocabulary Preview

Match the words on the left to the correct meanings on the right.

1. stationary bike a) exercise that focuses on muscle strengthening

2. spin class b) to search for more information about something

3. weight lifting c) to exercise one’s body

4. personal trainer d) a single session of exercise

5. the heads up e) useful information or a warning

6. look into f) related to signing up for events and membership

7. registration g) an exercise bicycle that stays in one place

8. cardio (informal) h) the act of getting your heart rate up (cardiovascular exercise)

9. work out i) an exercise class on stationary bikes

10. workout j) a person who designs and supports your personalized exercise plan

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 Going to the Gym
Everyday Dialogues

Dialogue Reading
Read the dialogue with your partner a few times. Take turns
being each character. Practice your intonation and pronunciation.
Circle any new words or phrases that you need to practice.

Visitor: Hi. Are you done with this bike?

Member: Yes. It’s all yours. Just let me towel it off for you.

Visitor: Thanks a lot.

Member: No problem. Are you a new member? I haven’t seen you around here before.

Visitor: I’m trying out a few different gyms this week. I have a three-day free pass.

Member: You’ll love it here. If you like the stationary bike, you should try a spin class.

Visitor: Thanks! I’ll have a look at the schedule. Are there any good classes for weight lifting?

Member: Actually, my personal trainer Tina teaches Learn to Lift on Friday mornings. She’s great.

Visitor: Oh, nice! My daughter has preschool on Friday mornings, so that would work well.

Member: There is free childcare here too. I drop my son off when I swim on Mondays. He loves it.

Visitor: Oh, there’s a pool here? I didn’t know that.

Member: Yes. And a racquetball court.

Visitor: Fun! I’ll look into the day care too. Thanks for the heads up.

Member: If you need a workout partner, there’s a sign-up sheet at the registration desk.

Visitor: Nice! I’m going to start with cardio and weights. I haven’t worked out in a few months.

Member: Okay, well, I’ll let you get to it. Have a good workout!

Visitor: Thanks for the tips. I’m Maggie, by the way.

Member: Rudy. Nice to meet you.

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 Going to the Gym
Everyday Dialogues

Practice
Work with your partner. Role-play the dialogue on page 2,
substituting some of the different expressions below. Then switch roles.

1. Are you a new member? 6. There’s a sign-up sheet at the registration desk.

• Is this your first time here? • in the studio

• Have you been here before? • in the lobby
• online
2. I f you like the stationary bike,
you should try a spin class. 7. I’m going to start with cardio and weights.

• If you like lifting weights, • cycling and rowing

you should try a weight-lifting class. • the treadmill
• If you like the treadmill, • the machines I’m familiar with
you should join a running group. • some fitness classes
• If you have sore muscles,
you should try a yoga class. 8. I haven’t worked out in a few months.

• run
3. Are there any good classes for weight lifting?
• swum
• yoga • done Pilates
• Pilates • been to a yoga class
• dance
• martial arts 9. Have a good workout.
• rock climbing
• swim
• class
4. My daughter has preschool on Friday
• match
mornings, so that would work well.
• run
• that would be great
• that’s ideal 10. I ’m Maggie, by the way.
• that would be perfect
• I didn’t catch your name. I’m Reggie.
• that won’t work for me
• It was nice chatting with you. I’m Jin.
• I’m Carlos. It’s nice to meet you.
5. Thanks for the heads up.
• It was nice to meet you. I’m Lizzie.
• letting me know
• the info
• the warning

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 Going to the Gym
Everyday Dialogues

Listening Practice
Listen to the recording. Fill in the missing words as you listen.
Listen again. Now look back at page 2 and check your work. Did
you fill in the correct words? Did you spell everything correctly?

Visitor: Hi. Are you done with this bike?

Member: Yes. It’s               . Just let me towel it off for you.

Visitor: Thanks a lot.

Member: No problem. Are you a new member? I haven’t seen you around here before.

Visitor: I’m trying out a few different               this week. I have a three-day free pass.

Member: You’ll love it here. If you like the               , you should try a spin class.

Visitor: Thanks! I’ll have a look at the schedule. Are there any good classes for weight lifting?

Member: Actually, my               Tina teaches Learn to Lift on Friday mornings. She’s great.

Visitor: Oh, nice! My daughter has preschool on Friday mornings, so that would work well.

Member: There is free childcare here too. I drop my son off when I swim on Mondays. He loves it.

Visitor: Oh, there’s a pool here? I didn’t know that.

Member: Yes. And a racquetball court.

Visitor: Fun! I’ll               the day care too. Thanks for the               .

Member: If you need a workout partner, there’s a sign-up sheet at the registration desk.

Nice! I’m going to start with               and weights.

Visitor:
I haven’t worked out in a few months.

Member: Okay, well, I’ll let you get to it. Have a good               !

Visitor: Thanks for the tips. I’m Maggie, by the way.

Member: Rudy. Nice to meet you.

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 Going to the Gym
Everyday Dialogues

Write Your Own Dialogue

Work with a partner. Write a dialogue between a gym visitor and a
long‑term member. Use phrases from page 3. Practice and present
the dialogue to your class. Your classmates will have to answer the
questions from Task 1 on page 6. Make sure to include this information
in your dialogue.

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 Going to the Gym
Everyday Dialogues

Review
Task 1

LISTEN & ANSWER

Listen to a conversation. Then answer the questions.

Your teacher will tell you if you have to write or say the answers.

1. What are the speakers mainly discussing?

2. What does the visitor want to focus on?

3. Name one suggestion that the long-term member makes.

4. What amenities/classes does this gym have?

5. What is the visitor surprised to hear about?

6. How does the conversation end?

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 Going to the Gym
Everyday Dialogues

Review cont.
Task 2

QUESTION FORMATION

A. About Gym Amenities

Write five questions a potential new gym member might

have for a long-term gym member or staff member.

Ex. Is there a fitness studio?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

B. About Gym Members

Write five possible questions a long-term gym member might ask a newcomer.

Ex. Are you new here?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Task 3

ROLE-PLAY

Find a partner. Imagine that one of you is a long-term gym member and
one of you is a potential new member. Use vocabulary and expressions
you learned to do a role-play for your teacher that takes place at a gym.

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 Going to the Gym
Everyday Dialogues

Answer Key
LESSON DESCRIPTION: LEVEL: Low Int – Int

In this lesson, students learn and practice using vocabulary TIME: 1–2 hours
and expressions related to working out at a gym. They have
TAGS: going to the gym, working out, workout, exercise,
a group discussion and practice writing their own dialogues
exercising, exercise equipment, small talk,
and answering questions.
sharing information

Pre-Reading Listening Practice

A. WARM-UP QUESTIONS Have students complete the dialogue by playing the recording or
listening to two students read the completed dialogue from page 2.
Discuss as a class or in small groups. Answers will vary.

B. VOCABULARY PREVIEW
Write Your Own Dialogue

1. g 3. a 5. e 7. f 9. c First, place students into pairs. (If you have an extra student,
2. i 4. j 6. b 8. h 10. d this person can be a second long-term gym member.) Then, have
students review the task. Go over the Task 1 questions (page 6)
Dialogue Reading together to make sure that your students include answers to these
in their dialogues. Encourage your students to use vocabulary from
Give your students time to read the dialogue in pairs. Point out page 3. Have your students submit their dialogues to you before
that we can say a statement with question intonation to express or after presenting them. Check their work and help them fix
surprise or to confirm something (e.g., “Oh, there’s a pool here?”). their mistakes.

Practice (continued on the next page...)

Have your students read the dialogue again and

practice subbing in some of the different expressions.

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 Going to the Gym
Everyday Dialogues

Answer Key cont.

Review (Assessment Tasks) SPELLING NOTE:

This lesson shows the American spelling of the word Practice.

The following tasks can be used for assessment purposes
and/or review practice. You can save all of the tasks until
the end or assess your students throughout the lesson.
TASK 1
Most other English-speaking countries spell it this way: Practise
(when used as a verb; Practice when used as a noun). Make it a
challenge for your students to find this word in the lesson and
see if they know the alternate spelling.

Have two students read their edited dialogue from page 5 (or if
some time has passed, you can reuse the audio from the dialogue
on page 2). Then assign the questions. You can decide if you want
your students to say or write the answers. You can also decide if
you want every group to present or just a few groups. Answers will
vary. If you choose to use the original audio for this task instead of
student-made dialogue(s), here are the answers:

1. T he speakers are mainly discussing

the amenities of the gym they are at.
2. T he visitor wants to focus on cardio and weight lifting.
3. T he long-term member suggests trying the Learn to Lift
class and the childcare facilities. The member also mentions
that there is a sign-up sheet for racquetball partners at the
registration desk.
4. T his gym has weights, exercise machines (e.g., stationary
bikes), exercise classes, a pool, a racquetball court, and
childcare services.
5. T he visitor is surprised to hear that there is a pool.
6. At the end of the conversation, the visitor and the member
introduce themselves by name. The visitor also thanks
the member for the tips and the member tells the visitor
to have a good workout.

TASK 2

Answers will vary. Assess your students’ understanding

of vocabulary used at gyms.

TASK 3

Assess two students at a time as they role-play the scenario.

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 Going to the Gym
Everyday Dialogues

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