Is gymming a hobby? Yes, but describe it like THIS instead

I spend a lot of time in my home gym and trying to stay fit – BUT is gymming a hobby or not?! Personally I think it IS a hobby, but that’s not how I like to describe it to others or on my resume. Here’s what I do instead:

What is ‘gymming’?!

Gymming is a verb meaning using or going to use a gym. For example I might ask my training partner “are you gymming tonight, Dave?” to find out if they are going to be at the gym that evening. It is a slang term therefore can’t be found in the dictionary (yet). 

Is going to the gym a hobby?

Yes ‘gymming’ can be considered a hobby. A hobby is something done in your spare time for pleasure – so if you enjoy your time in the gym then IT IS a hobby.

One tip is to consider being more specific when asked – for example what do you enjoy doing AT the gym? Weightlifting, running, cycling or triathlons are all more specific activities we can pursue IN a gym, and might be a better description of your interest.

So this means if you love chasing a squat PR or trying to squeeze a few extra pull-ups in to each set then you are firmly in hobby territory!

But if you are merely going through the motions as a chore and don’t enjoy going then you can call it something else! 

How to write about gym or fitness as a hobby on your resume

Many disclose their hobbies on their resume or CV. It can help you stand out from the crowd and inject a bit of personality into an otherwise very formal document.

How you write about it or word it can be tricky. Personally I like to stick to a general statement that is not too detailed – the below examples can work nicely on most CVs:

• Avid fitness enthusiast
• Hobbies include football and going to the gym
• Interested in all aspects of health & fitness
• Competitive powerlifting

There are no formal rules on how to present your hobbies on a CV but the above may give you a good starter. Be sure to be able to talk to your hobby passionately – it may come up in an interview…

What about in an interview?

In my experience the more specific the statement on your CV the more likely you are to get some questions on it. 

If you write something on your CV about your hobbies be prepared to have a short exchange on it with the panel. It’s often a good icebreaker so may catch you off guard at the START of the process!

Typically questions will be good natured and will centre around how long you’ve been doing it, what got you started, how you manage to fit it in to your schedule or similar lines of questioning. 

Have a few responses lined up just in case – I like to keep it quite high level saying when I got in to the hobby and jump to where I am with it today.

Don’t fret too much on the detail – it would be highly unusual to end up with another competitive powerlifter opposite you asking what your total was!

For example “I started going to the gym around 10 years ago when I realised I wasn’t 21 anymore and grew to really enjoy it. These days I’m typically trying to do SOMETHING everyday – typically aiming for 4 days a week of weights with cardio where I can around that.”

Of course that won’t work for every question, but hopefully gives you something to work with!

Is weightlifting a hobby?

Yes weightlifting can be a hobby if it’s something you enjoy doing. Adding some context can be really helpful here – to an average person weightlifting is interchangeable with bodybuilding for example, and to others it may be associated with Olympic weightlifting (snatch, clean and jerk etc.)

So if you are talking about weightlifting as a hobby it is good to expand on what you mean by that. Doing this is a great way to break the ice in a conversation – you’re talking about something you enjoy and are knowledgable on so it should put you at ease in the situation you find yourself in!

Is fitness a LIFESTYLE, or a hobby?

A hobby is something that is done in your leisure time, while a lifestyle is the way we live all the time.

If you are a professional athlete with your entire life centred around your sport (diet, sleep, training, transport, days on and off work) then fitness is a LIFESTYLE.

For most of us – as much as we love it – health and fitness is likely a hobby as we allow ourselves the odd takeaway or off day, have non-fitness based work commitments and are generally a bit more flexible with it.

What unites both a fitness hobby and fitness lifestyle is PASSION for the activities, so don’t get too hung up on which one to classify yourself as!

Conclusion

If you enjoy working out and going to the gym then I would class it as a hobby. Whether you prefer to define it as a lifestyle or not I don’t think it matters TOO MUCH, and we would be splitting hairs. Certainly from a resume or interview perspective listing it as a hobby is acceptable, but I would consider the language used – possibly being a bit more specific (e.g. CrossFit competitor) over something more general such as ‘gymming’!