'80s Workout Catchphrases That Sound Even More Ridiculous Today

The 1970s ushered in a pro-workout wave, especially for running. In a retrospective article from 2025, The New York Times noted that by the latter half of the decade, women's jogger bras finally came onto the scene amid the craze — and Nike sneakers became the footwear of choice for millions. However, the 1980s doubled down on the whole workout phenomenon, bringing some ridiculous workout catchphrases along for the ride.

The catchphrases were a clear reflection of the era's interest in exercise. Throughout the decade, celebs and public figures showcased their physical activity. Even President Ronald Reagan gave readers an insider look into his regular exercise routine in a 1983 Parade exclusive.

These were (and are) positive developments, since science has shown the value of consistent movement and strength training on people's health. A 2022 study published in Circulation tracked adult subjects for 30 years. Subjects who exercised between 300 and 600 minutes weekly lowered their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, one of the 10 leading causes of death in the United States, by between 28% and 38%. Today, exercise and health remain important to many people, but those ridiculous (albeit fun) catchphrases have become increasingly bizarre to modern audiences.

Richard Simmons helped define the 1980s workout scene. Simmons had previously lost a lot of weight through diet and exercise, and afterward, he made it his mission to encourage others do likewise. His strategy included releasing a series of videos called "Sweatin' to the Oldies," which featured him doing aerobics to old-time tunes.

On a purely practical level, his workouts weren't geared to make people sweat too much. Perhaps it's no wonder that this ridiculous catchphrase lost its legs with age and even became fodder for jokes. To his credit, Simmons built a successful empire with "Sweatin' to the Oldies," selling more than 20 million tapes (via KVPR). Ultimately, "Sweatin'" became one of those fitness trends that completely disappeared.

In the 1980s, Jane Fonda became a role model for the aerobics movement, selling 17 million copies of a "Workout" video that featured her leading aerobics classes and uttering "Feel the burn!" The phrase became synonymous with Fonda — and perhaps ushered in the decade's obsession with vividly colored leg warmers. (Here's why we're all suckers for fitness fads.) Interestingly, the video's success may have been a fluke: In a 2012 blog, Fonda admitted, "I remember writing the script on the floor of a hotel room during a Christmas skiing vacation."

"Feel the burn" hasn't really held up over the years, though. While it's okay to get a burning sensation in your muscles while working out, discomfort doesn't necessarily translate to legitimate gains.

Jane Fonda is strongly connected to another ridiculous 1980s catchphrase: "No pain, no gain." In her aerobics "Workout" video collection, she focused on taking audiences through a mixture of cardio and stretching exercises. "No pain, no gain" became connected with Fonda's series.

Unfortunately, "no pain, no gain" isn't just ridiculous; it can also be risky because it implies you have to experience actual pain during a workout to make progress. As physicians Dr. Eve Glazer and Dr. Elizabeth Ko explained, "If you ever feel a sensation that goes beyond discomfort and firmly into the realm of pain — anything that's sharp, stabbing or sudden — it's a sign that something's wrong" (via UCLA Health).

In Olivia Newton-John's 1981 hit "Physical," she sings the line, "Let's get physical." The song soared to the top of the charts after its release, and fitness enthusiasts soon embraced the concept of "getting physical." But Newton-John eventually realized that the lyrics had a potentially humorous double meaning pertaining to intimacy, a fact that reportedly didn't occur to her at the time (per YouTube).

Ridiculousness notwithstanding, Newton-John's song remains iconic. The phrase has even been used more recently to indicate that one's joking and not seriously exercising.

In the late 1970s, bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger was featured in a documentary called "Pumping Iron." Over the next decade, the phrase "pumping iron" eventually took off as shorthand for strength-building using free weights.

The catchphrase is still a staple for many bodybuilders today because a pump can indicate an effective workout, but just because "pumping iron" is an iconic motto with some credibility doesn't mean it's not a little ridiculous. During the 1980s, SNL spoofed the concept, with bodybuilder-like characters "Hans" and "Franz" promising audiences they would "pump [them] up."