Pump Up the Healthy Love Episode 3 recap – Key moments and developments

Episode 3 of Pump Up the Healthy Love picks up after the wedding chaos, where Mi-ran’s dress becomes the center of attention. Her solution to the stress is to indulge in makchang, but Hyeon-joong, ever the health enthusiast, refuses to let her indulge due to the high fat content. When he criticizes her for torturing her body, Mi-ran gets upset and storms off. As a result, Hyeon-joong is forced to offer Mi-ran a refund for her gym membership. Rosa tells him that he needs to empathize more with his clients and mentions that she has secured new VIP clients for the gym. Alex introduces them as a group known as Skinny Men Fighting (SMF), and Hyeon-joong takes it upon himself to train one of them, promising Rosa that he will leave if he fails.

Challenges with the Skinny Men Fighting group

The SMF group arrives at the gym for dinner, but Hyeon-joong unintentionally insults them, causing them to leave in frustration. Later, Rosa confides in Alex, explaining that she’s working tirelessly to save the gym because of her strong bond with Director Dong, the previous owner. Meanwhile, Mi-ran tells her sister that she won’t be returning to the gym and is embarrassed to face her colleagues. However, Joon-seok clears the air at work, explaining that Mi-ran had mistakenly worn her sister’s dress. Mi-ran plans to send him an angry text but ends up sending him a thank-you message instead.

The competition across the street

Hyeon-joong and his team discover that a new gym is opening directly across from them. The new gym’s owner seems to have a history with Hyeon-joong, accusing him of running away before a drug test and causing Director Dong to faint, which worries Rosa. Soon after, three regular gym members decide to move to the new gym. However, hope is not lost, as Kang Cheol-nam, one of the SMF members, decides to join Hyeon-joong’s gym.

Mi-ran’s breakthrough and decision to return to the gym

On her way home, Mi-ran is on a bus that suddenly stops, causing everyone to tumble, except for her. She realizes Hyeon-joong’s words about exercise being about inner strength, not the dress, were true. Ecstatic about her newfound realization, Mi-ran tells her sister that she can now stand on her own and doesn’t need others to support her. This newfound confidence motivates her to return to the gym, but she’s hesitant to see Hyeon-joong again. The new gym owner, Lee Ro-yi, convinces her to try a free trial, but Mi-ran soon realizes that Ro-yi doesn’t push her the way Hyeon-joong does, so she leaves the gym without breaking a sweat.

Cheol-nam’s struggle and turning point

Cheol-nam continues to follow Hyeon-joong’s workout routine, but one day, while lifting a 20 kg bar on his own, he struggles, and Rosa is forced to intervene. Hyeon-joong realizes that Cheol-nam has been ignoring his diet plan, so he takes him to a restaurant, though Cheol-nam isn’t hungry until he spots Mi-ran eating nearby. Hyeon-joong asks Mi-ran to help them get Cheol-nam’s appetite back, and she agrees. Using her digital map, Mi-ran takes them to various eateries, and they sample different foods.

At one point, Cheol-nam collapses and is rushed to the hospital, diagnosed with pancreatitis. He laments that his body will never change and shares his frustration about a man who keeps parking his truck in front of his café and refuses to listen to him because of his weak appearance.

Cheol-nam’s moment of empowerment and the gym’s future

After being discharged from the hospital, Cheol-nam returns to his café, where the truck is still blocking his space. This time, Cheol-nam finds the strength to push the truck on his own, forcing the man to move it. Cheol-nam promises to return to the gym once he recovers. Back at the gym, Hyeon-joong is about to ask Mi-ran to work out with him again but is interrupted by Ro-yi, who reveals she’s now working out at his gym. Both men try to convince Mi-ran to join their respective gyms, and she ultimately chooses to stay with Hyeon-joong.

Thanks to Cheol-nam’s positive feedback, Hyeon-joong and his team hope that more SMF members will return. They anxiously await the arrival of more clients. In the evening, a few more SMF members, along with an Olympian looking to enhance his lower body, join the gym. The episode concludes with a surprising twist when Hyeon-joong tells Rosa that, instead of him leaving, she’ll need to leave the gym.

Epilogue: Hyeon-joong’s secret watch over Mi-ran

In the epilogue, Hyeon-joong is seen secretly watching Mi-ran as she works out at Ro-yi’s gym, hinting at the ongoing tension between their dynamics.