Objectives. To examine the use of exercise-related self-talk. Specifically, the four Ws - where, when, what and why - of self-talk used by exercise participants were examined.Method. Exercisers (n=164) who indicated they used self-talk were asked where, when, what, and why they used their self-talk using an open-ended questionnaire. Over 95% of exercisers reported using self-talk with moderate frequency.Results. Exercisers used self-talk most often at their exercise location, during exercise. They reported using short phrases, neutral self-talk, and referred to themselves in the second person most frequently. Self-talk was used for both motivational (i.e., mastery, arousal, and drive) and cognitive (i.e., skill-specific and general) purposes.Conclusions. These results provide a basis for developing a framework for exercise-related self-talk research.