Depois da academia, eu tomo banho e limpo o chuveiro.

In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, academia very commonly means gym or fitness center. That is probably the first meaning most Brazilians will think of in a sentence like this.

It can also mean academy in more formal or institutional contexts, but in daily speech ir para a academia usually means to go to the gym.

Da is the contraction of de + a.

So:

• de = of / from / after
• a = the (feminine singular article)
• de + a = da

Because academia is a feminine noun, Portuguese normally uses the article a with it in this kind of expression. So depois da academia is the natural way to say after the gym or after going to the gym.

In natural English, the idea is usually after going to the gym or after my workout at the gym.

Literally, depois da academia is after the gym, but Portuguese often uses this shorter structure where English might spell out the action more clearly.

A more explicit version would be:

Depois de ir à academia... = After going to the gym...

But the original sentence sounds very natural.

Yes. In Portuguese, subject pronouns are often omitted when the verb already makes the subject clear.

So both are natural:

• Depois da academia, eu tomo banho e limpo o chuveiro.
• Depois da academia, tomo banho e limpo o chuveiro.

Including eu can add a little clarity, contrast, or emphasis, but it is not required.

Literally, tomar banho is something like to bathe or to take a wash. In Brazilian Portuguese, though, it very often means to take a shower in everyday life.

So in this sentence, eu tomo banho is most naturally understood as:

• I take a shower

Context matters, but in Brazil this is an extremely common expression for showering.

Tomar banho is a very common fixed expression, so tomo banho sounds completely natural.

Adding um is also possible:

• tomo banho
• tomo um banho

The version without um often feels more general or routine. The version with um can sound a little more like I take a shower / I have a shower as a single event, or it may give a bit more emphasis.

For a habit or routine, tomo banho is very common.

Portuguese uses the present tense for habits and routines, just like English does.

So:

• eu tomo banho = I take a shower
• eu limpo o chuveiro = I clean the shower

In context, this means this is what I usually do or this is my routine after the gym.

Here, limpo is a verb: the first-person singular present form of limpar (to clean).

So:

• eu limpo = I clean

This can be confusing because limpo is also an adjective meaning clean or cleaned, depending on context.

But in this sentence, it is clearly a verb because it matches eu and is coordinated with tomo:

• eu tomo banho e limpo o chuveiro
• I take a shower and clean the shower

Most literally, chuveiro refers to the shower fixture / showerhead.

In everyday speech, though, people may sometimes use it a little more loosely. Still, if you say limpo o chuveiro, many speakers may imagine you are cleaning the actual shower fixture, not necessarily the entire shower area.

If you specifically mean the shower stall or enclosure, other expressions may be more precise, such as:

• o box
• a área do banho
• o banheiro, depending on context

So the original sentence is understandable, but chuveiro most literally points to the shower itself as a fixture.

Depois da academia is an introductory time expression, so the comma helps separate that opening phrase from the main part of the sentence.

So this is very natural in writing:

• Depois da academia, eu tomo banho e limpo o chuveiro.

In very informal writing, some people might leave the comma out, especially because the opening phrase is short. But using the comma is a good choice.

A rough Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation would be:

deh-POYSH da ah-kah-deh-MEE-ah, eh-ooh TOH-moo BAHN-yoo ee LEEM-poo oo shoo-VEH-roo

A few helpful notes:

• depois often sounds like deh-POYS or deh-POYSH, depending on region
• banho has nh, which sounds like the ny in canyon
• chu in chuveiro sounds like shoo
• eu is pronounced as one syllable in natural speech, something like eh-ooh blended together

A more natural connected pronunciation may sound smoother than this spelling suggests.