put one's shoulder into

put one's shoulder into (third-person singular simple present puts one's shoulder into, present participle putting one's shoulder into, simple past and past participle put one's shoulder into)

1. (transitive, idiomatic) To make a strenuous effort to do (something); to put one's back into (something).
   • 2007 November, Gil Schwartz, “Escape from the job monster”, in Men's Health, volume 22, number 9, →ISSN, page 122:

     Identify a challenge. Put your shoulder into it. Make it go away. Just as it disappears, whoops, here comes another one. It's like a game of whack-a-mole. Trust me, you'll never run out of quarters.

• put one's shoulder to the wheel