There are plenty of things you can do when you’re not in class studying Spanish to make sure you keep your cuerpo (body) and mente (mind) in top form
It might be getting colder now, and you might now want to salir a la calle (going out into the street) to do your usual exercise routine, but that’s not excuse to not estar en forma (be in shape). Let’s take a look at some places where you can hacer ejercicio (do exercise) and the activities available there.
Apúntate a un gimnasio – Sign up to a gym
In otoño (autumn) and invierno (winter) this could be a good option instead of having to exercise outdoors. Having said that, here in Madrid, when you come and learn Spanish, you’ll find that it almost always hace buen tiempo (is good weather) so you could go a correr (out for a run) in pretty much any month of the year!
But, if you do fancy joining a gym, you might need some gym and exercise related vocabulary to get you started. Here are some words and phrases.
| Spanish | English |
| Matricularse | Sign up |
| ¿Cuánto cuesta apuntarse? | How much does it cost to join up? |
| Ser socio de un gimnasio | Be a member of a gym |
| Hacer un circuito | To do a circuit |
| Las máquinas | Machines (in a gym) |
| Hacer una sesión de ejercicio | To do a work-out session |
| Calentar | Warm up |
| Entrenar | To train |
| Estirar | To stretch |
| Sentadillas (f) | Squats |
| Flexiones (f) | Push-ups |
| Planchas (f) | Planks |
| Zancadas (f) | Lunges |
| Levantar pesas | To lift weights |
| Monitor (m) | Monitor/Gym assistant |
| Entrenador(a) personal (m/f) | Personal trainer |
Now, there’s no excusa (excuse) to get yourself down to your local gym and start levantando pesas (pumping iron)!
Most gyms also offer clases (classes) of various activities too, so there’s always something you can do there even if using the machines isn’t your thing. You can also hacer natación (go swimming) at the bigger gyms, as well as relax after your exercise in their balneario (spa). A gym is also a great place to hablar en español (speak in Spanish) as you’ll probably need to ask for instructions on how to use the machines, or simply to interact with the other people in your gym classes. Exercise and learning – a great combination!
Ejercicio al aire libre – Outdoor exercise
Like we said before, especially here in Madrid and further south, the weather in most of Spain means when you’re here studying Spanish you can get outside most of the year to do some exercise. As Hablamos is based in Madrid, we know this city better and we’d say that you can correr (run) around one of the many parques verdes (green parks/spaces) that the city has to offer.
Apart from inner city activities, the huge amounts of campo (countryside) near Madrid are perfect para dar un paseo (to go for a walk) or hacer trekking (go trekking/hiking). For the more adventurous of you out there, you could do a spot of barranquismo (canyoning/canyoneering) in one of the many valles (valleys) in the region. The Comunidad de Madrid and Castilla y León regions are also known for their mountainous areas, so getting out to escalar (climb) is another way of keeping fit and seeing all the gorgeous countryside.
En tu propia casa – In your own home
Even if you’re learning Spanish online, or no tienes ganas de salir de casa (you can’t be bothered to leave your house), you can still be immersed in Spanish and keep fit from the comfort of your own salón (living room). All you need to get started is una esterilla de yoga (a yoga mat) and a video on YouTube and you can get into some funny posturas (positions) without anyone having to see you! Nowadays, there are even entire planes de ejercicio (exercise plans) available to watch online which require only a mat and maybe a little bit of equipment.
En total (in conclusion), there’s simply no reason nowadays not to mantenerte en forma (keep in shape) given the multiple options available to you. We at Hablamos think that it’s important to keep your mind and body in top condition, so we hope that these suggestions will be useful to you when you’re here on one of our Spanish courses to give you plenty to do in your free time.
