Welcome to the listening time podcast.
Hey, everybody, this is Connor and you're listening to episode 65 of the listening time podcast.
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All right, so today we're going to talk about outdoor activities.
So we'll go through a few different types of outdoor activities and talk about each one.
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All right, let's get started.
Are your ears ready?
You know what time it is.
It's listening time.
Okay, let's talk about outdoor activities.
The first one that I want to talk about is swimming.
I know that swimming is technically indoor and outdoor, because some pools are indoors and some pools are outdoors, but I tend to think of this exercise, this activity, as an outdoor activity.
So this activity has been in my mind a lot lately, because now my son, who's only one year old, is doing swimming classes with my wife.
So of course, my son isn't swimming on his own, right?
He's in my wife's arms, but he's in the pool.
By the way, I just want to highlight that phrase on his own.
In English, we can say by himself or we can say on his own, but we can't say by his own.
I hear a lot of my students say that phrase.
So in this case, either by himself or on his own.
So he's not swimming on his own, but he's with my wife and he's getting used to the water.
He's getting accustomed to being in water, going underwater and holding his breath for a couple seconds.
All of that stuff.
In English, when we say that you hold your breath, this just means that you don't breathe.
So if you go underwater, you have to hold your breath, okay?
So he's doing some swimming lessons and I went on Monday to watch him in his swimming class and it was really fun.
It was great to see him so stimulated and excited because he really likes the water.
He loves taking baths and it's a really fun activity for him.
So this activity has been on my mind a lot lately.
But me personally, I'm not a big swimmer.
I grew up with swimming pools.
My parents had a swimming pool when I lived in my first house.
And then we also had a swimming pool in my second house.
But to be honest, I didn't really take advantage of this swimming pool that much.
In English, when we say that you take advantage of something that you have, it means that you really use that thing and you get the most out of that thing.
So I had swimming pools when I was younger, but I didn't really get the most out of them.
I didn't use them as much as I should have.
And so I usually went swimming when my friends came over.
By the way, in English, when we say that someone comes over, this means that they come to your house.
So we don't need to say he came to my house.
We can just say he came over.
So when my friends came over, This is when I would go in the pool, because my friends wanted to go in, because usually they didn't have a swimming pool.
So they like to come over to go swimming.
So I didn't appreciate it that much.
But of course, I swam a little bit and it was good exercise for me.
But I'm not a strong swimmer.
I'm not the type of guy who can swim long distances nonstop.
I can't do that.
And I can't tread water really well either.
In English, the phrase tread water refers to when you can move your arms and legs to float in water.
So this is treading water.
For example, my dad can tread water for a really long time.
He can move his arms and legs and stay afloat for, I don't know how long, but a long time.
For me, this is really hard.
So as you can see, I'm not a natural swimmer.
This is not my natural environment.
And so I've never been that interested in this exercise and this activity.
But it's great exercise for your body.
It's relaxing and it's good for your joints, right?
It's easier on your body.
The word joints in English refers to your elbows, your knees, your shoulders, these parts of your body where you bend things.
So being in the pool and exercising in the pool is good for your joints.
It's good for your body in general.
So now let's talk about another outdoor activity, which is biking.
So we can use the word biking in English, or you can say riding bikes.
You can say cycling.
You can use all three of these terms.
So biking is a very popular sport nowadays.
And it's not only a sport, really.
Some people ride bikes simply as a mode of transportation.
There are a lot of people that take their bike to work or to school for different reasons.
It could be because they want to exercise, it could be because they don't have a car, it could be because they don't want to take public transportation, or maybe it's just a nice day outside and they want to enjoy the outdoors.
So a lot of people ride their bikes just as a mode of transportation.
But of course there are also a lot of people that view biking as a sport for them.
And there's a whole culture around biking in the US and in other countries.
It's interesting because you can see some cafes that are specifically for bikers.
I don't know if you have these in your country where you live.
But I can think of a few different cafes in my old city in the US and here in Mexico too, that are cafes specifically for people who ride bikes.
So it's like a combination of a bike shop and a cafe.
And you see all these bikes outside because the people who are inside at these cafes rode their bikes there.
So it's pretty interesting because there's a whole culture around biking.
There are a lot of cafes and shops and it's a big sport, of course.
And this is something that a lot of people learn to do when they're a kid.
I remember that I learned to ride a bike when I was about six years old or so.
In English when we add the phrase or so after something we're saying around this amount or about this amount.
So if I say six years old or so, I'm saying I was around six years old.
I don't know if that was the exact age, but it was sometime around then.
So I remember that I learned to ride a bike when I was six years old or so.
And I learned mostly on my own.
I didn't rely on my parents to teach me.
I learned through trial and error.
In English trial and error refers to when you try something and then you mess up, and then you try it again and mess up.
And then at some point you actually get it.
You actually succeed.
This is trial and error.
So I remember falling down a lot.
I remember crashing into trees.
I remember injuring myself.
So there was a lot of trial and error involved in learning to ride a bike.
But of course, eventually I learned it and I was able to start riding on my own and And of course, I don't think I'll ever forget how to ride a bike, even if I don't do so in 20 years or however long.
I think I'll always know how to ride a bike.
And it's a really fun activity.
I think most people like riding bikes.
For me.
Even though I don't ride bikes often, every time I do ride a bike I really enjoy myself and it's relaxing for me and it's It's a way for me to enjoy the outdoors.
So I really like this.
And so it's great exercise for your legs, especially.
So you see professional bikers, they have really strong legs.
So this is a great way to really work out your lower body.
By the way, in English, we like to divide our body parts into upper body and lower body.
So for example, you could say that I worked out my lower body at the gym today.
And this just refers to the lower part of your body, your lower muscles.
So biking is a great lower body exercise.
All right, now let's talk about hiking.
So this is my favorite outdoor activity.
Well, actually walking in general is my favorite outdoor activity, but hiking is like a form of walking.
So I love walking.
I love hiking.
So hiking is my favorite outdoor activity because it's a great way to just connect with nature and you can really enjoy your surroundings.
And it can be pretty relaxing.
It doesn't always need to be a strenuous exercise.
It could just be a nice leisurely walk, for example.
In English, the word strenuous means that something requires a lot of effort.
It's something that you have to try hard to do and make a lot of effort to do.
This is something that's strenuous.
So hiking doesn't need to be strenuous.
It can be leisurely.
Leisurely refers to something that is easy and peaceful and it's relaxing.
So hiking can be leisurely and you can just walk outside in nature and enjoy the outdoors.
So that's why I really like it.
I've done a lot of different hikes in San Diego, which is where I'm from.
So I've hiked in the desert, in the woods, on the cliffs, by the coast.
So I've hiked in a lot of different types of environments there.
And there are a lot of great options for hikes in Southern California in general.
But unfortunately, here where I live in Mexico, there isn't a lot of hiking.
There aren't a lot of places where you can do this.
So this is one of the disadvantages for me living here in Mexico is I don't enjoy the outdoors in the same way, but hopefully in the future I'll seek out some different hiking spots and try to enjoy nature a little bit more.
In English, you can say that you seek something out.
This just means that you look for something, you search for something, okay?
So hopefully I'll be able to seek out and find some cool nature spots in the future when I have a little more time to dedicate to that, because I really miss this.
And lastly, let's talk about running.
This is another outdoor activity that's really popular, one of the most popular ones.
So I've had some experience with running and But I have to say that I'm a very bad runner.
So unfortunately, I'm not a good runner.
It's always been hard for me to do sports that require a lot of cardio, that require a lot of endurance.
This is not easy for me.
And so I've run a good amount in the past.
I've tried to get better at running and I go through periods where I start running a little bit every week, maybe a few times a week, but I never really commit to it and really train to get better at running.
So Maybe someday I will, but I think that I'm just not a natural at it.
It's hard for me.
And so I like running a little bit if I'm outdoors and it's good weather.
I like this experience, but I don't think I could ever really train seriously to get good at running, because it's just hard for me.
So there was one period of time when I was living in the state of Oregon, which is above the state of California.
I lived there for a couple of years and I was surrounded by really beautiful nature.
And during that time I decided to try to get a little bit better at running and I wanted to do this exercise more.
And that was the time when I actually improved a little bit.
And I was able to run longer distances.
But that's because the nature around me was so nice.
The environment was perfect for runners.
And there were trails specifically for running in nature.
And it was a really great experience and I loved that.
But after that, when I lived in other places, I stopped doing this and I didn't have the same outdoor trails to run on that I did during that time in Oregon.
So I kind of lost the habit after that.
So that was the one time when I got a little bit better.
And I started to like it a little bit more.
But it didn't last too long, because I eventually moved away and then I didn't do it that much afterwards.
So nowadays if I run, I have to deal with traffic because I'm running on the sidewalk and in the streets outside and there are cars and it's not the most comfortable activity, but I still do it sometimes because I want to get out and move and exercise and I think that a lot of people find that what helps them run better is if they listen to music while they're running.
Uh, so of course, if I listened to music, I can run for longer and maybe I can run faster.
But nowadays, if I run, I usually listen to podcasts in French, so I can multitask and combine my French study with my exercise.
So I think that this is also a great time when you can listen to English.
Maybe you already do.
Maybe you're listening to this podcast right now while you're running.
I don't know.
But it's a great time to...
Combine these two activities and exercise your mind while you're exercising your body.
So I think that that's a great way to incorporate more. language learning into your day as well.
So why don't we stop there for today?
I hope this episode was interesting for you.
I hope it was good practice for your listening skills.
Remember that I'm going to start posting episodes every two weeks from now on, not every week.
But if you want more episodes and more practice, then make sure to sign up to become a listening time member so you can get my bonus episodes.
And of course, you'll also get my specialized training.
And if you want my advanced episodes, if you want two new advanced episodes each month where I speak fast at normal speed, then make sure to become a listening time family member.
So click on the link in the episode description below this episode.
That's patreoncom slash listening time to sign up today to receive two advanced podcast episodes every month.
And remember that you have the transcript for this episode in the episode description below this episode.
So click on that if you need it.
And please remember to give this podcast a five-star rating if you haven't already.
And please share it with anyone else who might find it useful and help this podcast grow.
All right.
Well, thank you for listening to this episode.
And I'll talk to you on the next episode of Listening Time.
