Health and fitness
Talk about fitness, diet, mental health, injuries and medical appointments in more detail.
In this lesson you will
- Use fitness and diet vocabulary
- Describe injuries and treatment
- Discuss mental health and wellbeing
Learn
Fitness: work out, keep fit, go for a run, lift weights, stretch, build strength, improve stamina. Diet: a balanced diet, cut down on sugar, processed food, portion size, stay hydrated.
Injuries: sprain your ankle, pull a muscle, break your wrist, bruise, get a cut. Treatment: put ice on it, rest, take painkillers, have physiotherapy, get stitches.
Mental health: feel stressed / anxious / burned out, get enough sleep, take a break, talk to someone, mindfulness, work–life balance.
At the doctor’s: make an appointment, describe symptoms, get a prescription, have a check-up, be referred to a specialist.
Examples
- I sprained my ankle playing football.
- She works out three times a week to keep fit.
- He was feeling burned out, so he took a week off.
- The doctor referred me to a specialist.
Vocabulary
sprain
injure a joint by twisting it
stamina
the ability to keep going for a long time
balanced diet
the right mix of foods
burned out
exhausted from too much work or stress
physiotherapy
treatment with exercise and massage
refer
send to another doctor
Practice
I twisted my foot and ___ my ankle.
Listening: Sports injury
Audio isn’t available in this browser — read the transcript instead.
Doctor: So, what happened?
Kai: I was running and I twisted my knee on some stairs.
Doctor: Can you walk on it?
Kai: A little, but it’s swollen.
Doctor: It looks like a sprain. Rest it, put ice on it for twenty minutes a few times a day, and don’t run for two weeks.
Kai: Two weeks?! I have a race next month.
Doctor: If it’s not better in a week, I’ll refer you to a physiotherapist.
1.Which part of his body did Kai hurt?
2.How long should Kai stop running?
3.What will the doctor do if it doesn’t get better?
Speaking
Talk about how you keep fit and healthy, an injury or illness you’ve had, and how you deal with stress.
Writing
Write advice (100–120 words) for a busy student who wants to be healthier: exercise, diet, sleep and stress.
Lesson quiz
A doctor’s note for medicine is a…
Review
Key points
- work out, keep fit, stamina, balanced diet, cut down on.
- sprain, pull a muscle, stitches, physiotherapy.
- burned out, work–life balance, refer to a specialist.
What you learned
- ✓ I can talk about fitness and diet.
- ✓ I can describe injuries.
- ✓ I can discuss wellbeing.