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  • Neil: Hello, I'm Neil. And welcome to

  • 6 Minute English, where we vigorously discuss

  • a new topic and six related items of vocabulary.

  • Rob: And hello, I'm Rob. Today we're discussing

  • vigorous exerciseand whether adults take

  • enough of it! Vigorous means using a lot of

  • energy to do something.

  • Neil: So how many steps do you do in a day, Rob?

  • Rob: How many steps? How should I know, Neil?

  • It would be pretty hard to count them all.

  • Neil: Oh, come on! You can track steps on

  • your phone! I do ten thousand a daywhich

  • is the magic number for keeping fit

  • and healthy, apparently.

  • Rob: Not if you saunter, Neil, surely? Sauntering

  • from the sofa to the fridge and backOr

  • from the house to the car.

  • Neil: Well I never saunter, Rob. Saunter means

  • to walk slowly. And you'd have to make a

  • lot of trips to the fridge to clock up ten

  • thousand steps. To get some vigorous exercise,

  • you need to get out and about

  • round the park at a brisk pace

  • Rob: Brisk means quick and energeticthe

  • opposite of sauntering. OK, well, perhaps

  • you can you tell me, Neil, how many people

  • aged between 40 and 60 do less than ten minutes

  • brisk walking every month? Is

  • it… a) 4%,

  • b)14% or c) 40%?

  • Neil: I'm going to say… 4% because ten

  • minutes is such a short amount of time!

  • Rob: Indeed. Now, I've got another question

  • for you, Neil. Why is exercise so important?

  • Because it sounds pretty boringcounting

  • steps, going to the gym, running on a machine.

  • Neil: Well, when you exercise, you stimulate

  • the body's natural repair system. Your body

  • will actually stay younger if you exercise!

  • Rob: That sounds good.

  • Neil: Exercise also lowers your risk of developing

  • illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

  • Rob: Hmm. I'm getting a bit worried now,

  • Neil. But I don't have enough time to do

  • a thousand steps every day… I'm far too busy!

  • Neil: Well, Rob. Now might be a good time

  • to listen to Julia Bradbury. She's a TV

  • presenter and outdoor walking enthusiast who

  • will explain how she builds walking into her

  • busy life.

  • Julia Bradbury: I will walk to meetings instead of

  • catching a bus, or getting a taxi or a carinto

  • meetings. And I will also, if I can't build

  • that into my working day, if it's a day

  • when I haven't got meetings and I'm

  • maybe at home with the kids, I will take the

  • time – I will take my kids out with the

  • buggy and I will definitely do 30-40 minutes

  • at least everyday. Going to the park, going

  • to the shops, picking up my

  • things up en route, and really sort of building

  • it into my life. Taking the stairs and not

  • taking lifts, all of these kinds of little

  • decisions can incrementally build up to create

  • more walking time in your

  • day.

  • Rob: So if you build something in to your

  • dayor your lifeyou include it from

  • the beginning.

  • Neil: And Julia Bradbury has built walking

  • into her day. Even though she's very busy

  • too, Rob! You should learn from her!

  • Rob: So she walks instead of driving or taking

  • the bus. And takes the stairs instead of the

  • lift. I could do those things.

  • Neil: You could indeedbefore you know

  • it, you'd be doing ten thousand stepsbecause

  • the amount of walking you do in a day builds

  • incrementally.

  • Rob: Incrementally means gradually

  • increasing in size. OK, well, before I think that over,

  • perhaps I could tell you the answer to today's

  • quiz question?

  • Neil: OK. You asked me: How many people aged

  • between 40 and 60 do less than ten minutes brisk

  • walking every month? The options were:

  • a) 4%, b) 14% or c) 40%?

  • Rob: And you said 4%. But I'm afraid it's

  • actually 40%. And that's according to the

  • Government body Public Health England here

  • in the UK.

  • Neil: Oh dear, that's a lot more people

  • than I expected. But it isn't that surprising

  • people in all age groups are leading more

  • sedentary lifestyles these days. Our job is

  • very sedentarywhich means it

  • involves a lot of sitting and not much exercise!

  • Rob: Well, I might just run on the spot while

  • we go over the new vocabulary we've learned

  • today!

  • Neil: Good plan. First up we heard 'vigorous'

  • which means using a lot of energy to do

  • something.

  • Rob: OK. “I am running vigorously on the

  • spot!”

  • Neil: Great example! And good to see you taking

  • some vigorous exercise! Number two – 'saunter'

  • means to walk slowly in a relaxed way.

  • When I saw Rob, I sauntered over to say

  • hello.”

  • Rob: Hi Neil. Number three – 'brisk'

  • means quick and energetic.

  • Neil: “It's important to take some brisk

  • exercise every day.”

  • Rob: Yes! And I'm beginning to realise that

  • might be true.

  • Neil: Yep! I think you've done enough jogging

  • for today, Rob. You've probably done about

  • a hundred steps.

  • Rob: Is that all? OK, number fourif you

  • 'build something into something' – you

  • include it from the beginning.

  • Neil: “It's important to build regular

  • exercise into your daily routine.”

  • Rob: Very good advice. Number five is 'incrementally'

  • which means gradually increasing in size.

  • Neil: Incremental is the adjective. “The

  • company has been making incremental changes

  • to its pay structure.”

  • Rob: Does that mean we're getting a pay

  • rise? Neil: I doubt it! And finally, number six

  • – 'sedentary' means sitting a lot and

  • not taking much exercise. For example, “It's

  • bad for your health to lead such a sedentary

  • lifestyle.”

  • Rob: Duly noted, Neil! Well, it's time to

  • go now. But if today's show has inspired

  • you to step out and take more exercise, please

  • let us know by visiting our Twitter, Facebook

  • and YouTube pages and telling

  • us about it!

  • Neil: Goodbye!

  • Rob: Bye bye!

Neil: Hello, I'm Neil. And welcome to

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