Tag: Health and Fitness

Are Intermittent Workouts the Best Exercise for 2020?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

As another year draws to a close, thoughts turn to starting the following year right. We long to forge good habits that will continue into the next twelve months. Among the top resolutions people commonly make is to develop a fitter lifestyle through healthy diet and exercise. With 2020 being an atypical year, fitting in regular workouts proved especially problematic. Perhaps intermittent workouts are the answer. Read the article below to learn more about this trend.

Intermittent Workouts Might Be The Best Exercise for 2020

Discussion Questions:

  1. According to the article, what is an intermittent workout? What are its benefits?
  2. Do you think intermittent workouts could be good substitutes for “regular” workouts when the pandemic ends?
  3. What are your own strategies for reminding yourself to get enough exercise?

More Women Drinking Alcohol

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Alcohol use disorder or most commonly known as alcoholism is the inability to manage one’s drinking habits. People struggling with alcoholism may impact relationships, personal matter, work life, and problems with one’s overall health. Nowadays, with the restriction of doing outdoor activities, more and more people especially women are drinking alcohol at home.

Let’s listen to the audio below to learn more.

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/more-women-drinking-alcohol/5620265.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Is alcoholism a problem in your country?
  2. What are the usual reasons why people drink?
  3. What are the impacts of alcohol in our body?
  4. Why do you think more and more women have been drinking?
  5. How can people overcome alcohol abuse?

Awake at 3 a.m.? What to Do

B2 – Upper Intermediate

We’ve all had to burn the midnight oil at some point. Perhaps it was for that all-important presentation at work, or maybe we’ve had to pore over notes for that university examination that loomed the next day.

However, it’s a different thing altogether when we have the opportunity to get a full night’s sleep, but our body clock seemingly refuses to cooperate.

The following article has some nifty tips to have you snoozing your way to dreamland sooner and brimming with energy when the alarm clock finally rings.

Awake at 3 A.M.? What to Do

Discussion Questions:

  1. On an average evening, what time do you usually find yourself tucked up in bed? Do you sleep soon after or much later? What do you see as the ideal sleep schedule for you?
  2. Having read the article, what would you say are the things that keep you from falling asleep? How can you manage these factors to enjoy blissful slumber?
  3. Which of the tips do you find most useful? Which tips can you implement immediately to improve the quality of your sleep? Which would be difficult to put into practice?

Taking a Look At Extreme Exercise

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Eating a healthy diet and getting sufficient exercise have long been considered the power tandem of habits to reach a ripe, old age.

In this short segment from CNN10, we are given some key ideas on how to break a sweat effectively and maximize our workouts.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the benefits of regular physical exercise?
  2. On average, how many hours do you exercise in a week? Would you describe the intensity as mild, moderate, or vigorous?
  3. How do you squeeze in your fitness routine into your daily grind?
  4. What activities comprise your workouts? Why do you prefer these forms of exercise over others?
  5. If you don’t get much exercise, what are the obstacles to your fitness goals? What changes can you make to accommodate this vital habit?
  6. What is your opinion about High Intensity Interval Training?

Best Diet For Your Health

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Doctors tend to agree that what you consume on your plate has effects that go beyond having a slim waist. Ultimately, diet is one of the determinants of a long life.

In this short video, Dr. Sanjay Gupta outlines some key points of what characterizes a healthy diet.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is the 80/20 rule? Do you think it’s a valid concept?
  2. How do your meal choices compare to what’s described in the video?
  3. What is meant by hara hachi bu? What are your thoughts on it?

How Do Vitamins Work?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

There is a famous English proverb that goes, “Health is Wealth” which means the greatest wealth one can have is their good health. Wealth is not about the money you have but your good health.

Vitamins help the body to be healthy, however, most of us don’t really know how vitamins work and if it is highlighted enough as something that is very essential to our bodies.

Let’s learn more about vitamins in this video below.


Discussion Questions:

  1. According to the video, how do vitamins work?
  2. Why are vitamins important to our bodies?
  3. Do you take vitamins? What types do you take?
  4. Do you think vitamins will keep us healthy? Why and why not?

Health Benefits of Gardening

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Greens, colorful flowers, and vegetables, these are some views that will surely give us positive emotions. Feelings like amusement, appreciation, excitement, passion, happiness, and serenity will definitely have a great impact on our mental health.

Would you believe that you can achieve all these positive emotions in one activity? Yes! It’s gardening!

Here are the 8 surprising health benefits of gardening:

https://healthtalk.unchealthcare.org/health-benefits-of-gardening

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the health benefits of gardening?
  2. Do you like gardening? Why or Why not?
  3. Do you have a garden? If yes, what are the plants that you have in your garden? If not, do you plan to put up a garden?
  4. Would you like to try growing your own food? Why or why not?
  5. According to WHO, good health means the presence of sense of community and happiness. Can you explain this?

Cabin Fever

B2 – Upper Intermediate

After a long while being stuck indoors, we start feeling bored and restless. This is called “cabin fever”. It sounds like an actual disease but it is not. However, when one gets into this state, some effects could be being anxious, irritable, and even depressed caused by the long period of confinement in a tight or a remote, isolated space.

Read the article to learn more about cabin fever and be able to answer the questions below:

https://www.healthline.com/health/cabin-fever#symptoms

Discussion Questions:

  1. Have you ever had cabin fever before? If so, why and what happened?
  2. How did you cope or deal with it?
  3. What situations usually cause people to have it?
  4. What advice can you give to a person suffering from it?
  5. Are you a social hermit or a social butterfly?

Things Healthiest People Have in Common

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The secret of longevity is mainly eating healthy food. However, it is also proven that the world’s healthiest people have the same habits, not only eating healthy food.

Learn the real secrets to healthy living by reading this article.

https://www.rdasia.com/healthsmart/fitness/17-things-worlds-healthiest-people-have-common?pages=2

 Discussion Questions:

  1. What can you say about the saying “health is wealth”?
  2. Do you do all these habits described in the article?
  3. Do you agree that these habits will keep you healthy?
  4. Aside from these habits mentioned in the article, what else do you think is helpful in providing major health benefits?
  5. What do you think of wellness institutions and their programs?
  6. From your own experience, can you give some examples of how the mind and the body are connected?

Massage Health Benefits

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Massage has been practiced for thousands of years. Today, there are many kinds of massage with a wide variety of pressures, movements, and techniques. More and more people recognize the health benefits of it. They choose from among many massage styles to get relief from symptoms or to heal injuries, to help with certain health conditions, and to promote overall wellness.

Read the article to learn more and be able to answer the questions that follow.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/massage/art-20045743

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of massage as a therapy in promoting overall wellness?
  2. Have you ever had a massage? If so, how often do you get one and why do you do it?
  3. What are some of the reasons people get massages?
  4. In your opinion, is a massage only a feel-good way to indulge yourself or a powerful tool to be in control of your health and well-being?
  5. Why do you think such kind of therapy has boomed over the years?