Transcript - “Listening Time” Episode 65

Welcome to the Listening Time podcast. Hey everybody, this is Conner, and
you're listening to Episode 65 of the Listening Time podcast. I want to give a shout-out
to all of my Listening Time Members, Super Members and Family Members. Thank you
all for supporting me and helping me do what I do. Remember that if you need my help
to improve your listening and pronunciation and you want to be able to understand
native speakers when they speak fast, then make sure to join my membership so you
can get my specialized training to help you understand English better.
And remember that I'm now releasing two new advanced podcast episodes each
month, on the 5th day and the 20th day of each month for my Listening Time Family
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two new advanced episodes every month. And this should really help you reach an
advanced level of listening. So, if you want my advanced podcast, then make sure to
sign up to become a Listening Time Family Member today. The link is in the Episode
Description below this episode. That's www.patreon.com/listeningtime
A lot of people have asked me recently about how they can reach a more
advanced level of listening and a more advanced level of English overall. And my advice
is that you need to challenge yourself and listen to native content, to listen to real
English. And so, it's hard to start this. I know that. It's not easy to start listening to fast
English, but that's why I've created my advanced podcast: to help you make that
transition. Because I speak at normal speed in that podcast, but I provide the transcript
for you. So, you can see everything that I'm saying, and it will help you understand. So,
make sure to sign up today if you want that.
And in terms of the normal Listening Time podcast, I wanted to mention that I'm
going to go back to posting just one episode every two weeks. I'm going to slow down a
little bit because I need more time to focus on my advanced podcast and other things
that I'm working on. So, I'm not going to be posting every week right now. I'm going to
be posting every two weeks. So, like I said, I'm going to slow down a little bit. But if you
want more episodes, if you need more than just two episodes per month, then you can
become a Listening Time Member and you'll get a bonus episode every month. And so,
if you need more episodes, if you need more practice, then you can just sign up for $2 a
month to become a Listening Time Member, and you'll get an extra episode.
Alright, 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. Remember that you
have the transcript available for this episode in the Episode Description below this
episode, so click on that if you need it. And please give this podcast a five-star rating if
you like it and share this podcast with anyone else who might find it useful. Alright, let's
get started.
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 liked 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, in 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. Right?
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 some time 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 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 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. Alright, 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, 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 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
that 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 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. And I've also noticed this. So, of course, if I listen to music, I can
run for longer. 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 www.patreon.com/listeningtime 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. Alright, well thank you
for listening to this episode, and I'll talk to you on the next episode of Listening Time.
*Click on this link to access my Listening Practice Seminars, Bonus Episodes, and
Advanced Episodes: www.patreon.com/listeningtime