La salute: Talking about Health and Fitness in Italian

In this post we’re going to learn some vocabulary and expressions that you can use to talk about health and fitness in Italian. First, we’ll start with some general vocabulary and expressions related to health and fitness overall. After that we’ll talk about diet and exercise. Finally, we’ll wrap up with some vocabulary and expressions related to health checkups.

Health and Fitness in Italian: General Expressions

First, let’s start with some general vocabulary and expressions that you can use to talk about health and fitness in Italian: essere in forma to be in good shape, essere fuori forma to be out of shape, avere uno stile di vita sano to have a healthy lifestyle, avere uno stile di vita poco sano to have an unhealthy lifestyle, fare esercizio fisico to exercise, andare in palestra to go to the gym.

Examples

• La salute è importante.
  Health is important.
• Sono in forma. Sono fuori forma.
  I’m in good shape. I’m out of shape.
• Hai una vita fisicamente attiva.
  You have a physically active life.
• Hai una vita sedentaria.
  You have a sedentary life.
• Segue un’alimentazione sana. Segue un’alimentazione poco sana.
  He has a healthy diet. He has an unhealthy diet.
• Fa regolarmente esercizio fisico. Non fa esercizio fisico.
  She exercises regularly. She doesn’t exercise.
• Si allena in palestra cinque giorni alla settimana.
  She works out at the gym five days a week.
• Mangiamo solo cibi sani.
  We only eat healthy food.
• Mangiano cibi molto poco salutari.
  They eat very unhealthy food.
• Devi dormire di più. / Deve dormire di più.
  You have to get more sleep.

Talking about Diet in Italian

Next, let’s turn to diet. You can’t talk about health and fitness in Italian without talking about diet. First, here is some vocabulary: un’alimentazione sana a healthy diet, un’alimentazione poco sana an unhealthy diet, le calorie calories, essere in sovrappeso to be overweight, aumentare di peso / ingrassare to gain weight, perdere peso / dimagrire to lose weight, essere a dieta to be on a diet, i grassi fat, i carboidrati carbohydrates, le proteine protein.

Examples

• Devo perdere peso. Sono in sovrappeso.
  I need to lose weight. I’m overweight.
• Devi prendere un po’ di peso, sei troppo magro/magra!
  You need to put on some weight, you’re too thin!
• Deve seguire una dieta equilibrata.
  You need to follow a balanced diet.
• L’esercizio fisico aiuta a bruciare molte calorie.
  Exercise burns a lot of calories.
• Ci sono molti carboidrati nello zucchero, nella pasta e nel pane.
  There are a lot of carbs in sugar, pasta, and bread.
• La carne, le uova, il formaggio e i fagioli contengono proteine.
  Meat, eggs, cheese, and beans have protein.
• Ho iniziato una dieta povera di carboidrati due settimane fa.
  I started a low-carb diet two weeks ago.
• Seguiamo una dieta povera di grassi.
  We are on a low-fat diet.
• Le verdure sono ricche di vitamine, minerali e fibre.
  Vegetables are full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
• Il fast food fa molto male alla salute.
  Fast food is very unhealthy.
• Cuciniamo spesso a casa perché il cibo è più sano.
  We cook at home a lot because the food is healthier.
• Conti le calorie?
  Do you count your calories?
• Uso un’app per tenere traccia delle calorie che assumo e dell’attività fisica che faccio.
  I use an app to track my calories and exercise.

Exercise

Now let’s continue our discussion of vocabulary related to health and fitness in Italian by focusing on exercise. Let’s start with some activity verbs.

• fare esercizio fisico
  to exercise
• fare sport / praticare uno sport
  to play sports
• giocare a calcio / a pallacanestro / a rugby / a hockey
  to play soccer/basketball/rugby/hockey
• praticare le arti marziali
  to practice martial arts
• correre
  to run
• camminare
  to walk
• andare in bicicletta / andare in bici
  to ride a bike
• fare escursioni / fare trekking
  to hike
• nuotare
  to swim
• andare in palestra
  to go to the gym
• sollevare pesi / fare pesi
  to lift weights
• fare cardio
  to do cardio
• fare yoga
  to do yoga
• praticare il tai chi
  to do tai chi
• fare stretching / fare esercizi di allungamento
  to stretch

Vocabulary

If you do any of those activities, you may need to know how to say: le scarpe da ginnastica / le scarpe da corsa sneakers/running shoes, le scarpe da trekking / gli scarponi da trekking hiking shoes, un casco da bicicletta bicycle helmet, un costume da bagno swimming suit, i bilancieri barbells, i manubri dumbbells, una panca per pesi weight bench, un tapis roulant treadmill, una macchina ellittica / un’ellittica elliptical machine, una cyclette stationary bike, un tappetino da yoga yoga mat, uno spogliatoio locker room.

Examples

• Fai sport? / Fa sport?
  Do you play sports?
• Gioca a calcio / a pallacanestro / a rugby / a hockey.
  She plays soccer/basketball/rugby/hockey.
• Frequento un corso di arti marziali.
  I take a martial arts class.
• Corro quattro o cinque volte alla settimana.
  I run four or five times a week.
• Va in bicicletta tutte le sere dopo il lavoro.
  He rides his bike every evening after work.
• Facciamo escursioni in montagna alcune volte all’anno.
  We go hiking in the mountains a few times a year.
• In quale palestra vai?
  Which gym do you go to?
• Voglio fare un abbonamento in palestra.
  I want to buy a gym membership.
• Molte persone fanno cardio in palestra.
  Many people do cardio at the gym.
• Usi l’ellittica o corri sul tapis roulant?
  Do you use the elliptical machine, or do you run on the treadmill?
• Sto facendo flessioni / addominali.
  I’m doing push-ups/sit-ups.
• Faccio distensioni su panca due volte alla settimana.
  I use the bench press twice a week.
• Non posso sollevare pesi perché mi sono fatto/fatta male alla schiena.
  I can’t lift weights because I injured my back.
• La mia palestra offre corsi di yoga.
  My gym offers yoga classes.
• Alcune persone praticano il tai chi al parco tutte le mattine.
  Some people do tai chi in the park every morning.
• Faccio stretching prima di allenarmi.
  I stretch before I work out.

Health Checkups

Finally, you can’t talk about health and fitness in Italian without talking about regular health checkups. Let’s start with some vocabulary: un medico / una medica; un dottore / una dottoressa doctor; un infermiere / un’infermiera nurse; una clinica / un centro medico health clinic; prendere appuntamento dal medico to make a doctor’s appointment; sottoporsi a una visita medica / fare una visita medica to have a physical examination; le analisi del sangue / gli esami del sangue blood tests; la pressione arteriosa blood pressure.

Examples

• Ho il mio controllo medico annuale la prossima settimana.
  I have my yearly physical next week.
• Il medico / La medica mi misura la pressione.
  The doctor takes my blood pressure.
• Il medico / La medica mi ascolta i polmoni.
  The doctor listens to my lungs.
• Il medico / La medica mi ha prescritto delle analisi del sangue.
  The doctor ordered blood tests for me.
• Ho il colesterolo alto.
  I have high cholesterol.
• Ha la pressione alta / bassa.
  He has high/low blood pressure.
• Quali farmaci prendi? / Quali farmaci prende?
  What medications do you take? (informal/formal)
• Prendo farmaci per abbassare il colesterolo.
  I take medication for cholesterol.
• Prende farmaci per la pressione alta.
  She takes medication for high blood pressure.
• Molte persone prendono antidepressivi.
  Many people take anti-depressants.

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