La salud: How to Talk about Health and Fitness in Spanish
In this post we’re going to learn some vocabulary and expressions that you can use to talk about health and fitness in Spanish. 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 Spanish: General Expressions
First, let’s start with some general vocabulary and expressions that you can use to talk about health and fitness in Spanish: estar en forma to be in good shape, no estar en forma to be out of shape, llevar un estilo de vida saludable to have a healthy lifestyle, llevar un estilo de vida poco saludable to have an unhealthy lifestyle, hacer ejercicio to exercise, ir al gimnasio to go to the gym.
Example Sentences
- La salud es importante.
Health is important. - Estoy en forma. No estoy en forma.
I’m in good shape. I’m out of shape. - Llevas una vida físicamente activa.
You have a physically active life. - Llevas una vida sedentaria.
You have a sedentary life. - Tiene una alimentación saludable. Tiene una alimentación poco saludable.
He has a healthy diet. He has an unhealthy diet. - Hace ejercicio regularmente. No hace ejercicio.
She exercises regularly. She doesn’t exercise. - Entrena en el gimnasio cinco días a la semana.
She works out at the gym five days a week. - Solo comemos alimentos saludables.
We only eat healthy food. - Comen alimentos muy poco saludables.
They eat very unhealthy food. - Tienes que dormir más. / Tiene que dormir más.
You have to get more sleep.
Talking about Diet in Spanish
Next, let’s turn to diet. You can’t talk about health and fitness in Spanish without talking about diet. First, here is some vocabulary: una alimentación saludable a healthy diet, una alimentación poco saludable an unhealthy diet, las calorías calories, tener sobrepeso to be overweight, subir de peso / aumentar de peso to gain weight, bajar de peso / perder peso to lose weight, estar a dieta to be on a diet, las grasas fat, los carbohidratos / los hidratos de carbono carbohydrates, las proteínas protein.
Example Sentences
- Necesito bajar de peso. Tengo sobrepeso.
I need to lose weight. I’m overweight. - Tienes que subir un poco de peso, ¡estás demasiado delgado/delgada!
You need to put on some weight, you’re too thin! - Usted debe seguir una dieta equilibrada.
You need to follow a balanced diet. - El ejercicio físico ayuda a quemar muchas calorías.
Exercise burns a lot of calories. - Hay muchos carbohidratos en el azúcar, la pasta y el pan.
There are a lot of carbs in sugar, pasta, and bread. - La carne, los huevos, el queso y los frijoles contienen proteínas.
Meat, eggs, cheese, and beans have protein. - Empecé una dieta baja en carbohidratos hace dos semanas.
I started a low-carb diet two weeks ago. - Seguimos una dieta baja en grasas.
We are on a low-fat diet. - Las verduras son ricas en vitaminas, minerales y fibra.
Vegetables are full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. - La comida rápida es muy poco saludable.
Fast food is very unhealthy. - Cocinamos mucho en casa porque la comida es más saludable.
We cook at home a lot because the food is healthier. - ¿Cuentas las calorías que consumes?
Do you count your calories? - Uso una aplicación para llevar un registro de las calorías que consumo y del ejercicio que hago.
I use an app to track my calories and exercise.
Regional Vocabulary Notes:
In much of Latin America, bajar de peso and subir de peso are especially common, while perder peso and aumentar de peso are also widely understood. For beans, frijoles is common in Mexico and Central America, porotos in countries such as Argentina and Chile, and habichuelas in parts of the Caribbean. Carbohidratos is widely used throughout Latin America, while hidratos de carbono is another standard term.
Exercise
Now let’s continue our discussion of vocabulary related to health and fitness in Spanish by focusing on exercise. Let’s start with some activity verbs.
- hacer ejercicio
to exercise - practicar deportes / hacer deporte
to play sports - practicar artes marciales
to practice martial arts - jugar al fútbol / al básquetbol / al rugby / al hockey
to play soccer/basketball/rugby/hockey - correr
to run - caminar
to walk - andar en bicicleta / montar en bicicleta
to ride a bike - hacer senderismo / hacer caminatas
to hike - nadar
to swim - ir al gimnasio
to go to the gym - levantar pesas / hacer pesas
to lift weights - hacer cardio
to do cardio - hacer yoga
to do yoga - practicar taichí
to do tai chi - estirarse / hacer estiramientos
to stretch
Vocabulary
If you do any of those activities, you may need to know how to say: los tenis / las zapatillas deportivas / los zapatos deportivos sneakers/running shoes, las botas de senderismo / los zapatos de senderismo hiking shoes, un casco de bicicleta bicycle helmet, un traje de baño swimming suit, las barras para pesas barbells, las mancuernas dumbbells, un banco de pesas weight bench, una caminadora / una cinta de correr treadmill, una máquina elíptica elliptical machine, una bicicleta fija / una bicicleta estática stationary bike, un tapete de yoga / una colchoneta de yoga yoga mat, un vestidor / un vestuario locker room.
Example Sentences
- ¿Practicas algún deporte? / ¿Practica algún deporte?
Do you play sports? - Juega al fútbol / al básquetbol / al rugby / al hockey.
She plays soccer/ basketball/ rugby/ hockey. - Tomo clases de artes marciales.
I take martial arts classes. - Corro cuatro o cinco veces por semana.
I run four or five times a week. - Anda en bicicleta todas las tardes después del trabajo.
He rides his bike every evening after work. - Hacemos senderismo en las montañas varias veces al año.
We go hiking in the mountains a few times a year. - ¿A qué gimnasio vas?
Which gym do you go to? - Quiero inscribirme en un gimnasio y pagar una membresía.
I want to buy a gym membership. - Muchas personas hacen cardio en el gimnasio.
Many people do cardio at the gym. - ¿Usas la máquina elíptica o corres en la caminadora?
Do you use the elliptical machine, or do you run on the treadmill? - Estoy haciendo flexiones / abdominales.
I’m doing push-ups/sit-ups. - Hago press de banca dos veces por semana.
I use the bench press twice a week. - No puedo levantar pesas porque me lastimé la espalda.
I can’t lift weights because I injured my back. - Mi gimnasio ofrece clases de yoga.
My gym offers yoga classes. - Algunas personas practican taichí en el parque todas las mañanas.
Some people do tai chi in the park every morning. - Hago estiramientos antes de entrenar.
I stretch before I work out.
Regional Vocabulary Notes
Exercise and gym vocabulary varies considerably across Latin America. For sneakers, tenis is common in Mexico and parts of Central America, zapatillas in much of South America, and championes in Uruguay. A treadmill is una caminadora in Mexico, while cinta de correr and cinta caminadora are used elsewhere. For push-ups, flexiones, lagartijas (especially Mexico), and planchas (in some countries) are common. A gym membership may be: membresía, mensualidad, or abono depending on the country and type of payment. For basketball, básquetbol, básquet and baloncesto are all common regional forms.
Health Checkups
Finally, you can’t talk about health and fitness in Spanish without talking about regular health checkups. Let’s start with some vocabulary: un médico / una médica; un doctor / una doctora doctor; un enfermero / una enfermera nurse; una clínica / un centro de salud health clinic; sacar una cita con el médico / pedir una cita con el médico to make a doctor’s appointment; hacerse un examen médico to have a physical examination; los análisis de sangre / los exámenes de sangre blood tests; la presión arterial blood pressure.
Examples
- Tengo mi chequeo médico anual la próxima semana.
I have my yearly physical next week. - El médico / La médica me toma la presión.
The doctor takes my blood pressure. - El médico / La médica me escucha los pulmones.
The doctor listens to my lungs. - El médico / La médica me pidió unos análisis de sangre.
The doctor ordered blood tests for me. - Tengo el colesterol alto.
I have high cholesterol. - Tiene la presión alta / baja.
He has high/low blood pressure. - ¿Qué medicamentos tomas? / ¿Qué medicamentos toma?
What medications do you take? (informal/formal) - Tomo medicamentos para bajar el colesterol.
I take medication for cholesterol. - Toma medicamentos para la presión alta.
She takes medication for high blood pressure. - Muchas personas toman antidepresivos.
Many people take anti-depressants.
Regional Vocabulary Notes
Chequeo médico is widely used in Latin America for a routine medical checkup; revisión médica and examen médico are also common. For appointment, cita médica is widespread, while turno médico is especially common in Argentina and Uruguay. For blood pressure, presión arterial is the standard medical term throughout Latin America; tensión arterial is also correct. In everyday speech, la presión is extremely common. For blood tests, análisis de sangre and exámenes de sangre are both widely understood, with exámenes de sangre especially common in several Latin American countries.
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