Are you into fitness, or do you aspire to do it more often and fall short? Either way, you're not alone. Join us as we talk about exercise basics, being a novice, and more.

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I often use Maayot as a way of staying up to date on current stories in China, while getting in some daily Mandarin practice.

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Vocabulary:

健身教练 – Fitness Instructor

陌生面孔 – Unfamiliar Face(s)

部位 – area, place (in this context, referring to the human body)

腹部 – the abdomen

小白 – someone who is a novice, or a newbie

器械 – apparatus, appliance, instrument

达到目标 – to achieve one’s goals

有氧运动区 – aerobic exercise area

跑步机 - treadmill

椭圆机 - elliptical

热身 – to warm up

拉伸运动 – stretching exercises

坚持下去 – to stick with something

Dialogue:

赵杰：你好！我是赵杰。你是新来的吗？(Nǐ hǎo! Wǒ shì zhào jié. Nǐ shì xīn lái de ma?) Hello! I'm Zhao Jie. Are you new here?

王雨：是的，我是新来的。我叫王雨。你怎么知道的？(Shì de, wǒ shì xīn lái de. Wǒ jiào wáng yǔ. Nǐ zěnme zhīdào de?) Yes, I'm new. I'm Wang Yu. How did you know?

赵杰：我是这里的健身教练，看到陌生面孔就会注意一下。欢迎！ 你想锻炼哪个部位？(Wǒ shì zhèlǐ de jiànshēn jiàoliàn, kàn dào mòshēng miànkǒng jiù huì zhùyì yīxià. Huānyíng! Nǐ xiǎng duànliàn nǎge bùwèi?) I am a fitness instructor here so when I see unfamiliar faces I usually take notice. Welcome! Which area do you want to exercise?

王雨：主要是锻炼腿部和腹部，但我是健身小白。可以给一些建议吗？(Zhǔyào shi duànliàn tuǐ bù hé fùbù, dàn wǒ shì jiànshēn xiǎo bái. Kěyǐ gěi yīxiē jiànyì ma?) Mainly I want to do legs and abdomen, but I am a fitness novice. Can you give me some suggestions?

赵杰：当然！我们这里有很多器械可以帮你达到目标。你想尝试一下吗？(Dāngrán! Wǒmen zhè li yǒu hěnduō qìxiè kěyǐ bāng nǐ dádào mùbiāo. Nǐ xiǎng chángshì yīxià ma?) Of course! We have a lot of equipment here to help you reach your goals. Would you like to give them a try?

王雨：好的，但我对器械不太熟悉。(Hǎo de, dàn wǒ duì qìxiè bù tài shúxī) Okay, but I'm not very familiar with exercise equipment.

赵杰：没问题，我可以教你。这是有氧运动区，有跑步机、椭圆机等。我们可以从简单的开始。首先，我们热身一下，做些拉伸运动，然后慢慢开始跑步。跑步时要保持正常呼吸，不要太用力。

(Méi wèntí, wǒ kěyǐ jiào nǐ. Zhè shì yǒu yǎng yùndòng qū, yǒu pǎobù jī, tuǒyuán jī děng. Wǒmen kěyǐ cóng jiǎndān de kāishǐ. Shǒuxiān, wǒmen rèshēn yīxià, zuò xiē lā shēn yùndòng, ránhòu màn man kāishǐ pǎobù. Pǎobù shí yào bǎochí zhèngcháng hūxī, bùyào tài yònglì.)

No problem, I can teach you. This is the aerobic exercise area with treadmills, elliptical machines, etc. We can start simple. First, we warm up, do some stretching, and then slowly start running. Breathe normally while running and don't push too hard.

王雨：好的，我会注意的。其实，我也想变得更健康。希望能坚持下去。(Hǎo de, wǒ huì zhùyì de. Qíshí, wǒ yě xiǎng biàn dé gèng jiànkāng. Xīwàng néng jiānchí xiàqù.)

Okay, I will keep that in mind. Actually, I also want to become healthier. Hope I can stick with it.

赵杰：没问题，有任何问题都可以问我。 (Méi wèntí, yǒu rènhé wèntí dōu kěyǐ wèn wǒ.) No worries, if you have any questions, just ask me.

王雨：好的，这里的氛围很好。谢谢你的帮助！(Hǎo de, Xièxiè nǐ de bāngzhù!)

Okay, Thank you for your help!

赵杰：不客气，欢迎随时来找我。一起加油！(Bù kèqì, huānyíng suíshí lái zhǎo wǒ. Yīqǐ jiāyóu!) No problem,you're welcome to come find me anytime. We've got this!)