Balancing Training Intensity and Recovery | Learn Spanish in English

Spanish lesson set in a contemporary Madrid everyday setting: At a gym, a person discusses lowering workout intensity so recovery improves while the training habit stays steady..

EN → ES / Level: B2

About This Lesson

Use Balancing Training Intensity and Recovery to practice Spanish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

El plan de entrenamiento es exigente, pero últimamente la recuperación ha sido difícil.

el plahn deh en-tray-nah-MYEN-toh es ek-see-HEN-teh, PEH-rroh OOL-tee-mah-MEN-teh lah reh-koo-peh-rah-SYON ah SEE-doh dee-FEE-seel. The workout plan is challenging, but recovery has been hard lately.
B

Puede que el volumen sea demasiado alto para tu horario en este momento.

PWEH-deh keh el boh-LOO-men SEH-ah deh-mah-SYAH-doh AL-toh PAH-rah too oh-RAH-ryoh en ES-teh moh-MEN-toh. The volume may be too high for your schedule right now.
A

Puedo terminar las sesiones, pero después me siento agotado.

PWEH-doh tehr-mee-NAHR lahs seh-SYOH-nes, PEH-rroh deh-SPWEHS meh SYEN-toh ah-goh-TAH-doh. I can finish the sessions, but I feel drained afterward.
B

La recuperación importa tanto como completar las sesiones.

lah reh-koo-peh-rah-SYON eem-POR-tah TAHN-toh KOH-moh kom-pleh-TAHR lahs seh-SYOH-nes. Recovery matters as much as completing the sessions.
A

¿Podríamos bajar la intensidad y aun así mantener el hábito?

poh-DREE-ah-mohs bah-HAHR lah een-ten-see-DAHD ee OW(N) ah-SEE mahn-teh-NEHR el AH-bee-toh? Could we lower the intensity and still keep the habit steady?
B

Podemos hacerlo; la constancia importa más que esforzarse al máximo en cada sesión.

poh-DEH-mohs ah-SER-loh; lah kons-TAHN-syah eem-POR-tah mahs keh es-for-SAHR-seh al MAHK-see-moh en KAH-dah seh-SYON. We can; consistency matters more than pushing every session.
A

Preferiría progresar despacio antes que acabar dejándolo por completo.

preh-feh-ree-REE-ah proh-greh-SAHR deh-SPAH-syoh AHN-tes keh ah-kah-BAHR deh-HAHN-doh-loh por kom-PLEH-toh. I would rather progress slowly than end up stopping completely.
B

Eso debería hacer que el entrenamiento sea más fácil de mantener.

EH-soh deh-beh-REE-ah ah-SER keh el en-tray-nah-MYEN-toh SEH-ah mahs FAH-seel deh mahn-teh-NEHR. That should make the training easier to sustain.

Word by Word

El 'El' identifies plan as the specific noun being discussed. It is used before a masculine singular noun, as in 'El plan'.
plan 'plan' means the planned workout program here. It is used with 'de entrenamiento' to specify what the plan concerns.
de 'de' links 'plan' to 'entrenamiento', giving the relation of a training or workout plan. The reusable pattern 'noun de noun' connects a thing with its type or topic.
entrenamiento 'entrenamiento' refers to the training or workout being planned. In 'plan de entrenamiento', it specifies the activity associated with plan.
es 'es' states that the plan has the quality described by exigente. It connects a subject with a description, as in 'es exigente'.
exigente 'exigente' describes the plan as demanding. It can describe a plan or activity that requires substantial effort.
pero 'pero' contrasts the demanding plan with the difficult recovery. It joins two statements when the second qualifies or contrasts with the first.
últimamente 'últimamente' places the situation in the recent past continuing up to now. It commonly modifies a statement about something happening recently.
la 'la' marks recuperación as the specific noun being discussed. It appears in 'la recuperación', a noun phrase referring to recovery.
recuperación 'recuperación' means recovery after training. Here it is the process whose difficulty is being discussed and later said to matter.
ha 'ha' is the auxiliary used with 'sido' in 'ha sido difícil' to present recovery as having been difficult. It contributes to the meaning together with 'sido', rather than expressing the full idea alone.
sido 'sido' is the form used with 'ha' in 'ha sido difícil' to say that recovery has been difficult. The complete time and description come from 'ha sido' together.
difícil 'difícil' describes recovery as hard. It can describe an activity or situation that is not easy.
Puede 'Puede' introduces a possibility in 'Puede que el volumen sea demasiado alto'. It presents the suggested explanation as uncertain rather than definite.
que 'que' connects 'Puede' to the possible situation that follows. In 'Puede que...', it introduces the clause being considered.
volumen 'volumen' refers to the amount of training being assigned. Here it is the amount that may be too high for the schedule.
sea 'sea' presents the volume's possible condition in 'Puede que el volumen sea demasiado alto'. It is used after 'Puede que' to express that possibility.
demasiado 'demasiado' marks the degree as excessive in 'demasiado alto'. It commonly comes before an adjective to say that a quality exceeds a suitable limit.
alto 'alto' describes the volume as high. With 'demasiado', it says the amount is higher than the schedule can reasonably support.
para 'para' sets tu horario as the schedule against which the volume is judged. It commonly introduces the person, situation, or purpose something is considered suitable for.
tu 'tu' identifies horario as belonging to the person being addressed. It appears before the noun in 'tu horario'.
horario 'horario' means schedule, especially the person's available timetable here. It is the context that determines whether the volume is too high.
en 'en' places the situation within a time expression in 'en este momento'. It commonly introduces a time or place where something occurs.
este 'este' identifies momento as the current one. In 'este momento', it points to the present situation being discussed.
momento 'momento' refers to the present time in 'este momento'. The expression is used when giving the current timing of a situation.
Puedo 'Puedo' says that the speaker is able to finish the sessions. It commonly comes before an infinitive, as in 'Puedo terminar'.
terminar 'terminar' means finish, here completing the sessions. It follows 'Puedo' and takes 'las sesiones' as what is completed.
las 'las' marks sesiones as the specific plural sessions under discussion. It appears before the noun in 'las sesiones'.
sesiones 'sesiones' refers to the individual workout sessions. Here they are the sessions the speaker can finish and that recovery must support.
después 'después' means afterward and places the speaker's exhaustion after the sessions. It commonly marks what happens later in time.
me 'me' marks the speaker as the person experiencing the state in 'me siento agotado'. It is used with 'siento' when describing how the speaker feels.
siento 'siento' expresses the speaker's feeling in 'me siento agotado'. With 'me', it introduces a personal physical or emotional state.
agotado 'agotado' describes the speaker as drained after the sessions. It can describe a person's condition when effort has left them without energy.
importa 'importa' says that recovery has importance in 'La recuperación importa'. It can be used to state that a person, action, or factor matters.
tanto 'tanto' sets the amount of importance in the comparison 'tanto como'. It helps present recovery and completing sessions as equally important.
como 'como' links the two sides of the comparison in 'tanto como'. Together with 'tanto', it sets the comparison of equal importance.
completar 'completar' means to complete the sessions. It is an infinitive in 'como completar las sesiones', naming the activity being compared.
Podríamos 'Podríamos' makes a polite proposal about lowering the intensity. It commonly comes before an infinitive, as in 'Podríamos bajar'.
bajar 'bajar' means lower here, specifically reduce the intensity. It takes the thing being reduced after it, as in 'bajar la intensidad'.
intensidad 'intensidad' means the level of effort in the workout. It is the object being lowered in 'bajar la intensidad'.
y 'y' joins the proposed reduction with the action of maintaining the habit. It links coordinated actions or ideas.
aun 'aun' adds the sense of even in 'aun así'. It helps frame maintaining the habit as continuing despite lowering the intensity.
así 'así' refers to the manner just described in 'aun así'. Together, 'aun así' means that the next action still holds despite the preceding change.
mantener 'mantener' means keep or maintain the habit over time. It takes 'el hábito' as its object in 'mantener el hábito'.
hábito 'hábito' refers to the regular training practice that the speaker wants to preserve. It is the object of 'mantener' in 'mantener el hábito'.
Podemos 'Podemos' says that the speakers are able or willing to do the proposed plan. It commonly comes before an infinitive, as in 'Podemos hacerlo'.
hacerlo 'hacerlo' means do it, with the attached pronoun referring back to the proposed adjustment. It lets the dialogue refer to that plan without repeating it.
constancia 'constancia' means consistency in continuing the training. It is contrasted with maximal effort in 'la constancia importa más que esforzarse al máximo'.
más 'más' marks the stronger side of the comparison in 'importa más que'. It says consistency has greater importance than the alternative that follows.
esforzarse 'esforzarse' means pushing oneself or making a strong effort. In 'esforzarse al máximo', it names the alternative of giving maximum effort in every session.
al 'al' is the contracted form of a + el in 'al máximo'. Here it helps introduce the maximum degree or limit of effort.
máximo 'máximo' marks the highest degree in 'al máximo'. The expression describes pushing oneself to the greatest level in each session.
cada 'cada' distributes the statement over individual sessions in 'cada sesión'. It is used before a singular noun to refer to every member of a series.
sesión 'sesión' means one training session. In 'cada sesión', it identifies each individual occasion on which the effort might be maximal.
Preferiría 'Preferiría' expresses the speaker's preference for one option. It introduces 'progresar despacio' and contrasts it with the outcome after 'antes que'.
progresar 'progresar' means make progress in training. It follows 'Preferiría' as the preferred action in 'Preferiría progresar despacio'.
despacio 'despacio' describes progressing at a slow pace. It tells how the speaker would progress in 'progresar despacio'.
antes 'antes' sets up the preferred alternative in 'antes que acabar dejándolo'. The expression links what the speaker would rather do with the outcome they want to avoid.
acabar 'acabar' introduces the eventual outcome in 'acabar dejándolo'. Here it means end up reaching that result.
dejándolo 'dejándolo' means giving it up or stopping it in this context. The attached pronoun refers to the training routine, and the form appears after 'acabar' to name the unwanted outcome.
por 'por' is part of the expression 'por completo', which marks the extent of stopping as total. Here it helps express that the action is done entirely.
completo 'completo' adds the idea of full extent in 'por completo'. The expression says the speaker does not want to stop the training entirely.
Eso 'Eso' refers back to the proposed adjustment of lowering intensity while keeping the habit. It presents that earlier idea as the subject of the next statement.
debería 'debería' presents the result as expected or likely in 'Eso debería hacer'. It commonly comes before an infinitive when giving a predicted consequence.
hacer 'hacer' means make or cause in 'hacer que el entrenamiento sea más fácil de mantener'. It introduces a result clause with 'que'.
fácil 'fácil' describes the training as easier to sustain in 'más fácil de mantener'. With 'más', it compares the resulting level of difficulty.

Grammar Points

Preferiría + infinitivo

Preferiría progresar despacio.

preh-feh-ree-REE-ah proh-greh-SAHR deh-SPAH-syoh.

I would prefer to progress slowly.

The conditional form preferiría expresses a polite or hypothetical preference and is followed by an infinitive.

acabar + gerundio

Acabar dejándolo por completo.

ah-kah-BAHR deh-HAHN-doh-loh por kom-PLEH-toh.

To end up quitting it completely.

Acabar + gerundio describes an eventual result; the object pronoun lo is attached to the gerund.

Spanish Vocabulary

agotado adj
ah-goh-TAH-doh drained; exhausted

Después me siento agotado.

difícil adj
dee-FEE-seel difficult; hard

La recuperación ha sido difícil.

en este momento phrase
en ES-teh moh-MEN-toh right now; at the moment

Demasiado alto para tu horario en este momento.

exigente adj
ek-see-HEN-teh challenging; demanding

El plan de entrenamiento es exigente.

horario noun
oh-RAH-ryoh schedule

Para tu horario en este momento.

importar verb
eem-por-TAHR to matter importa

La recuperación importa tanto como completar las sesiones.

plan de entrenamiento phrase
plahn deh en-tray-nah-MYEN-toh workout plan

El plan de entrenamiento es exigente.

recuperación noun
reh-koo-peh-rah-SYON recovery

La recuperación ha sido difícil.

sesión noun
seh-SYON session sesiones

Puedo terminar las sesiones.

terminar verb
tehr-mee-NAHR to finish

Puedo terminar las sesiones.

últimamente adv
OOL-tee-mah-MEN-teh lately; recently

Últimamente la recuperación ha sido difícil.

volumen noun
boh-LOO-men volume

El volumen sea demasiado alto.

Quiz

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

schedule

Show Answerhorario

to finish

Show Answerterminar

challenging; demanding

Show Answerexigente

difficult; hard

Show Answerdifícil