Foreign Languages Good To Know
Most of us agree that knowing at least one foreign language is a good skill to have. Never did I ever think that foreign languages would ever help me in my fitness program.
During the summer, I’m swimming in my pool about three to four days each week. My pool workouts are a big component of my summer fitness program particular for the cardiovascular element. But one thing I have a hard time with is keeping count of my pool laps.
Swimming Workout Involves Laps
My swimming workout has been doing 70 laps in the pool plus threading water. I love the fact that I can get a great workout without sweating since I’m in the water. But since like many other types of cardiovascular exercise, boredom can set in especially if movements are repetitive.
I frequently end up daydreaming while I’m doing my laps and as a result, I lose count. To ensure that I get enough laps in when I do lose my count, I’ll do extra laps.
Counting In Foreign Languages Help
So what I started doing this summer in the pool is instead of keeping count of my laps all in English, I decided to count each set of ten laps in different foreign languages, specifically, Cantonese Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and French in addition to English.
Before you get all impressed, no, I cannot speak five different languages but I do know how to count from one to ten in these specific foreign languages. And what I am finding is that if I focus on counting from one to ten in these foreign languages, I do not lose count of my swim laps.
Here’s how you count from one to ten in each of these foreign languages;
English: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Cantonese: yut, yee, saum, say, mmm, look, chut, baat, gow, sup
Mandarin: ee, are, sum, se, oo, leeoh, chee, bah, jeow, shur
French: un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, dix
Spanish: uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez
So if you get too bored when counting out your exercises or laps and end up losing your count, try counting in foreign languages and see if it helps.
