Shadowing Practice: The Difference Between People Who Get In Shape And Those Who Don’t - Learn English Speaking with Video

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All right, well, I just finished a four -mile run at a 9 .06 pace.

It was a chill pace today.

I'm just getting back into running.

I got a half marathon on Sunday.

I had a 31 -mile week after not running for three months, so my legs are feeling it.

And at the end of the run, I did a max set of pull -ups.

Didn't want to, but decided to do it.

I ended up doing 23, which I surprised myself.

I didn't think I was going to hit 23, especially towards the end of a run but that's what happens

when you actually try shit and you see what you're capable of.

Some cool things will happen, but it had me thinking about how getting in like incredible shape and achieving your dream physique,

it's not a convenient experience whatsoever.

It is a massive collection of a lot of inconvenient experiences and decisions over and over and over again.

And over a long enough time horizon, it leads you to some really incredible things.

And success and failure, they're both slow processes.

Failure can usually happen quicker.

You know, you can, it takes a thousand

or it takes like 10 years to build a reputation and one minute to ruin it.

But success is generally a slow process.

It's a lot of putting your head down, going to work and doing the things that you don't want to do.

It's so much easier to like want to go out with your friends, want to eat shitty food, skip your workout, binge watch Netflix,

like go chase girls, all of that.

Right.

But at the end of the day, that's not actually ever going to give you what you truly desire to get that.

It's going to require sacrifice.

Like you have to give up something in order to receive something.

And if you're not willing to sacrifice, then you're not going to get the life that you want.

but that also doesn't mean you can't reward yourself.

I always say that the vacation or the work makes you appreciate the vacation and the vacation makes you appreciate the work.

When you're grinding, when you got your head down, you're putting in hours for months on end.

It's nice to be able to go reward yourself, take some time off, kick your feet up in the sand, relax, recharge, reset.

If you've ever been on vacation for longer than like probably two weeks, at least for me, I start to get antsy.

I'm like, I got to go do something.

I feel like I'm not actually pursuing any purpose.

And I'm just kind of like being worthless right now.

Like I want to be of value to other people and be doing something and be becoming better.

And so as a result of going on the vacation, it makes you want to go hit the work,

go back to work, put your head down.

It's like training for a marathon.

When I'm like balls deep in it, the last thing I want to do is go for a run

and now that I've taken three months off of running after running my last marathon I was

so excited to get back to running I missed the feeling so much

and the runner's high being out in nature getting a good

sweat on starting to like trim more body fat like I'm actually getting pretty lean right

now just from three weeks of running which is awesome I missed it

but it still requires me to do a lot of things

that I don't want to do I didn't want to go on the run tonight

there's a lot of other foods and sweets and snacks I'd like to eat I'd like to stay out later

wake up later not follow my morning routine not do as much personal development

but the reason that I don't succumb to all that is

because I know that by putting in and willing being willing to make

that sacrifice and do all those things

and better myself I'm inching closer towards achieving my dream reality

and the thing that I like to think of is like the dream reality that I want?

How is that version of me in that reality?

What is he actually doing?

And what did he do to achieve that?

And for whatever reason, by taking that perspective, by thinking of your future self and the type of advice that he would give you today,

it gives so much more clarity as opposed to just thinking like, what should I do right now?

Whenever you take a different perspective, it's almost like you're giving your friend advice.

And we're always better at giving our friends advice than we are giving ourself advice

because there's usually less emotion attached to it

right like

if a friend asks you for advice it's always really easy to give them very sound clear advice

because you're way less emotionally attached and connected to whatever they're going through

and then you're going through something that you gave someone perfect advice on

and like you can't think straight because you're

so emotionally attached to the outcome

or whatever might happen your friend comes along they're like dude it's

so simple just just do this

so thinking about exactly what you want to create for yourself

if you want to have a chiseled six -pack

if you want to run a marathon

if you want to you know put on 10 pounds of muscle like

that person that's already achieved all

that what are they doing what are they telling you what's the advice that they're giving to you

on the weekend should you be going out what type of

workout should you be doing what kind of diet should you be having like all of those little decisions

you already know what to do for the most part.

right?

We're pretty inherently like we have a pretty good conscious as far as what we need to do.

We just typically don't do a good job of following it.

And the reason that we work with coaches or mentors is usually just to confirm things that we already know.

And then also to fill in some of those gaps where we might not have that knowledge.

So most of it, like you'll have time, same thing when you go to a friend for advice,

so you already know what you want to do,

but you just want them to say the same thing because you already know that's what you need to do,

but you just need someone else to tell you.

And so whenever you're looking for that little piece of advice from another friend, you don't got to do it.

You can just ask your future self, what would you do in this situation?

And understand that it's usually the more inconvenient route.

The thing that you don't want to do is probably the thing that you need to do.

It's probably the thing that's going to help you the most.

And the more consistent, the more comfortable you can get with making those types of decisions, the better your life is going to become, right?

As this kid walked by me i was thinking i'm like man this kid's

so innocent he's

so youthful he has the time to be a child as you grow older you take on more responsibility

which is a beautiful thing like you have full autonomy over your life

and you have free will to create whatever you want

100

and it's either going to be the best blessing

101

or the worst like hell you're going to live in

102

because at the end of the day like you you make your own bed you got to sleep in it

103

so you don't know what to do right

104

now the uncomfortable thing is probably the thing you got to go lean towards

105

so get uncomfortable find the thing that's inconvenient and go make it happen

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “The Difference Between People Who Get In Shape And Those Who Don’t”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: advice, running, vacation, happen, thinking. This video has 105 sentences and 1340 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:34. The speaker talks fast, about 204 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 89% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
vacation noun	/veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/	An extended trip or journey away from home for rest or pleasure.
marathon noun	/ˈmæɹəθən/	A 42.195-kilometre (26-mile-385-yard) road race.
sacrifice noun	/ˈsæk.ɹɪ.faɪs/	Originally, the killing (and often burning) of a human being or an animal as an offering to a deity; later, also the offering of an object to a deity.
attach verb	/əˈtæt͡ʃ/	To fasten, to join to (literally and figuratively).
pace noun	/peɪs/	A step taken with the foot.
reward noun	/ɹɪˈwɔɹd/	Something of value given in return for an act.
uncomfortable adjective	/ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/	Not comfortable; causing discomfort.
lean verb	/ˈliːn/	To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating.
emotionally adverb	/ɪˈməʊʃənəli/	In an emotional manner; displaying emotion.
workout noun	/ˈwɝk.aʊ̯t/	An exercise session; a period of physical exercise.
consistent adjective	/kənˈsɪs.tənt/	Of a regularly occurring, dependable nature.
gap noun	/ɡæp/	An opening in anything, made by breaking or parting.
reputation noun	/ˌɹɛpjʊˈteɪʃən/	What somebody or something is known for.
innocent adjective	/ˈɪnəsənt/	Free from guilt, sin, or immorality.
chase verb	/t͡ʃeɪs/	To follow at speed.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
go through verb	To travel from one end of something to the other.
come along verb	To accompany.
end up verb	To bring to a conclusion.
get back to verb	Return to (an activity)
give up verb	To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone).
go back to verb	To stem from; to originate in.
go out verb	To leave, especially a building.
stay out verb	To spend time out of one's house.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

I'm just getting back into running.
I'm like, I got to go do something.
I feel like I'm not actually pursuing any purpose.
How is that version of me in that reality?

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 43 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I'm, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: marathon /ˈmæɹəθən/, worthless /ˈwɜːθ.ləs/, youthful /ˈjuθfəl/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: vacation /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, emotionally /ɪˈməʊʃənəli/, reputation /ˌɹɛpjʊˈteɪʃən/, emotion /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/, conscious /ˈkɑn.ʃəs/
Long words — get the stress right: uncomfortable /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/, emotionally /ɪˈməʊʃənəli/, reputation /ˌɹɛpjʊˈteɪʃən/, whatsoever /ˌ(h)wʌtsoʊˈɛvɚ/, autonomy /ɔˈtɑ.nə.mi/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like vacation, marathon, sacrifice.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: The Difference Between People Who Get In Shape And Those Who Don’t - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?