Shadowing Practice: Try This 12-Minute Routine for 30 Days. Watch What Happens. - Learn English Speaking with Video
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I'm going to give you a 12 minute routine that
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if you do this every single morning for the next 30 days could have a huge impact on your health, from your mood to your energy levels,
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the way you sleep and even your motivation to take on the other things
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that I talk about on this channel that are all backed by really good, solid research.
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open your eyes.
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The clever part is
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that in those 12 minutes you'll tick off several of the
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biggest pillars of long -term health all at once before your day has even properly started.
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This one is aimed especially at those of you who are over the age of 50 or 55, something like that, because as you'll see,
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this is exactly the age where a routine like this starts to matter the most.
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If you're new here then welcome to the channel, I'm Dr Alex, I've worked in emergency medicine in the NHS in the UK.
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for a decade and i've become fascinated by the simple things
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that help us to live longer and stay healthy and so
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if you learn something from this video today then please help
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me out by liking the video giving it a hype as well
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and subscribing to the channel all of those things are completely free
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and it really helps me to keep this channel growing
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and churning out these videos for you so here is the challenge
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that i've got for you and it is really simple so for the next 30 days as
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you wake up what i want you to do is to put your socks
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and your shoes on put the rest of your clothes on
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as well i want you to drink a large glass of water and head straight out of that door
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then i want you to walk really briskly for the next 12 minutes every two minutes
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or so i want you to stop and do 20 squats
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or 20 walking lunges and then carry on walking
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but walk for six minutes away from your home
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and then turn around and then walk the next six minutes back
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and that is the whole thing how easy is
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that it sounds almost too easy
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but let me talk you through what's actually happening in your body during those 12 minutes
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because every single part of it has been chosen for a reason
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so the first thing you're getting depending on the time of year
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and where you are but for most people the first thing you're getting is light in your eyes as soon as
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And this is far more powerful than I bet a lot of you actually realise.
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So deep in your brain you've got what we call your master clock.
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And it takes its cue from the light that hits your eyes first thing in the morning.
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When that bright morning light lands in your eyes, it shuts off this sleepy hormone called melatonin,
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and effectively starts a timer so that melatonin rises again at the right time, roughly 14 to 16 hours later,
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which is what helps you to fall asleep later on that night.
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But this isn't just about sleep.
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That same morning light gives you a very healthy little surge of cortisol
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and a lift in the feel -good chemical called serotonin.
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And together, those leave you with more energy and a brighter mood for the rest of the day.
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the day.
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Now, because it's summer when I'm recording this video, most of you are going to be living in a part
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of the world where the sun is already up well before you are.
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So the light is sitting there waiting for you.
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But in the depths of the winter, Like I said, depending on where you are,
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this can be a bit different and it might still be dark or only just getting light when you head out.
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But even then, the natural light during a sunrise outdoors is far better than anything inside your house.
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So just try and get outside as soon as you can, as soon as you can see that light starting to appear.
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So anchoring your sleep with morning light is one of the simplest ways to sleep better
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and feel more awake during the day.
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And again, talking from personal experience, somebody who's done night shifts for years, getting morning light into your eyes really honestly does help you sleep better.
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later on that night.
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Now, I've just realized that I forgot to mention the water that you drink as soon as you wake up.
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So while you've been asleep for seven or eight hours,
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you've been steadily losing fluid that entire time through your breath and through your skin and you wake up very slightly
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dehydrated and so your blood becomes a fraction thicker and a bit more viscous.
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So that large glass of water anywhere between half a pint to a pint, first thing in the morning,
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it rehydrates It supports your blood pressure and it gets your brain working properly
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and it helps your kidneys sort of wake up and start flushing everything through.
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This is a really tiny habit, but doing it before anything else means that it actually gets done.
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And I guarantee a lot of you watching this will be drinking far less water than you should be.
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And then we've got the brisk walk itself.
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And the word that matters here is brisk.
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So you want to be moving at a pace where you could still talk, but you wouldn't be able to speak really long sentences or sing like a tiny bit out of breath.
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That lifts your heart rate up into what we call zone two or a moderate zone.
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And as you know, your heart is a muscle.
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So asking it to work like this on a regular basis every single morning makes it stronger and more efficient over time.
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this daily brisk walk brings down your resting heart rate
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and it slowly improves your fitness over time
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and remember heart disease is still the single biggest thing
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that kills us so anything this simple
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that protects the heart every single day is absolutely worth doing
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and now we've got the squats and the lunges and for Over 50s in particular,
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this might be the most important part of the whole routine.
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So from around the age of 50, we start losing muscle at an increasing rate, something like 1 % or 2 % a year, unless you do something about it.
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And this is you doing something about it.
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Now, that slow wasting away of your muscle is what eventually leaves people very frail
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and unsteady on their feet and struggling to get out of a chair or their bed or climb the stairs.
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Squats and lunges work the really big powerful muscles in your legs and your backside,
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your glutes, which are the exact muscles that you rely on to stand up
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and to walk and to catch yourself if you trip.
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The lunges in particular, and you can search on YouTube for the correct technique if you don't know what this looks like,
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just type in "correct lunge technique" and something will come up I'm sure.
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This challenges your balance.
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It can be a bit difficult if you're just getting used to it.
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And good balance is one of the best protections there is against the falls
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that can be so devastating later on in life.
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And there is a real bonus on top of all of that.
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Every time you stop and fire out 20 squats or lunges, your heart rate jumps up really sharply.
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And then as you walk on again, it settles back down before the next burst of lunges or squats.
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That hard then easy then hard then easy pattern is essentially a very gentle form of interval training,
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almost like a little bit of a HIIT workout right in the middle of your walk.
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heart and your overall fitness.
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If you do this regularly, this kind of work helps to bring down your blood pressure and your resting heart rate, and it improves something called your heart rate variability,
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which is one of the best signs of a healthy, resilient heart.
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And my Garmin watch tracks this every single day.
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So you're not just building muscle here, you are essentially protecting your future independence.
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thing rather than reaching straight for your phone.
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So gentle rhythmic exercise like walking lowers your stress hormones
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and being out in the fresh air with a bit of greenery
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if you're lucky enough to live around
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that has been shown to calm the nervous system down and lift your mood as well.
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So the combination of light and movement and fresh air nudges up the brain chemicals that make you feel good and settled.
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So you walk back through your front door in a better frame of mind
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and a better mood than when you left out of it.
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And here's the extra benefit that took me a bit of time to fully appreciate
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and one that I've seen clearly on my own glucose monitor.
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to handle that breakfast far better.
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Contracting muscles like this, they can pull sugar out of your bloodstream almost like a sponge, and they can do it without needing much insulin at all.
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So when you sit down to eat your breakfast, you know, half an hour later,
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the spike in your blood sugar is noticeably greater than it would have been otherwise because that effect from your muscles,
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from that contraction, continues for around an hour or two, sometimes longer afterwards.
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So if you do that morning after morning, then over time you're improving the way your body handles sugar,
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which is one of the most important things that you can do to keep diabetes at arm's length.
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Now you might be wondering why I'm so insistent
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all of this the moment you wake up
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so part of it is the sunlight
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which only does its job for your body clock
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if you get it really early on
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but a big part of it is simply human nature
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if you bank this as an early win as soon as
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you wake up before you check your phone for emails or you know before you
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speak with your family or you put the tv on
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or you settle down with a nice cup of coffee and the have had time to pile up.
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it almost always gets done.
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If you do it straight away, you know, and get this into your routine, then you are going to be so much more successful at keeping to it.
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If you leave exercise until later on in the day,
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then life just has a way of getting in the way and again speaking from personal experience, I'm much better at exercising first thing in the morning
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because I know once I get into the rhythm of work
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or I become a bit tired from everything I'm doing that day, I'm less likely to actually do it.
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So if you do it first, it sets the tone for everything else that follows.
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And within a couple of weeks, it stops feeling like a chore and it starts feeling like the natural way to begin a day.
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And when you add on the minute it takes to throw on your clothes and your shoes, The whole thing literally should be 15 minutes or less at the very most.
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And that is really short enough to be done before anybody else wakes up.
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Or better still, you can do it with your other half.
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Both of you set your alarm or just one of you set your alarm.
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Both of you get up, jump out of bed, put your shoes and clothes on, head straight out of the door.
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And within 15 minutes, both of you have already exercised, you've had a good workout, you've hydrated, you've got light in your eyes, you feel energized
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and really happy with yourself and you feel like you can do anything later that day.
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You feel so good about yourself.
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Now for some people obviously, especially if you're getting on a bit or you're not really used to any sort of exercise,
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doing this 12 minutes might be all you can manage in a day and if that's you, that is honestly, genuinely, it goes without saying,
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that is a brilliant place to your body and build up slowly.
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But for most people, the real idea here isn't that this replaces your exercise, it's that it sits on top of whatever you already do.
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Think of it more like the foundation that you laid down before the day has even started, not the whole house, if that makes sense.
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And as always, this isn't personal medical advice.
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If you've got heart problems or joint problems
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or any other health concerns where you need to be taking things a bit more carefully, then just speak with your own doctor who knows your medical history, who knows your medication list,
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before you throw yourself into squats and lunges and anything like that.
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Just be careful before you start this.
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this, this is about as much benefit as you can get out of 12 free minutes.
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You're getting your hydration, you're getting your morning light, you're getting your cardio, your strength work,
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and a calmer mind, and also a flatter blood sugar all before breakfast.
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So that is my challenge to you.
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Give it an honest 30 days.
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Just try it every single day.
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Pay attention to how you sleep and how
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watching this you will feel so much better for implementing this into your daily routine and my hope is that
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For the people who don't already do anything, this will give you
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a bit of a light bulb moment it'll give you the bug to start doing things more regularly
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and really taking charge of your health let me know in the comments
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if you try this for 30 days
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and how you felt at the end of it thank you so much and i'll see you next time
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What You'll Learn
This video builds three key speaking skills: conversational fluency through following a natural, instructional flow; topic expansion by explaining complex health concepts simply; and persuasive tone to motivate action. These skills are critical for IELTS speaking practice, where clear, engaging communication is essential. By shadowing the speaker, you’ll also strengthen your ability to maintain a steady pace while conveying detailed information—perfect for real-world interactions or exam scenarios.
Listen For These Sounds
Notice the connected speech patterns in phrases like "as soon as" (pronounced "az soo-naz") and "what we call" (reduced to "wuh we call"). The speaker often links words, such as "the first thing you're getting" becoming "the first thin-gyur gettin'." Also, listen for reductions in "I bet a lot of you" ("I betta lotta you") and "it takes its cue" ("it takes its kyoo"). These subtle links are key to sounding natural, and practicing them with shadow speak techniques will help you master everyday English rhythm.
Say It Like a Native
To mirror the speaker’s rhythm, stress content words like "huge impact," "solid research," and "master clock" to emphasize key points. Use a rising intonation when asking rhetorical questions ("how easy is that?") to keep listeners engaged. For the shadowing technique, pause the video after short segments and repeat them, focusing on matching the speaker’s pace and emphasis. This is especially effective for phrases like "tick off several of the biggest pillars," where stressing "biggest pillars" creates emphasis. A reliable shadowing site can help you practice this daily, turning these patterns into habits. Over time, you’ll notice your speech becomes more confident and native-like—ideal for IELTS success or any situation where clear, persuasive communication matters.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've worked · i've become · has been chosen |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is aimed · has been chosen · has been shown |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | glutes, which are · people who don |
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.