Sports and motivation
Vocabulary
- metagoal
- rutinaroutine
- mejorarto improve
- desafíochallenge
- rendirseto give up
- seguir adelanteto keep going
- forma físicafitness
- resistenciaendurance
- motivaciónmotivation
- marca personalpersonal best
To talk about ongoing sports activities, Spanish uses llevar + gerund (equivalent to "I have been doing X for..."):
- Llevo entrenando 3 meses. (I have been training for 3 months.)
- Ella lleva corriendo desde enero. (She has been running since January.)
- Llevamos yendo al gimnasio un año. (We have been going to the gym for a year.)
Structure: llevar (conjugated) + gerund (-ando / -iendo)
¿Cuánto tiempo llevas haciendo yoga?
(How long have you been doing yoga?)
Llevo nadando media hora.
(I have been swimming for half an hour.)
Be careful: don't confuse with the pretérito perfecto:
- Llevo corriendo 30 minutos = I've been running for 30 min (ongoing)
- He corrido 30 minutos = I ran for 30 min (finished)
This structure is very commonly used in sports contexts to talk about progress and motivation.
Expressions
- Llevo entrenando tres mesesTo say how long you have been training
- No me voy a rendirTo express determination
- Mi meta es correr un maratónTo talk about a fitness goal
- Cada día mejoro un poco másTo talk about gradual progress
- He batido mi marca personalTo celebrate a personal record
- El desafío merece la penaTo say a challenge is worth it
Common mistakes
Llevo entrenar 3 mesesLlevo entrenando 3 mesesLlevar + gerund (-ando/-iendo), not the infinitive
Estoy llevando corriendoLlevo corriendo desde eneroUse llevar alone, not estar + llevando
Llevo corrido 5 kmLlevo corriendo 5 km / He corrido 5 kmLlevar + gerund, not llevar + past participle
Me rindo noNo me rindo / No me voy a rendirNo goes before the verb
Mi meta está correr un maratónMi meta es correr un maratónUse ser (es), not estar (está) here
Quick quiz
Question 1 of 5
How do you say “routine” in Spanish?
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