As a fitness trainer, I teach my classes in German. I once taught a class in English as a woman requested it (she was going to England for holiday and wanted to brush up on her English). As I taught it I realised how hard it was to translate the class back into English, even though English is my mother tongue! I found myself spurting out German words in my English sentences, just because I had learnt how to teach classes in German. Here is a post in case you ever find yourself in a German fitness class and have no clue what they’re saying. 🙂

die Körperteile:

The body parts:

der (die) Arm(e)                                                 The arm(s)

das (die) Bein(e)                                              The leg(s)

der Kopf                                                              The head

der Nacken                                                         The nape (back of the neck)

die Ha(ä)nd(e)                                                       The hand(s)

der (die) Oberschenkel                                       The thigh(s)

das (die) Knie                                                    The knee(s)

die Wirbelsäule                                                   The spine

der Bauch                                                            The stomach

der Po                                                                   The bum

der Körper                                                          The body

der Rücken                                                         The back

Vocabulary that you will often hear in any fitness class:

anspannen                                         tense

entspannen                                       relax

locker lassen                                     relax (literal translation: let loose)

nach rechts                                         to the right

nach links                                            to the left

nach unten                                         downwards

nach oben                                           upwards

ein atmen                                           breathe in

aus atmen                                           breathe out

beugen                                                   to bend

strecken                                              to stretch

hoch                                                      high

tief                                                         low

halten                                                   hold

A few positions translated into German:

Ellenbogenstand                                             the plank

Vierfüßlerstand                                              on all fours

Seitenlage                                                        side position

Rückenlage                                                   on your back (lying down)

Bauchlage                                                         on your stomach (lying down)

Stehen                                                             standing

 

Here is a clip of a German fitness workout that I found on YouTube; it’s a great way to get fit and practice your German at the same time! See if you hear any words that I’ve written in the list above, if there’s anything she says that you don’t understand you can write it in the comments below.

Viel Spaß!

Have fun!

Larissa