Exercise has really changed my life

If you asked me to list three things that have benefited me most in my life so far, they would definitely be education, work and fitness.

Before I entered university, I spent most of my time studying, like many of my peers and friends. I remember that in high school, we used to voluntarily cancel sports classes to do math exercises in the classroom.

Sports weren’t part of the university entrance exams, so they weren’t valued by the school, parents or us students.

In my early 20s, I lacked basic understanding of fitness and ability. In the first year of university, all the students had to pass a running test, with women required to cover 800 meters in about four and a half minutes.

It was way too difficult for me. My roommates and I trained each other for several weeks. Even so, we barely passed the test, and our legs ached for days after.

When I started working, “I’m too busy” became a good excuse to avoid exercise. I used to fall into bed once I got home, and chose to stay on the sofa on weekends.

Then the drawbacks became obvious: I always felt tired, even if I had slept for 10 hours the previous night; I had pimples on my face and my skin turned a dull yellow; I gained weight as I grew older, hitting almost 65 kilograms.

In addition, I had mood swings and a bad temper. I believe this was related to the no-exercise habit, because all those problems have disappeared since I started eating healthily and working out regularly.

Now, I feel that people are paying more attention to health, especially during this global COVID-19 outbreak.

I certainly am. Since late 2019, I have maintained a routine of running 3 kilometers at least twice a week, and as an amateur yoga enthusiast, I practice at least twice a week.

Change happens gradually, but that’s hard to express in words. Not only do I look different, but I feel more enthusiastic about life, my career and interacting with friends and family members — just as described by Liu Kenghung, a fitness guru, when I interviewed him on Saturday.

I think it can be hard to start exercising, but once you do, you will make many friends who share the same hobby and encourage each other to live healthier lives.

When I downloaded Keep, a sports app, I saw several colleagues’ accounts that showed they run regularly in the morning and on weekends. We share our running records and sometimes compete online. My parents, who check their record of steps every day on WeChat, give thumbs-ups to those who rank first in their friends list.

Through these social sports apps, the development of technology has made exercise more fun. Recently, I saw an exercise mirror in a supermarket in which you can not only see yourself, but also a video of a real coach who corrects your movements and encourages you.

I couldn’t agree more with Liu when he says that when you really like to exercise, you will have the enthusiasm to share it with other people.

This spring, Beijing has seen another wave of COVID-19, so opportunities to take part in activities have become limited.

As a result, I’ve started giving free online yoga classes every Saturday. It’s a great way of enjoying the beautiful spring days, and what’s more, when I share the benefits of exercise, I feel I gain more than I give.