Discussion keeps the world turning.
This is Roundtable.
You're listening to Roundtable.
My name is Steve and I'm joined together today by Yushun and Yushan.
Coming up, how often do you find yourself lying on your back pushing something heavy upward?
Almost never, right?
Well, that's the bench press I'm talking about.
But functional fitness is more than just getting that great summer bod.
It's about doing exercises that actually benefit you in your daily life.
We'll give you all the details on that.
And then, oh, every year it seems like we're introduced to another round of dating styles and the accompanying vocabulary, and sometimes they can be cute and harmless.
But throning? This isn't just another dating buzzword. This is about choosing partners almost like chess pieces, trading romance for status.
Why are young people doing this?
And what does it actually say about where love is headed?
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one more time roundtablepodcast at qq .com and now china's fitness landscape is undergoing a radical transformation high intensity functional training has exploded in popularity reshaping not just workout routines but fundamental ideas about physical health and the ideal physique this isn't your dad's gym routine.
Functional fitness prioritizes real world strength over cosmetic muscles, athletic performance over mirror muscles.
As studios offering battle ropes and sled pushes and sandbag workouts proliferate across first tier cities, they're challenging the traditional notion of what constitutes a really good workout at the gym.
Have you heard of it before?
Functional fitness i think that's opposing to what people may mock these type of people who have that dead muscle right they only they can only show off in front of the mirror but they don't really have that kind of strength even to lift a sofa i i remember do you have the strength to lift lift a sofa i can lift up a corner of it at least awesome anyway i remember um both of you have a workout routine right yeah and i and i must admit um that like what's the purpose of you work for me the gym well there's different reasons one is for mental health right i just feel better after after a workout
and it makes me feel better throughout the day the other is to yeah keep keep myself looking presentable to my partner.
And I get a reward. I get a reward from that as well, a personal reward. But I must admit, and I'll ask you as well, Yushan, when I was going to the gym, when I do go to the gym even now, I don't think about how my exercises at the gym can be implemented into my daily life.
Do you think about that?
Me neither. Because for me, well, Well, the purpose was very simple.
I just want to restore my very endangered, very much challenged health by the end of 2023.
That's when I started to go into the gym like quite constantly and start doing like heavy liftings and stuff like that.
But like you said, Steve, I don't really have this notion in my mind when I try to say lift up 20 kilograms barbell and doing glutes workout.
But in the meantime, finding it hard to lift up four bottles of five liter water.
water bottles at the same time yeah it's supposed to weigh the same right and that's exactly what functional fitness is all about so a full body workout that mimics everyday movements or athletic actions focusing on practical strength like carrying luggage or holding a child rather than just isolating muscles for aesthetic shaping such as machine bicep curls yeah but i have to be clear or we're i'm not or we are not mocking any of uh like buddy builders they they spent a lot of time effort energy on being a good shape shaping shaping their bodies and that is very impressive um discipline style
and um you know the main goal of uh what we're talking about uh the uh what was that functional fitness is to improve overall physical fitness including cardio cardiovascular endurance, coordination, flexibility, rather than simply building muscle or losing fat.
I remember comparing my arm muscle with Hong Lin.
And I said, I did this through one years of weightlifting in the gym.
And she's like, Oh, I just did it with lifting my three year old son.
And I believe her muscle density is higher than my functional fitness.
Yeah. No, that's a good point um you should yeah it's not to say that you know doing isolated exercises at the gym like for example a bicep curl is a waste of time no it's not a waste of time it's just that functional fitness is more of the hot trend these days yeah and some of the and sometimes the um the exercises cross over right it's not completely black and white there's a gray area as well for example example, squatting, reaching, pulling, and lifting.
All of those will be made easier with functional fitness integrated into your routine.
And that happens these days.
You know, CrossFit incorporates weightlifting and gymnastics and cardio.
High rocks. Have you heard of high rocks before?
Nope. I watched some of the video when you mentioned it.
Yeah. That was intense.
This This is next level.
It's like a marathon. No, it's more than just a marathon. It combines running with functional workouts like a sled pull and wall ball where you have to take like a medicine ball and throw it up at the wall 100 times.
But the whole point behind it is that you're using your core muscles, right?
You're using parts of your body that will help you in your everyday strength.
Whereas some exercises at the gym simply won't accomplish that.
I said before, it's not about isolation exercises.
So what did I mean by that?
No, isolation exercise aren't often included in functional fitness workout programs. And it targets smaller groups of muscles.
I mean, isolation exercise and like curls hit your biceps, leg curl machines target your hamstrings and triceps extensions target your triceps right but these things they are more of your whole body strength exercise and you can you can do it in your daily like um daily routines like lifting water bottles that kind of thing and and also Also, we're not saying you cannot do it in the gym.
You can also use all of the gym equipments to do things that you think it is a functional fitness.
So what would be some examples then of training in a functional fitness kind of way?
One is set to be training with sandbags.
I've only heard that in some athletes training before.
But here in functional training, they're using the same technology and technique, sorry.
Still on the train topic, are you?
Yeah, they're shifty and irregular, the sandbags, and they change in shape and weight and it gets kind of distributed unevenly when you hold it.
So it's just like carrying golf clubs or rearranging furnitures in daily life.
When you're training with a sandbag, I would assume it's harder with just dumbbells or like simple equipments you can get in a gym.
And the weight on a dumbbell is distributed perfectly and it doesn't change.
right but with sandbags the weight will shift from the left to the right that's why it uses more of your muscles because it's more unpredictable in that sense just like you said golf clubs that's a good example because when you pick up a heavy bag of golf clubs the clubs will move and shift right so you're affecting different muscles at the time i remember a lot of people after watching f1 the movie uh start mimicking the main character brett who is brett pitt by pressing their heads against the bat do you remember that yeah to practice maybe coordination and strength of their backs back muscles
and that could be a kind of that practical uh functional fitness because Because it is actually, it's not a typical gym practice, right?
But it is specifically working for his daily routines, which is driving a racing car.
Yeah, which you have to be in great shape to do.
I'll give you, okay, so here's a practical exercise that you can try at home if you want to get into functional fitness yourself.
So get into the push -up position, and then with your right hand, have, let's say a backpack, right?
Have a backpack with some heavy books on your left side.
So in the push -up position, take your right hand, reach across your body, grab the backpack, and pull it to your right side and let it go.
Return to the push -up position.
Now repeat it with your left hand, pulling the backpack back and forth across your body from the push -up position.
you're engaging your core there right and your shoulders and your triceps and your legs i mean your glutes everything's engaged during that exercise and during functional fitness exercises the the goal is to engage your core as much as possible because they say that your core that's kind of like the strongest link in your entire chain for your whole body right so if the strongest link is really really strong then the rest of your body will benefit whereas if it's weak the rest of your body will suffer because of it it's not an easy exercise to do by the way yes to me it sounds like an kind of advanced
version of push -ups and a lot of these exercises even to a kind of spartan level yeah when you're doing these kind of things so what's been happening recently that kind of showcases how popular functional fitness has become well Well, so many competitions are held in China, that's for one.
And one example would be that recently there are 200 competitors from all walks of life that's across China who gathered for a two -day fitness challenge event in the bustling city center of southwest China's Chongqing municipality.
So that event included rolling, rope climbs, barbell thrusters, and pull -ups, and testing both their speed and maximum strength as well.
So it's only one example, I'll say, because in recent years, there are so many of such events that's labeled under fitness or functional sports that's very popular in China.
One thing I noticed is that there are, well, these events, they emphasize a lot on teamwork, right?
And also challenges and coordinating as a team.
You are a training community that's fostering mutual support between each other.
I've got one on my WeChat friend list whom I probably interviewed him like many, many, many months ago.
And he is part of this group that's always sharing group activities.
that's like individuals training as a team.
Sometimes they hang out together to forge a tighter bond through post -event gatherings.
So that's the community that we're building here in China that's very popular on social media as well.
A lot of the time for these types of competitions, the entry barrier will be lowered as well.
That means that more people are able to take part.
You know, when I watched, and I think Yusheng, you watched the High Rocks World Championships.
championships well not every event is the world championships right um these events are designed for experts but they're also designed for beginners who are just getting involved with these types of exercises as well um so they're getting more popular and there's been more exposure on social media too which means a lot more people are knowing about it yeah fitness related hashtags and topics have garnered like tens of millions of views on platforms like Red Note, Xiao Hong Shu and also short video platforms like Douyin a vibrant community culture, a growing event ecosystem and even branded content
have helped transform these functional fitness into a lifestyle and people are doing these things as their like daily routine or their workout routine.
And yeah, it is creating a lot of discussion.
Yeah, it's in the air right now, isn't it?
Like a lot of times there are brands supporting these events.
And I would believe that instead of merely like just using the competition to boost related economy, like buying sportswear, supplements, wellness, travel, tourism, in turn, these activities, it's attracting people who's outside of the field to think that, oh, it looks so good.
these sportswear, it looks so good.
Can I try it on? Oh, I try it on.
It look good. Can I be part of it?
Yeah, right. It's changing the way that people think about their fitness.
It's changing the way that people think about fitness in general, I think, right?
And if you can find a group of exercises that really benefits your daily life so that you can pick up your baby and walk for a long distance and not hurt your back while you're doing that.
If you can lift a sofa over your head like you should obviously can the way he described it before or move us yeah let's be more realistic moving furniture around if you can do things like that and also as you mentioned you Sean if you can find a community of people right who's involved in this this is why this type of functional fitness has become more and more popular and if you get really good at it then you can start taking part in some competitions as well but I don't ever foresee see myself getting to that level you're listening to round table and i have a question for you is there anything
wrong with dating someone because of what they can do for your social status we talk throning next looking for passion how about fiery debate want to hear about current events in china from different perspectives then tune in to round table where east meets west and understanding is the goal this is roundtable i'm steve with yushin and yushan today in 2025 you're not just dating someone you're throning them you're curating a partner not for chemistry between the two of you but for clout it's the latest gen z dating strategy where relationships double as social resumes some call it pragmatic others
say it's love with the heart surgically removed but this just isn't about being shallow throning reflects something bigger a generation navigating love in the age of hyper social capital where every connection is a calculated move before we share our opinions and i think we're going to have some strong ones here let's get a deeper idea of what throning actually is before that i have to say why okay why does it have to be about Gen Z.
Hello. It's a trend.
Is there anybody like representing Gen Z and saying we're doing throning?
Yeah, it's said to be a Gen Z dating trend.
Like, is it? And it's focusing on finding a partner who elevates someone's social status, provides luxury or offers significant financial benefits.
It's like trading your romantic life for a higher social status or something.
It's a a strategic approach to upward mobility selling your soul to get self -elevated we can put a fancy way to saying uh i i have another purpose for dating with you okay we can talk about this but yeah it's beyond mere affection right um some refer to this style of dating as including the soft benefits like social capital you date a person because of who they know who they have in their friend circle.
You think, if I date this person, there's going to be a great benefit for me there because I can network.
I can meet people who can help me out with my future.
That's one aspect of it.
There's aspiring for a better lifestyle.
I'm going to date you because if I date you, my quality of life will be improved.
So some people say it's pragmatic.
Some people say this just makes sense right do you have a problem with this or do you not i do have a problem with i i i totally totally disagree but when you are explaining steve i think in some way i can get it because in like deep down when people are thinking about having a relationship you will inevitably think about, you know, no matter it's the financial status of the another one or the social status of the another one.
In ancient China, we have that phrase called 门当户对, which means when you two are getting married, then you two need to be socially and financially match with each other.
Or rather, your families are from the same level of status.
And then I think that's like Grass rooted into People's mind that Maybe or In some way You need to find someone who is matching with you No matter it's Not just matching We're not matching here You're leveling up if you're throning And you're doing it on purpose You're doing it It's at the forefront of your mind And it's a major part of the decision As to why you are dating that person.
Again, I disagree that this is a Gen Z thing because we read the news all the time.
The billionaire is getting married.
Some celebrity is marrying some big major business owner of sort.
And as a female, I would strongly oppose the fact that the female partners, usually the part that's getting a lot of discussion behind this.
I didn't say anything about that.
I don't know if that's part of this trend.
Putting on tags like gold digger of such onto the female parts.
But I want to say that this is happening on both sides of the gender.
And marriage and whatever relationship or interpersonal relationship you're getting into, especially when it comes to marriage.
People always link marriage with business.
But to me, it feels like it's something different.
When it comes to relationship, there is such a big, say, vast. room that we need to fill in with like something real something down the earth that you can rely on but when it comes to mere business scenario it doesn't exist it's just an exchange of benefits and um yeah how how you can elevate yourself or the other party wants to elevate him or herself in this scenario so i do wonder steve why you think you sound like you think it's something acceptable i'm i have no problem with this whatsoever and because of the transparency Transparency.
If there is transparency.
I kind of agree with you, Yushan, in the sense that I don't think this is new per se.
I just think it has a label now, right?
Whenever someone wants to date somebody else, it's obvious because there are benefits for that person.
Now, that's speaking in a very unromantic kind of way.
Right. But that's what everybody does.
And those are the romantic feelings are usually involved.
But if you're being transparent about it and both parties accept this, if this is a trend in Gen Z dating and everybody knows about it and everybody's talking about it and everybody's transparent about it, then what's the problem?
Because there's nothing deceptive here.
The idea of you would like to grow or level up through a relationship, first of all, it's fine, right?
But relationship should be based on pure and mutual sincerity.
And I think that is what you said, transparency.
So it should be a kind of a mutual process.
And second, that growth should be in terms of at least psychology or mindset and knowledge wise, because if you're, yeah, as you said, it's really unromantic if you're saying I would like to date with you because you're rich. It sounds so terrible.
And you said being transparent.
Oh, yeah, I know. But just when you say it.
Babe, I'm dating with you because you're rich. Can you accept that?
Let me just quickly ask this.
Does such a, say, trading of benefits give either of the party the ultimate right to do whatever they want simply because they know that the other party will not quit this relationship simply out of the mutual, say, financial benefit that they may gain from it?
Yeah, I mean, but it's not always financial, right?
It may harbor a lot of, say, risks, I'll say.
But there are like tons or millions of scenarios for you to like network, socialize, and you can get better social status.
Yeah, it doesn't have to be marriage or like romantic relationship wise.
But remember, we've talked about Gen Z and their attitudes toward dating before, right?
It's a different time now with a different way of thinking.
And by the way, this story is from Western culture.
This is not a story from, you know, downtown Beijing or anything like that.
but but still if you have a different mindset about what dating actually is then maybe this is somehow weirdly oddly acceptable and eventually ends up with individual choices and what you're looking into a relationship yeah shallow or not yeah right yeah it's a it's a weird thing i think we can all agree on that all right that'll do it uh for today's roundtable thank you so much for sharing your time with us today thank you to you shouldn't thank you to you sean again i've been Steve and we all hope that you'll come back and join us next time
