Discussion keeps the world turning.
August 8th is National Fitness Day in China, but for millions of people in the country, staying active has already become a daily habit.
From sunrise park goers to late night gyms, from cycling clubs to square dancing and smart fitness apps,
Everybody seems to be doing something.
So what actually turns exercise from a chore into something you stick with for life?
We're live from our studios here in Beijing.
This is Roundtable.
I'm Steve Hatherly.
Thanks for being with us today.
And for the show, I'm with Fei-Fei and Yushan.
First up.
August 8th marks China's National Fitness Day, but it's about much more than simply breaking a sweat.
From packed parks at sunrise to late-night gyms, from marathons and cycling clubs to square dancing in the park and smart fitness apps, staying active has become a part of everyday life for millions of people.
As fitness becomes more accessible and more social, too, I'd say, it's also changing the way people think about health and community and perhaps even happiness.
So what does the growing fitness culture take to turn exercise into a lifelong habit?
Feifei and Yishan, good afternoon.
Is exercise for you a lifelong habit?
Long Habit.
Well, I think I have the confidence right now saying that, yes, I do have a lifelong habit of, you know, getting active, going into exercises regularly basis.
And that I have that confidence simply because I was able to do like a routine workout session for months.
The past seven years
Seven years seven years wow
So that is why i have the confidence of saying yeah i have a lifelong habit because for only a few months maybe you were still having that question mark on your mind
That's cool
And you've been doing this seven years consistently without i'm sure maybe breaks here and there
Yeah yeah but pretty much consistently for the last seven years
Yes, pretty much for the last seven years.
And that was a turning point, especially thinking about when I was a teenager, for example, even in 20 year old, I wasn't very active, you know, getting any physical exercises would be a big no-no for me.
And I think the biggest turning point comes from 2008 when Beijing Olympics happened.
Were you in the Olympics?
If I were, you wouldn't be talking to me like this, Steve.
We would be interviewing you.
Yeah, you would be interviewing with all the cameras and so on and so forth.
But yeah, seeing all the athletes coming to Beijing and also, I guess, having to see a lot of fitness related, I think, for example, equipment.
Mm-hmm.
Themes are sort of starting to popping up around you.
And you start to get curious.
Well, for me, I started to get got curious about it.
And that is when I think, thinking about getting exercises,
Getting involved in some workout routine doesn't seem so intimidating.
Yeah, it can be for a lot of people.
Getting started is often the hardest part.
How about for you, Yishan?
For me, the turning point is not really something encouraging.
It's some negative results I see from my health check report.
I believe that's the case for a lot of us to really pay attention to how getting active can be a long-term addiction for you.
And it's a good addiction among all others for you because you got to realize that
It's not just PE classes back in childhood that's kind of mandatory.
It's that staying active, it means everything for us to stay healthy.
So yeah, not really seven years ago, but less, I think just like two, three years ago, I started to realize how important for me to build muscles.
So it becomes a habit nowadays.
I think you're right.
I think getting something on your health report that was maybe unexpected is the key motivator for a lot of people around the world to make some adjustments in their life.
You mentioned, though, Feifei, the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
And let's start here, because it was on January 7th in 2009 that China made the decision to make August 8th as the National Fitness Day.
And it's been that way since 2009.
And I'm wondering if the Olympics were kind of a motivator for that decision.
Yeah, exactly.
Because August 8th in 2008 was the date when the Beijing Olympics started.
So a year later, not a year later, but you know, half a year, a couple of months later in January 2009,
And that's when they think China thinks thought, you know, August 8th is such an important day for a lot of Chinese people.
And also, I think,
But holding Beijing Olympics, like me, is a turning point on our perspectives about fitness, about health and about sports start to change.
And this is why the National Fitness Day was set on August the 8th.
And the aim for having this day is basically...
I think when people are talking about building a lifelong habit, about doing exercise, it feels like a personal choice.
But it's not only a personal choice.
It's also about do the society gives you accessible choices and equipment.
And I think on this day, this country is trying to meet that needs coming from the people and encourage people to take part in all different kinds of sports and fitness activities.
And also promote the development of different campaigns.
And also I think infrastructure, for example, would also be a key part to get people more active throughout the country.
And so having this day would be a perfect time
To sort of getting people educated about how to get active in the first place.
You know, the starting point is most of the time the most difficult step to get you into that routine.
And it's so easy to make excuses.
Yeah.
Right?
If maybe, you know, maybe, yeah, you need the infrastructure, right?
So maybe you have like a park with ping pong tables and you think, oh, okay, well, I'm going to get out there on the weekend and play ping pong and get active a little bit.
Oh, but that park's like...
A 10 minute walk away.
You know, it's so easy to come up with some sort of justification for not getting moving.
But yeah, the more resources we have, the harder it is to make excuses to to not get out there and get active.
So speaking of active, let's talk about some activities that are happening around the country.
Yeah, we are celebrating this whole National Fitness Day, actually the 18th National Fitness Day this year with a vibrant array of activities that blends not only sports, but also cultural and modern technology involved activities.
For example, in southern China's Yunnan province,
I wasn't expecting to list examples from Yunnan first, but apparently they're doing a lot of interesting things this year.
So, for example, in the city of Lizheng, which is an iconic tourism city in Yunnan province,
Over 3,000 people from various ethnic groups are gathering there on August 1st to kick off the celebrations by performing a massive fitness dance of the Nazi ethnic group.
Now, if you don't know what Nazi ethnic group dances look like...
I specifically picked some videos to watch.
So basically what they do is a little bit similar to the Tibetan style, but they involve a lot of hand holding, dancing and kicking together, jumping.
And for the male part, I believe I saw, and also some female parts too, they do a lot of body opening kind of gestures.
And that's,
Sort of like an aerobic dance of sorts.
And then there's also the lining and grouping of the dancers.
So sometimes they curl up into a circle.
They look at each other and dance while holding hands with each other.
Sometimes the line breaks into different formations.
So it's a grouping of dancers
Gestures of dance movements with a combination of all different kind of movements.
So that would qualify perfectly as a fitness dance.
So also I believe it's a way of promoting local culture or ethnic culture as a way to encourage everybody to see this as a new way of square dancing.
Yeah, I think not only in Yunnan, a lot of places in China, especially with a lot of ethnic groups in that region, they will sort of somewhat combine their local cultural dancing elements into a square dancing movement.
So meaning sort of, for example, simplifying some of the moves so that it won't be so difficult for you to learn to pick up for a square dancing.
And sometimes they organize, they have like organizers in different places.
And play music.
And I think we saw that in Shizan before where people of different ethnic backgrounds actually get together on a square dancing with some Tibetan dancing movements.
And similar things are happening with this Naxi dance as well.
It's awesome because when we think maybe for a lot of people, when they think fitness, they immediately think, oh, they have to go to the gym or you can get a trainer or something like that or go jogging for, you know, 10 kilometers minimum.
No, it's not the case.
Even getting together with people in the community and dancing together is a form of physical fitness for sure.
Was it the same location that put together an orienteering event not that long ago?
I think it was on the 2nd of August.
Yeah, that's exactly in the same ancient city of Lijiang where that fun orienteering activity was held.
I would love to try this sometime.
It sounds so fun.
Yeah, I believe we talked about orienteering a few months ago.
It's a sport where participants use a map and compass to navigate between specific checkpoints.
It's like treasure hunting, but...
More fun yeah it's like um jungle survivor without the jungle which is perfect for me so it's sort of a competition but also have like different uh fitness activities embedded with it
Yeah.
Well, on August 2nd, there were over 600 runners that checked in at cultural landmarks and all of the participants even received certificates made of traditional Dongba paper, which is a local handicraft out of the Nazi culture.
So for them, it's not only just an oratorian event, but also a cultural experience.
Let's talk about some e-sports briefly.
Let's hop over to Jinan in the eastern part of the country in Shandong province.
So they put a modern twist to their fitness holiday by hosting a huge crossfire.
It's called a crossfire and it's a popular online tactical shooting game.
It was a carnival.
Happening
It's scheduled for the 8th and 9th which combines professional gaming uh finals with live music performances
So this is cool because they're turning fitness day or the fitness holiday into kind of a fun competitive cultural festival too
Yeah, and also that is what the young people definitely love to participate in when we're talking about esports and gaming.
And when people, you know, start to talking about fitness, it also doesn't necessarily mean you need to go outdoors.
But also, you know, esports is also a kind of sports in today's terms.
Yeah.
I feel like that's a stealing of idea.
We're getting a little loosey-goosey with our definition.
But yeah, sport, definitely.
It's just how to get people sort of gather together and have fun.
For example, in Jinan as well, they're also gathering children.
Participating in Go, in that traditional Chinese board game with black and white stones.
And they also hold tournaments held around the city from August the 1st to the 9th, so within this week.
And they're also like, it's not about the city of Jinan is very e-sporty for this National Fitness Day.
They're also organizing, for example, street dance battles or martial art showcases.
I think it's more of a on the youth side.
When they are into things like street dancing, not only about square dancing, but also about esports and go games and video games.
Yeah, it's a really cool thing.
Also, another thing the city is doing, and this is happening, it started on the 3rd of August and it's going until the 9th.
The Genon National Fitness Center, I think this is such a great idea.
They're giving away free experience vouchers for a variety of different sports.
So people can try swimming if they want or badminton or table tennis or billiards is even on the list if you have an interest in that.
And the idea behind that is to just kind of let every person enjoy the different activities that sports has to offer.
And for a lot of people, maybe if you're listening, maybe you've never tried any of those things on that list I just mentioned.
But if you're in the G9 area, you can try all of those things for free through the voucher giveaway.
Yeah.
One other thing I think what this center in Xin'an is doing very well is fitness day is not only about encouraging people to get active and move around.
It's also a time that we pay attention to our own health.
So what they're doing on August the 7th is that citizens, they encourage local citizens aged 20 to 79 to visit the center for a comprehensive health checkup.
Featuring nearly 20 professional tests involving blood pressure tests, body fat percentage tests, and lung capacity tests, etc.
So that's one thing.
And also on August 7th,
Jinan hosts a senior doctor specializing in TCM, the traditional Chinese medicine, kind of like an event where you can just invite whoever that's interested to gather together and focus on the TCM-based weight management session that they're trying to lead people to.
Get aware of how weight is affecting our health.
So if they are still reluctant about getting active, getting involved in any of the sports they offered, they're just offering them a wake-up call, basically.
Yeah, I was being skeptical about it.
Like, okay, you don't want to move?
Let's check your weight.
Well, yeah.
And that kind of information is something that could be a deterrent for people getting started in the first place.
Right.
Because they don't want to know.
Right.
Yeah.
And that applies to everyone.
But if you have that knowledge in your pocket, it can also serve as a motivator, too, because it allows you to set a goal.
Mm-hmm.
Or if you want to add a couple of kilograms, you have your kind of your starting point there and it can help you out.
I think the difficulty with getting started is that nobody knows or for people who have difficulty getting started is that you don't know where to start.
Exactly.
You don't know where to begin.
The gym.
I'm not familiar with the gym.
I don't want to go in there.
Do I need a trainer?
I don't even know how to use those machines.
I don't know how much I weigh and I don't want to know.
So it's difficult to find a starting point.
So any of these things really, really can be.
Let's talk about we mentioned swimming there as one of the voucher giveaways in Chinon.
Let's talk about water sports in general, because Fei-Fei, you were just on the ocean yourself not that long ago.
Yeah, it's very difficult.
I think for a lot of my older friends, it's very difficult for them to comprehend I'm doing surfing now because I wasn't really active before.
Well, not that you're not active, it's just...
Friends and listeners, Fei Fei, coming from the vast grassland in northern China, bravely traveling to the southern part and surfing these days.
That's a fish out of water and then back in the water.
I used to fear swimming, fear any water sports, even swimming, even though I know how to swim.
Even swimming pools?
Even swimming pools.
I would be having, you know, need to go on that mind battle within myself to sort of convince myself, you know, you need to
Go in there yeah we all kind of go through this as we try to learn swimming yeah or anything new yeah but for surfing I think surfing is on another level because it can be very dangerous right
Watching all the ways.
And a lot of people will have a lot of questions about will I be drowning?
Will I be hit by the board?
Because the board is also very big and seems like very heavy.
Will I be attacked by a shark?
That's a concern for a lot of people.
But for Hainan, that's the place I went for surfing.
They weren't normally known for their shark attacks.
I didn't see any sharks around Hainan Island.
So recently in Hainan, you had your very first surfing lesson.
Yeah, and I love it.
Tell us about the experience.
Yeah, it was like kind of intimidating in the first place because you are sort of walking into the ocean and the waves keep pushing you backwards.
Like you walk three steps forward and the ocean sort of push you back two steps and you need to start from the scratch and sometimes i need to hire the coach
Of course for the first time you need to hire a coach
I sort of drag on the coach to drag me into the ocean so that i can touch my board
And then I couldn't stand up on the board for the first few rounds because you need to find your balance on the water in the first place.
But when you get to the place, you can stand up.
For me, it was like 10 seconds.
And sort of really riding on the waves from sort of a deeper into the ocean to the shore,
You start having that thrill and you start to understand why people are so addicted to these kind of very dangerous extreme sports activity.
And so I kept surfing for like
One and a half hour for the first time and I hurt my knee very badly.
It hurt for like a few days, but I just kept thinking I need to go back to the ocean at least one more time to learn more about my balancing, to know how to stand on the board a little bit longer, even though my knee hurt so badly every day.
So I think some sort, I'm not sure, and I even start to think, can I try kite surfing?
That's another... What is kite surfing?
Kiteboarding.
Yeah, kiteboarding.
It's also around the ocean.
It's also a kind of water sport.
Yeah, I will...
I've tried surfing.
I took a surfing lesson in Hawaii.
Only one.
It was a little bit boring for me.
But a lot of things when you start learning, you start from the very beginning, right?
So it can be a little bit basic.
Kiteboarding, this is on another level.
Because kiteboarding, there is no start from the beginning.
You learn.
Kiteboarding I'll explain do we have oh yeah it's a relaxed topic today I'll tell this story
So I was in the Philippines right and kiteboarding is you have a kite over your head
It's a big kind of shape shape like a big bird it's bigger than the ones we play in the park
Yes, yes, much bigger.
And that kite is attached to your body.
Cables come down from the kite and you're wearing kind of a harness, almost like a full body harness.
You step into it and it wraps around your legs and your shoulders.
And so you're attached to this kite.
Now, the board, why it's called kite surfing or kite boarding is because the board is kind of like a mini surfboard.
It's not that long, but it functions like a surfboard.
So you kind of step into it and you're strapped in.
Almost like the board for the snowboarding.
Yeah.
Somewhat.
So your feet are kind of grounded to it?
I think your feet are strapped.
I could be wrong about that, but I'm pretty sure your feet are attached there.
So here's what happened to me in the Philippines.
And it's not even something that happened to me.
So I was really interested in learning kiteboarding.
And on the beach in Boracay, there were a lot of instructors and a lot of people learning.
So I thought, okay, I'm going to watch somebody do this first.
So I planted myself in the sand and I was just watching this one guy.
I chose him to watch because he was about the same age as me.
I was about late 30s at the time.
And I thought, OK, if this guy can do it, I can definitely do it.
So you start learning on the beach because you have to know how to control the kite over your head because when you get in the ocean, that's how you move.
You control the direction of the kite.
So you're just standing in the sand and the instructor is teaching you how to hold the kite.
And then once you're ready after maybe an hour or two of practicing then you get into the ocean
Now the way to get into the ocean is to walk backwards into the ocean and then you kind of sit down and slide the board under your feet and when you're ready
You move the kite at an angle so the wind catches it and you take off.
You're flying.
And off you go.
And you're cruising along the surface of the water and your movement is controlled by the kite and the wind and you controlling the kite.
Now, this is the thing that happened.
And by the way, I'm telling this story because he was fine.
But the guy, when he sat down to put the board on his feet, he didn't get to do it.
What happened was a gust of wind came from behind him.
It pushed the kite forward directly in front of him
The kite caught all of that wind, and this guy launched out of the ocean like he was shot out of a rocket straight towards the beach.
He landed on his face, but because he's attached to the kite, he's now being dragged up the beach by the kite.
I stood up and walked back to my hotel room.
I was like, nope.
That's not the story I heard in Hainan.
That's not going to be for me, I said.
So that's why when you compared surfing and kiteboarding, I was like, hold on.
These are not the same thing at all.
When I was surfing, I went to Sanya.
For my surfing lessons, and a lot of people are telling me, you know, Sanya is not the perfect place for surfing in Hainan.
Too small.
You need to go to Wanning, very close to Hainan, another city.
It is the most, the perfectest place in China for surfing, and also we can try kiteboarding there.
It's very popular as well.
It was so much fun.
Oh, you did kiteboarding?
No, my coach and a lot of my friends who surfed told me, you know, once you learn surfing, you can try kiteboarding because it was so much more fun.
They didn't tell me you're going to be dragged by the kite.
This wasn't everyone.
It was just what happened to the guy that I happened to be watching.
Yeah, but a lot of people are trying, even though for beginners, they're trying surfing and kiteboarding in China.
And not only this kind of extreme water sports, but more gently, more, you know, popularized water sports.
For example, some cities around China now are offering paddleboard yoga.
Yeah, doing yoga on top of a paddleboard.
I somewhat still think this can be a bit challenging because paddleboarding and yoga, because paddleboarding is something you also need to learn in the first place, you know, getting to the water and know your balance.
People do that in the canals, right?
In some of the cities here in China.
In Beijing, there are a lot of rivers.
I think Yushun is a regular on paddle boarding in one of the rivers in Beijing.
The more often version I heard from Yushun is that he does kayaking.
It's like sitting in a narrow little boat with a double-bladed paddle.
And you can go with yourself or with someone behind you.
I also kayaked in Hainan as well on the ocean.
Were you in the front or were you in the back?
I was in the front.
What's the difference?
Well, I guess it's like a two-person bicycle.
You see a two-person bicycle, the person in the back isn't really doing any work.
Yeah, I'm the driver.
The two-person kayak, the person in the back doesn't have to do as much maybe if they don't want to.
Yeah, but kayaking I think is somewhat easier compared with, for example, paddleboarding or surfing for people that...
Maybe a little having still having their reluctance in getting to any of the water sports.
I think kayaking can be one of the starting points.
But anyhow, in China, I think more than 120 million people in China are participating in some sort of water sports.
That's cool.
Yeah, like paddle boarding, like kayaking, like surfing, and even swimming or water camping.
Yushan, are you into water sports in any way, shape, or form?
Not really.
I was about to add surfing after Fei-Fei highly promoted it, but after I heard your story about... Well, those are two different stories.
It's a different sport.
But yeah, water sport hasn't always been a thing for me.
I used to swim quite a bit when I was much, much younger, but not anymore.
The only sport of sort that I practice nowadays is only Arnis, which is a type of martial arts sport that you don't need any water's participation to finish.
You can do it on land.
Basically, yeah, just defending and attacking people.
That's cool.
You've been doing this for quite a while too, yeah?
Several years.
Yeah.
But I'm still at the beginner side of things because after you get to the higher level, you actually need to start beating people and accept that you are probably going to get hurt from being beaten by other people.
True for a lot of martial arts.
Artificial arts, yeah.
But you obviously really enjoy it because you've been doing it for so long.
Yeah, it's something you don't get to do in day-to-day work or life because that's the only chance I get to do combating in a sports format.
And I believe that's why a lot of similar sports like...
I wouldn't say Tai Chi is among those, but something like boxing or even fencing or ice hockey for sure.
Any sports that has that combating nature to it, it's so attractive to a lot of us here because
As China gradually opens up our mind to more and more of such sports,
You're not trained or taught to be aggressive, usually speaking, especially for a female who is trying to become involved in one of these sports.
And then you get to lash it all out when someone is holding a stick and wielding it at you.
And not only are you learning the technique, but also you're challenging yourself in how much you can take in face of all the aggression.
And also in the meantime, pulling out the aggression from you.
In answering all that, I think it's a very philosophical thing when you look very deep down into martial arts of any kind.
That's awesome.
What's the name of that again?
Well, in English, it's Arnis Esclima.
And I believe that has a Spanish root to that word, too.
But in Chinese, we can generally direct translate it into Filipino short stick technique.
What do you think are the biggest benefits for you from doing that?
Because I think with martial arts, I've done a few in my life.
I never got to a super high level.
One of the things that they talk about a lot is that it's not just the physical benefits.
It comes with more confidence because you think you have the ability and you do to protect yourself if something goes wrong.
Yeah.
Hopefully it doesn't, obviously, but there's that.
There's oftentimes a spiritual side to it, an emotional side to it.
So what's it been like for you?
For example, previously, if I walk down to an underground parking lot myself without knowing the martial art I do now, I would feel, oh, this is just an unsafe environment for one single female to walk through the darkness and approach her car in a very
Dim, light place.
But nowadays, it's like nothing for me.
I feel like... That's the self-confidence, right?
That's the shifting mindset that occurs to you after you start to practice and know yourself better from it.
I think when you are doing that combating, do you also need to have like, strategical thinking as well?
Because you need to think it's not as you know, just
Beating the other part harder is not going to make you win, but you need to think of the strategy and so on and so forth.
Muscle memory is one thing, but also it's the timing, the distancing and the angle.
You're always calculating in order not to get hit in order to hit the other person.
A friend of mine did jujitsu and he got super into it.
Right.
He was always talking about it.
And in our friend group, nobody knew what he was talking about because he was the only one who was doing it.
And then one time he was super excited because he was going to go down to this tournament and he had to travel for about three hours to get to a different part of the country for this tournament.
Now, at that time, he had only been doing jujitsu for about eight or nine months or so, but he was just so into it, really loving it.
And so anyway, he's telling us he's going to go to this tournament.
So he goes down to the tournament and in a jujitsu tournament, or at least that one, you get you get a random draw like you're in a bracket.
Right.
About who you're going to face.
Oh, yeah.
And then the winners face each other and then the winners of that face each other.
And then finally you get a winner.
So he, in the first fight that he had, got the national champion...
In his weight class and he lost in 45 seconds
So he traveled three hours to get beat by
Uh get beaten in 45 seconds
And all of our friends said hey man we can beat you up here you know you don't you don't have to travel
Three hours to go do that but you can put it down in your resume
Fighting with a national champion before he said like he said it was a great experience but you know he was just like oh come on are you kidding me
What are the odds
Right yeah you ever get into any of that type of stuff Feifei
I think competitive kind of sport, combating of any sort was never my thing.
I'm more into things like jogging or surfing, something I do on my own.
So I guess maybe I should open that door of thinking strategically, getting some combating aggression element out of me through things like boxing or jiu-jitsu or martial arts.
It gives a good balance.
If I am to have kids in the future, ice hockey or Arnie's or whatever, boxing is the first thing I'll think about teaching them.
Comparing with like violin or I don't know, singing or ballet or stuff like that.
What's your next water sport, by the way, Feifei?
Uh, kite boarding.
I'm really seriously thinking about it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I know it sounds intimidating, watched or looked very intimidating, but you know, it's worth trying.
Choose a day that's just a little bit windy, not like crazy windy.
I think that might be easier.
Thank you.
I think the last time that I was like attempting a new water sport, this is when I was younger.
I tried water skiing.
Have you ever tried water skiing before?
You know, there's a there's a speedboat in front of you and you have skis on your feet and then you just kind of sit and you bob in the water like an apple.
And then the speedboat takes off, and then it pulls you up, right?
So I only tried water skiing one time.
And so I'm in the water, and the speedboat goes, and I'm holding onto the handle and the rope, and then it start to pull me up out of the water.
But what happened was my right leg started going right and my left leg started going left instead of the skis going straight.
So my legs are being ripped apart and I'm freaking out like, oh my gosh, my legs, my legs.
And because I was so worried about my legs, I forgot to let go of the rope.
And then all of a sudden I launched out.
Oh, this is very similar to the kiteboarding story.
I launched out of the skis and I landed on my face on the water.
This is in a lake in Canada.
And I swallowed about two gallons of lake water, I think.
And I had bruises all over my upper body and stuff.
But that's the fun of water sports, I guess.
Yes.
For surfing, you get to taste the saltiness of the ocean.
The saltiness of the ocean, yum.
So there you go, everybody.
National Fitness Day is coming up, so get out there, get moving, and enjoy yourselves while you're doing it.
