Social Workout

Wake Up Call

On Duty and Health

To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.

~ Gautama Buddha

Think Inside The Box

A Slightly Unsettling Yoga Surprise

You're just an ordinary citizen, walking down the street. You barely notice the tiny box by the side of the sidewalk, but then the top of the box creeps open and a hand reaches out and thrusts a business card at you. Freaky! And, maybe less freaky than other options but still kind of freaky, the business card you've been handed is for a yoga studio.

Dance Dance Revolution

Everyone In China Is Doing Dance No. 8

Earlier this month we highlighted the resumption of mandatory worker stretch breaks in China. (Redux: Kind of cool, kind of propagandist and weird; either way, there's a funky Chinese calisthenics video worth checking out). Now, the L.A. Times is out with a more detailed report. Apparently, the Chinese government is teaching everyone to do the exact same dance routine. So far this year, 5,000 instructors have visited offices and stores around the country to teach people "Dance Routine No. 8." It's like Mambo No. 5, but way less catchy. Dance Routine No. 1 was born in 1951, and the government only updates the choreography every five to ten years. So get ready, China. You're going to be doing Dance Routine No. 8 for a while...

Import Export

Chinese Fitness Trends That May Or May Not Make It To America

Fitness in China is a mixed bag. Sometimes they're worried about training kids to fight the Japanese. Sometimes they're manufacturing exploding fitness balls. But either way, the Chinese gym business is booming. And where there's gym business, there are fitness conventions. "2010 China Fitness" kicked off today in Beijing, with 12,000 square meters of product displays and demonstrations going through the weekend. At fitness conventions in the U.S., mega-tans are basically mandatory. In China, giltter seems to rule the day. Otherwise, the photos look like what you might expect. Except the one featured above (click through to see it full size). What's this? Synchronized yoga meets Power Plates? Intriguing! Dangerous? Intriguing!  

Newslinks

Chinese Kids Need To Get Buff, Or Else

It is time for the Chinese nation to improve the physical fitness of our next generation. If we miss the next three to five years a whole generation will be next to useless.  If there was another war against Japan, would the younger Chinese be able to fight the Japanese one-on-one?

— Yang Hua, President of Beijing Sports University in a speech delivered yesterday (via Reuters).

Travel

Bike Across China

• Who: Interprid Travel, one of National Geographic Adventure's "Best Travel Companies on Earth," 2009.  
• What: Two weeks of hiking and biking through China.
• Where: Trek from Hong Kong to Beijing, through villages, rice fields, and along remote sections of the Great Wall. 
• When: Departure dates throughout the year.
• Why: Forget some little weekend retreat. Go epic. You need to see China, and pedaling across the country gets you up close and personal. Not to mention builds quads of steel. Plus, Intrepid is known for running well-organized, fun, and reasonably-priced trips. Butwhatifido swears by them.  
• How Much: $2325 + $300 for local payments. Includes accommodations for 14 nights, all travel within China, and most meals.
• Link: China Hike and Bike. 

Newslinks

Gordon Brown, Yoga Cults, Overexercising, and Inflatable Chinese Bras

• Gordon Brown has taken up jogging, and the snarko-Office-loving Brit press can't help noting how poorly dressed, tubby, and generally un-Obama-like their P.M. is on the running path.
• Everybody knows superelite female athletes may experience a loss in fertility from extreme training. But a new study of 3,000 women in Norway suggests that short term fertility loss can happen to women who work out daily to the point of exhaustion. Our take: Regular exercise very good. "Over-exercising" can be problematic, and especially not helpful if you want babies. Your body needs energy to procreate.
• Gyms are booming in China, but Chinese people still think cardio is weird. Also in China, inflatable bras are the hot new thing.
• Winter is gym season, people. Our man Keith Worts, C.O.O. of Crunch, tells Reuters that gym memberships spikes by up to 25% in cold months.
• Remember when we discovered that some lucky kids were sitting on exercise balls in classrooms. That was so last week. This week it's stationary bikes.
• The Post reports that city schools are suspending their funding of "Brain Education," a program with ties to Dahn Yoga, which is embroiled in several lawsuits and accused of being a cult.

Wake Up Call

Morning Exercises in China

Every day begins with an act of courage and hope: getting out of bed. -Mason Cooley (b. 1927-2002).

Chinese Recess

Monday Morning Proverb

Deep doubts, deep wisdom. Small doubts, little wisdom.