Seniors shape up with exercises
Print Edition
Early mornings bring together hordes of sports enthusiasts to Zhongshan Park in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China鈥檚 Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
Lots of senior citizens can be seen doing their everyday exercises, including Taichi, peg-tops, singing and dancing.
鈥淭here are many different ways to exercise and people can always find one that is fit for them. For me, I feel happy playing diabolo,鈥 75-year-old Zhang Wancheng said.
Zhang has been playing diabolo for 11 years. Unlike line-dance, badminton and many other exercises he once tried, he can play diabolo any time at any place, just by himself.
Diabolo is a traditional Chinese folk game, in which one can throw and catch a spinning top by moving a cord fastened to two sticks. It requires coordination between the eyes, arms, neck and legs, and this is good for the elderly to maintain mental and physical flexibility.
鈥淟ast year I went to have my driver鈥檚 license renewed, the officers gave me the thumbs-up after I easily finished two deep squats and an eyesight test,鈥 Zhang said.
In 2014, the Yinchuan Diabolo Association was founded and now has about 70 members, including Zhang. 鈥淚 left my workplace but found another one here, and I feel fulfilled again,鈥 he said.
Zhang Chunshan, 62, is also a diabolo lover. When a 7-meter-long dragon made of cloth is attached to his diabolo, dancing as he moves skillfully, he becomes a 鈥渄ragon trainer.鈥
鈥淎 healthy body is important for people to live a high-quality life, especially for us senior citizens in our twilight years,鈥 he said.
The younger Zhang retired earlier because of a surgery and then devoted himself to exercises in the park, as playing diabolo and chess in the morning and conducting body-building on the parallel bars in the afternoon have become his daily routine.
鈥淚 keep exercising every day, even when it snows, I clear up space to stretch my body,鈥 he said, adding that one has got to have some spiritual pursuit in order to make life worth living.
Playing diabolo requires more physical strength and as many senior citizens get on in years, they prefer milder sports, such as Taichi boxing, Taichi sword, Taichi fan, Taichi Rouli ball and similar activities.
Taichi Rouli ball requires players to always catch a bouncy ball with a matched racket while combining Taichi moves in the process, and 65-year-old Xue Chunyan has been playing it for 13 years.
鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to play, but hard to play well. Senior citizens have more spare time to practice different routines,鈥 she said.
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