The Tough Guys:Kidults’ Stunts in the Park

Text by Chen Xi & Li Han

Photos by Zhu Xiyong & Huang Shifeng

For some senior citizens in Wuhan,capital city of Central China’s Hubei Province,keeping fit is not the only purpose of daily exercise.

Exercise brings about fun and challenges to grow.These “kidults” in Wuhan have their own ways of exercising with self-made tools and routines.We spent almost one month frequenting the parks in Wuhan and witnessing the special talents of these strong “kidults.” Their conduct and spirit fully illustrate the well-known motto “Health lies in movement.”

The exercises adopted by these old men are no easy task and they certainly have some risks.Please do not imitate them at home!

To find out how the elderly could keep up proper exercises,we interviewed Mr.Ye Xujun,director of the Geriatrics Department in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University.Mr.Ye said that cardiopulmonary function is one of the major factors that affect athletic ability.Exercising can help the young improve the cardiopulmonary function and the elderly reduce the degradation speed of the cardiopulmonary system.So the elderly should choose some moderate exercises according to their health conditions,such as jogging,walking,dancing,swimming and Tai Chi.It is better to exercise with partners or in groups.

Old but Strong

“Strong muscle,” “healthy and stout,” “flexible,” these words are the comments people made about 72-year-old Qiu Jun.

When we met him in Zhongshan Park,he was doing pull-ups.His strong muscles made him look more like a middle-aged man,rather than an old man.

“It was unbelievable that a 70-plus-year-old man could have such strong muscles.” Mr.Zhu,a 50-year-old man commented.However,Qiu Jun said that it was not easy for him to maintain such a body.He started training to build muscle when he was 42 years old.He spent 1.5 hours every day doing a whole set of exercises to increase the strength of his shoulders,chest,back,abdominals,and legs.

“Look at my double leg lifts.Such movements will build your abdominal muscles.The pull-ups will work your chest,back,biceps,and triceps.” Qiu Jun explained to his friends while demonstrating the exercises.

72-year-old Qiu Jun won the championship in National Bodybuilding Contest for Seniors by training in the park.72岁邱钧在公园里练成全国老年人健美冠军

健身对武汉一些大爷而言，不是锻炼身体那么简单。

玩转健身，乐趣无穷，自制神器，挑战自我，这些老顽童们有着各自的健身之道。近一个月来，记者到武汉多个公园，见证一群身手不凡的老顽童们的绝活！他们这些民间高手，有力地诠释了“生命在于运动”。

老爹爹们晒出的绝活，各有其难度和风险，大家切勿盲目效仿。

针对老年人如何做到锻炼适度，记者就此采访武汉中南医院老年科主任叶旭军，他表示，心肺功能是制约运动能力的主要因素之一，年轻人健身是为提高心肺功能，而老年人健身目的则是减缓心肺功能的衰老速度，所以要量力而行，慢跑、散步、跳舞、游泳、打太极拳等舒缓的运动方式都能达到健身目的，此外健身时最好结伴而行。

古稀老人秀强健肌肉

肌肉饱满，强壮健硕，身姿轻盈，这是一群玩伴对72岁邱钧的评价。

记者在中山公园锻炼区见到他时，他正在做引体向上，一展肌肉的线条美，一点都不像古稀老人，倒像一位中年壮汉。

72-year-old Fang Jinsheng playing with his dragon-shaped Kongzhu in Zhongshan Park72岁方金生自制的空竹在中山公园玩出“龙卷风”

“Reduce the intake of salt,oil,and sugar.Eat small but frequent meals.70% full is sufficient for your stomach.” Qiu Jun also shared his experience in diet.He believes that both exercise and a good diet are important to health.

Handstand Walking and Splits

In Zhongshan Park,a grey-haired man was walking around on his hands.His splitting won rounds of cheers from the passers-by.

He was Wang Chunnan,a 75-year-old man.“He has such a flexible body.How does he make it?” A 40-year-old man was amazed and said he couldn’t do it.

“I started exercising when I was young.I have practiced handstand walking for 40 years.You should exercise when you are young.” Mr.Wang shared his secrets of exercise.

Mr.Wang continued,“I liked playing when I was young.I got inspired by gymnastics and acrobatics on TV,and started to try a headstand against the wall.Then I could do the headstand without the support,and finally walked with hands.It took me three years of practice to walk steadily.It was the same with the splits—it is the years of exercising that keeps the flexibility of my body.Now I can walk with my hands for more than 30 meters at a time.”

Skating Around the Hainan Island

In the Beach Park of Wuchang District,an old man wearing a pair of roller skates was posing like a flying swallow.With arms stretched flat and one leg lifted backwards straight in parallel with the ground,the old man was enjoying the freedom of flying.His name was Liu Fapu.Few residents could tell his real age of 84 years.

84-year-old Liu Fapu doing a flying swallow pose in the roller skates84岁刘发菩轮滑玩出高难动作燕子飞

75-year-old Wang Chunnan (first from the left) is good at handstand walking,splits,and other gymnastic movements.75岁汪春南（左一）倒立行走、劈叉、体操样样行

“70多岁的爹爹，肌肉还能这么饱满，真不简单，了不起！”50岁市民朱先生说。这个“了不起”来之不易。邱钧说，他42岁就开始走上正轨锻炼肌肉，肩、胸、背、腹肌、腿部等循环锻炼，每天锻炼1 个半小时，持之以恒！

“你看这双抬腿，就是锻炼腹肌的，引体向上就是锻炼胸背、二头肌和三头肌的。”邱钧边做动作边向周边锻炼的朋友讲解。

“少盐少油少糖食，少吃多餐，七分饱即可。”邱钧说，拥有健康体魄，锻炼是一方面，饮食也挺重要。

倒立行走劈叉样样行

在中山公园锻炼区，一位头发花白的老年朋友正在倒立行走、劈叉，引来众人的掌声与喝彩。

他名叫汪春南，今年75岁。“柔韧性还这么好！这是怎么锻炼的啊？”市民李先生今年40岁，但已没法倒立。

“我年轻时就锻炼，玩倒立行走已40年。锻炼要趁早！”汪爹爹一语道破秘诀。

汪爹爹说：“年轻时爱玩，从看体操、杂技中受启发，自己就尝试先靠墙倒立，再凭空倒立，最后才慢慢行走，也是苦练两三年后才能倒立行走的。劈叉也是如此，年轻时慢慢锻炼的，所以如今身体韧性仍不错，一次倒立行走能走30米以上。”

轮滑刷了一圈海南岛

在武昌江滩，像燕子一样飞翔的轮滑老爹爹，—双手展平，一腿后翘，享受着飞翔的轻盈与畅快。这位老爹爹名叫刘发菩，谁能想到他今年已84岁。

老爷子一生爱运动爱旅游，从小就踢足球、游泳和跳水。最近9年，轮滑成了他的最爱，“去欧美旅游时，在公园看见七八十岁的老年人都在玩轮滑，一问得知可防止老年痴呆，从此就爱上轮滑，回国后加入汉口快乐轮滑队。”刘发菩聊起学轮滑的初衷。

起初在家门口的江滩轮滑健身，后来和轮滑朋友一同绕海南岛刷了一圈。

现在老爷子出门买菜或外出办事，都是轮滑出行。

空竹舞动“龙卷风”

轻抖双杆千变化，力悬一线万般功。抖空竹，是中国的传统文化。72岁的方金生玩转传统的空竹后，自制一条龙空竹。

记者在中山公园见到他时，他双手利索地转动空竹龙，龙腾空而起，在空中飞舞，龙头插一面国旗，就像玩转呼啦圈一样栩栩生风。

70-year-old Bai Yuliang training with a 5 kg broadsword70岁白玉良在耍5公斤的关公大刀

The old man likes playing sports and traveling around.He started playing football,swimming,and diving at an early age.In the past 9 years,rollerskating has become one of his favorite activities.“During my trip to America and Europe,I noticed a lot of old men who were more than 70 or 80 years old roller skating in the park.They told me it would prevent dementia.I started to learn and fell in love with roller-skating.I joined the Hankou Happy Roller Skating Team when I came back home.” Liu Fapu recalled how it all started.

Liu usually skated in the Beach Park near his house,and once he even joined a group and skated around the Hainan Island,South of China.

Roller-skating became a necessity in Liu’s life.He even wears them when he goes to the market or runs an errand.

The Swirling Dragon-shaped Kongzhu

A light move of the rods produces thousands of changes; the strength of the string requires years of practice.Kongzhu,or Chinese yo-yo,is a kind of traditional Chinese game.72-year-old Fang Jinsheng is an experienced practitioner of Kongzhu.To have more fun,he made a dragon-shaped Kongzhu.

We met him in Zhongshan Park where he was playing with his dragon-shaped Kongzhu.With a Chinese flag at the top,the dragon-shaped Kongzhu was dancing and swirling like a moving hula hoop.

“This is a Kongzhu I made before the National Day.I put our national flag on the top and named it Chinese Dragon.” Fang Jinsheng said proudly.Playing with his Chinese Dragon can work out all the parts of the body,including the shoulders and neck.It requires more strength than the traditional Kongzhu game.So one can only go for several minutes at a time.

“No matter what kinds of exercises you choose,interest is the most important factor,and the goal is to detoxify through sweating.A simple lifestyle makes life easier.” Fang Jinsheng shares his secret of happiness.

A group of 60-plus-year-old men whipping their 1-ton spinning top一群60岁以上的大爷鞭打自制1 吨重的陀螺健身

Whipping a 1-ton Spinning Top

In Moshui Lake Park of Hanyang District,3 middle-aged and elderly men whip a huge spinning top with all their strength.They rotate with another group every 30 seconds.“Wow! So exhausting! How heavy is the spinning top?” Ms.Xu,a passer-by,asked out of curiosity.

“It weighs 1000 kilograms!” Gao Wei,chairman of Wuhan Spinning Top Whipping Association,said with a smile as he introduced more about it.The spinning top was made of rosewood on the outside and iron steel inside.To promote the traditional culture of spinning tops,the association ordered this special spinning top from the factory.It cost 200,000 yuan.

“We started practicing with small spinning tops which weighed several kilograms and our original purpose was to keep fit.” Gao Wei said.The 67-year-old man started to whip the spinning top at the age of 56.He suffered a lot from periarthritis then,and as advised by his friend,he decided to pick up the spinning top.The exercise made him stronger and he began upgrading his spinning top,with the weight increasing from 50 kg to 150 kg,and then to 1000 kg.He hasn’t taken any medicine since he started exercising with the spinning top.Last year,he even drove all the way from Wuhan to Tibet with his wife.

(Translation:Li Li)

“这是异形空竹，我自己做的，国庆时，插了面国旗，取名中国龙。”方金生说，玩这个空竹，相当于全身运动，锻炼肩周和颈椎，只是与传统空竹相比，要费体力一些，所以一次只能玩几分钟。

“无论什么锻炼方式，兴趣最重要，出汗排毒是目的，简单生活，生活才会简单。”方金生一语轻松。

自制1 吨陀螺练身手

在汉阳墨水湖公园内，3 名中老年人手持鞭子接力抽打着一个大陀螺，他们用尽全身的力量鞭打，30 秒就得换一拨人。“哇！三个人抽一会儿就没力气了，这陀螺得有多重啊？”一旁观摩的市民徐女士好奇地问。

“1000 公斤呢！”在场的武汉鞭陀会高伟会长笑着说，别看这家伙的外皮是花梨木，内胆可是势大力沉的钢铁轴心呢，特意找厂家定制的，总费用20 万元，为的是传播陀螺文化。

“我们是从十几斤的小陀螺开始练习的，最初也只是想锻炼身体。”高伟细说道，他今年67岁，从56岁开始打陀螺，那时患有肩周炎，在朋友建议下开始打陀螺锻炼身体，慢慢手劲、臂力都增大了，陀螺也开始加重，从100多斤到300 多斤，到如今的1000公斤。自从打陀螺，就没吃过药，去年还带着老伴自驾去西藏呢。