I completely loathe the idea of exercise. I rather enjoy my time with art, culture, books, movies, or friends. Exercise...I often find it a complete waste of time.
While living in Beijing, my excuse doesn't have to be my utter dislike of physical activity. My excuse can be that it's actually UNHEALTHY to breathe hard in the city.
Because it is. I've read from several sources that exercising outdoors in a city with pollution as heavy as Beijing is counterproductive to one's phyical health. It is for this reason that some of the Olympic games can't be held in Beijing. It's for this reason that they are going to make it rain in the weeks leading up to the Olympics to clear the air.
Other preparations include stopping all production in the city leading up to and during the course of the games and completing all construction prior to the games. The latter, while completely infeasible in the United States, actually will happen, with the help of construction workers from the countryside working all day and night every day. The communist system is so efficient that I while I was in Dalian, I saw an empty lot become a soccer stadium (complete with brightly colored paint) in two weeks.
Regardless of the health risks, exercise is a part of the culture of Chinese people. In class, when the students are asked how they spend their weekend, they almost always say something about physical activity. When I press them about why, they respond, "Because it's good for my healthy."
There are mini exercise yards at nearly every apartment complex
(including mine). Men, women, and children are here at all hours of
the day and night making the machines move in a particular way.
Older men and women are in the parks around town as the sun makes its daily debut practicing taichi, kung fu, and walking backward. They think walking backward exercises the back of the brain like walking forward exercises the front. When I first heard this, I thought it was ridiculous, too. But then I thought about it. While it might not exercise the back of the brain, per se, it more than likely exercises a different part of the brain.
I just walked out to get some tea at about 9:00 pm. There was a lady diligently working one of the machines and a man walking backwards. But he was totally cheating. He was looking behind him and kind of walking side-backwards. Maybe he's trying something new -- an exercise for the side of the brain.
