Common Talk Weeklyshuang yu zhou kan
issue date

Growing waistline?
February 18, 2004
By Ji Yongyong
Photos by Yao Fan
As the weather warms up, more people are going outdoors to exercise.

寒冷的冬日已渐行渐远，春天的脚步声越来越近。当你褪去厚重的大衣，换上清爽的春装，是不是懊恼地发现昔日的小蛮腰不再，而是换之以稀松的赘肉？别 急，只要你趁着春日的大好时光，走到户外舒活舒活筋骨，打打乒乓球、篮球，或是去健身房里健身，一定会让你对多余的脂肪说声“再见”。

Having big dinners, watching comedy shows, playing cards and taking a long sleep, these all are the common things people do during the Spring Festival. Undoubtedly, everyone needs a time to totally relax after a busy year. But things always turn out to be a little daunting when people return to their office, finding extra pounds of weight and a growing waistline. Spring Festival, to some extent, is really big burden to our body.

But this monkey year, things seem to be a little different. People may still have just as much high fatty food as before, but they pay more attention to their health. During the chilly festival, a lot of people plunged into sports.

Table tennis

You may sit comfortably on the sofa , watching your favourite tennis player Agassi(阿加西) in the Australian Open during the holiday. At the same time, a lot of people are playing their own tennis — table tennis. Since China has won several world championships, this 40mm orange-colored ball enjoys a vast popularity among people.

Laoqiu, the owner of a table tennis room(乒乓球室), had a big surprise when so many people rushed in on the first day of the new year. He added one more table, but still couldn’t meet the need. “People used to stay at home watching TV, playing cards at the same time in the past,” Laoqiu said so with a smile on his face. “It’s quite beyond my expectation to see so many people playing ping-pong.”

“Playing ping-pong is not an easy task,” said Wang Bing, a regular player, “it needs not only your strength, but also the cooperation of your whole body. It is a very good sport for your health.”

Basketball

“Be part of something big!” That was the advertising slogan used when Yao Ming, a 2.23m tall man, joined the Houston Rockets. But to most basketball-lovers, playing is part of something regular, even during the cold holidays. There is no stopping.

Xiaowen is a college freshman and goes to the basketball-court(篮球场) in the nearby middle school. “Although the school was empty when the students were having their holiday, to my surprise, the playground was always crowded with people.” Xiaowen gave me a smile as he successfully made a 3-point shot(三分球).

Body building

This kind of muscle movement is prevailing across the country. Many young people cram into gyms and pump up their muscles. Even during the New Year, there was no sign of this craze stopping. Lifting weights is the best way to burn fat and keep you in good shape.

Surely, there are some other ways people can spend their extra energy besides table tennis, body building and basketball, but one thing is certain, these people will be back to their work with a good body condition and in better shape.