【推荐2】Teenagers around the world are familiar with the great pain of boredom. And every parent is familiar with the sounds of groaning (咕哝的) kids, sulking (生闷气) in their room or pacing aimlessly around the house. But sometimes, it’s this very sense of boredom that can inspire creativity and create fast-growing trends.

This is true for pickleball (匹克球), now a popular sport in the West. According to the Mental Floss website, the sport was invented in the summer of 1965. At that time, Frank Pritchard, 13, had nothing to do in his family’s summer home in Washington, US. After complaining loudly, his father, Joel, suggested he make up a game. When Frank replied “Why don’t you?” his father gladly took up the challenge. Thus, pickleball was born.

Certain parts of tennis, badminton and ping-pong can be seen from pickleball. It’s a bat game played on a badminton-sized court with what looks like a wiffle ball (威浮球) over a low net. Only the serving team can score points, and all serves must be made with an underhand stroke (击球).

The popularity of pickleball has grown steadily over the last decade. According to Mental Floss, the number of pickleball courts has grown by an estimated 385 percent worldwide since 2010. One reason for its popularity is that it’s “a sport for everyone”. Anyone can play pickleball because it’s relatively easy to pick up. There are simple rules, and all people need is a couple of bats and a ball, which is affordable and accessible to all. Plus, pickleball is a sport centered around fun and friendship. The game lasts as short as 15 minutes, which means less running and stress for players.

Pritchard said that the game’s rapid rise in popularity was amazing, especially considering that a bad-tempered kid “inspired a sports craze by making a stink (吵闹) about being bored one afternoon 56 years ago”.

【推荐3】Although a gym membership can be nice, you don't have to have one to get into great shape! All you need is a little bit of time and space at home for yourself.     1    

Spend 5 to 10 minutes warming up before every workout.     2     Try jumping jacks, leg or arm circles, or even dancing. Just get your blood pumping. Do a progressive aerobic activity that uses the same muscles you want to work out. For instance, slowly jog if you are going for a longer run.

    3     Strength training, also called resistance training, makes you stronger and builds endurance. Try to do exercises that work a lot of muscles and add weight to increase your resistance. This helps you do a harder workout every time you exercise.

    4    You might be eager to just stop your workout when you've finished your last set of activity, but take a few minutes to do low-intensity exercises that lower your heartrate. You might drop your run into a walk or slow down your cycling, for instance.

Set achievable goals that you can break into smaller tasks. It's one thing to say you want to get fit, but that means something different for everyone.     5     It should be specific, realistic, and meaningful. Then, break down each goal into small, actionable steps so it feels like you're making progress regularly.