1 . At some point in most people’s fitness journeys, they hit a plateau(停滞期) — it seems difficult to move forward.     1    . In fact, the key to progress in your works is more likely doing less. Below, I’ve outlined some strategies to help you jump-start your progress in working out.

Put recovery first

Overtraining makes it difficult for you to make progress because you are continually breaking down muscle (肌肉) without allowing time to recover and rebuild. Although quality sleep contributes much to recovery, it isn’t the only factor.     2    . They help your muscle recover on time. When you’re finished, drink water and cool down. Finally, give your body the energy it needs to rebuild with a balanced diet.

Mix up your training

One of the most common reasons for hitting a plateau is sticking with the same workout for too long. Your body naturally adapts to repetitive movements, leading to few returns.     3    . Cross-training involves a variety of activities and exercises intended for different muscle groups. It’s like giving your body a wake-up call, leading it to progress.

    4    

When you’ve exercised for some time, it can be easy to lose sight of how far you’ve come. Monitoring your exercise activity with a smartphone app or a fitness journal can help you recognize markers of your progress. Tracking a variety of measurable markers, such as weights lifted and distances you walked, will enable you to focus on the smaller yet significant goals that make progress more visible.

Remember, hitting a fitness plateau doesn’t mean you aren’t doing enough; it’s a natural part of the journey.     5    .

3 . Cycling for charity is a good way to raise money for worthy causes. There are several approaches to getting started.

Popular international social websites have cycling-for- charity pages where it is possible to find upcoming events and sponsors (赞助商). Many international organizations can also be located online that organize regular cycling for charity events. An example of this is Best Buddies International, founded in 1989 and existing in all 50 US states and in 50 countries around the world. Best Buddies International sponsors cycling events to raise money for people with developmental disabilities.

Research organizations mainly dedicated to curing diseases and groups like the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in the US, with similar MS associations in Canada and Australia, arrange cycling for-charity events on a frequent basis. Other common diseases and medical conditions, such as heart disease, Parkinson’s, and cancer, also have national and international organizations that regularly arrange cycling for-charity events. Social movement nonprofits also are involved in cycling for charity, based around such issues as poverty and regional disasters, like earthquakes and hurricanes, which inspire cycling fundraisers around the globe.

Local community groups are another avenue towards forming a cycling group and sponsoring charity rides and charity races. Bicycle clubs and retailers (零售商) are often connected to community outreach groups that arrange such events, and are a good source of information on how to get involved in one. Some of these groups go beyond traditional street cycling and sponsor cross country trail courses. Indoor cycling-for- charity events have also become popular in areas where the weather and season or urban environment may not lend itself to outdoor cycling activities.

Arranging your own cycling-for-charity event is also a possibility. Finding ways to publicize the event and gain sponsors can be done through various local or regional cycling clubs, through employers, local churches, and other groups interested in promoting charitable activities.

5 . Working out is such an important part of your overall health.     1     While starting an exercise routine might seem demanding, don’t worry.

Choose your inspiration and set a clear, achievable goal. Having a goal can really help you feel motivated. Take a few minutes to think about why you’re working out and what you want to achieve.     2     Write down your goal and post it somewhere you’ll see it regularly, like your bathroom mirror or on your fridge.

    3     Decide how many days a week you’ll be able to work out. Ideally, you should get at least 30 minutes of exercise per day, 5 days a week. However, if you’re trying to achieve a certain goal, you might want to consider working out for about an hour several days a week.

Push yourself to work hard. The trick is to do it safely and in a controlled manner. If you ran 2 miles yesterday and felt worn out later, don’t try to run 5 miles today. Instead, find a level of effort that leaves you feeling like you got in a good workout.     4    

Work as much of your body as you can. The more parts of your body receive exercise, the more you’ll notice exercises’ positive effects on your weight, mood, stress levels, sleeping patterns, and overall sense of well-being.     5     But some options are better than others. Lifting free weights, for example, works more muscle groups than using targeted weightlifting machines.

6 . Torsongan Bullik, a 28-year-old athlete, has gone from being an amateur (业余的) cyclist to a professional cross-country skier. In Wenquan county he spent his childhood, when his athletic _______ began to show. In 2009, as a freshman in junior high, he was good at long-distance running and by 2016, he had _______ third in the Xinjiang Wusu International Marathon. His passion for cycling _______ during the Tour of Sayram Lake, which raised his _______ in the sport.

In 2012, his father _______ him a mountain bike worth 5,000 yuan. Torsongan used it frequently and participated in his first competition two years later, despite not having a _______ race due to losing balance on a steep slope.

But he was determined and kept testing his _______, which eventually resulted in winning medals in cycling competitions across all levels in China. On October 18, 2018, he _______ a striking victory by being the first to finish a high-altitude bike race in the Xizang autonomous region.

_______, his endurance (耐力) caught the attention of the national cross-country skiing team, who were _______ new talents for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Joining the team was a(n) _______ moment for Torsongan, yet it came with its own_______. He had to go through strict training during the day and improve his upper-body strength in the gym at night to _______ the team.

Although he didn’t make the final list for the Winter Olympics, he _______ as a technician helping with the operations of the event. Now, Torsongan remains enthusiastic about future competitions. “I will _______ with my efforts. As long as I don’t give up, I still have a chance to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics,” he says.

7 . “I’m excited for our women to show their hard work and efforts,” said Lisa Bluder. “Women’s sports should own this stage, and we’re happy to be leading the way.” Bluder is head coach of the women’s basketball team at the University of Iowa.

The exhibition game took place on October 15 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. Iowa went on to defeat DePaul, 94 — 72. The event set a new NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) record for women’s basketball attendance — A total of 55,646 fans watched the game at the historic stadium.

Called “Crossover at Kinnick”, the game benefited the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. The hospital received a check in the amount of $250,000 from ticket sales.

During the game, fans took in “The Wave”, which is known among Iowa Hawkeyes as the best tradition in college sports: Coaches, players, and fans turn to the Children’s Hospital behind the stands to wave to patients and families watching the game.

Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark put on a wonderful performance. She had 34 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. She was also recognized as the Collegiate Women’s Athlete of the Year, an award she won last June.

“Events like the ‘Crossover at Kinnick’ are meaningful for several reasons,” Patrick Kenny said. “They create excitement to start a season and show the fans’ interest in women’s sports.” Kenny is communications manager at the Big Ten Network, which broadcasts college games.

In the 2022 — 2023 season, Louisiana State University defeated Iowa in the national finals. The championship game was the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever.

The growing popularity of women’s basketball makes a big difference, according to Bluder. “This is so important,” she said, “for boys, girls, women, and men, to see the positive impact women’s sports can have on our country as a whole.”

8 . Skiing has always been a big part of Mikaela's life. Her dad, an amateur (业余的) skier, raced all through college and _______ skiing later as a part-time job. Her _______ taught Mikaela and her brother to _______ at a very young age. At two and a half years old, Mikaela _______ her first ski run down her steep driveway on plastic skis.

Mikaela loved skiing. From ages 8 to 11, she worked hard, _______ hundreds of training runs on small hills to master the _______ skills of slalom skiing (障碍滑雪), which _______ two runs in a slalom race where the _______ is the one with the best combined time.

When Mikael a was 11, she began to _______ at the Burke Mountain Academy, a Vermont boarding school for skiers. She took classes, studied, and ________ all the difficulties that she met to improve her skiing.

According to the headmaster Kirk Dwyer, “What ________ Mikaela from others was the degree of her commitment (投入) to be the best. Her ________ to conditioning, getting proper sleep, eating correctly, doing the drills (训练), and watching video was ________ for an 11-to 13-year-old. Mikaela practiced more than anyone and ________ herself.”

At age 14, Mikaela began her international ________ when she raced in the world championships for 13- and 14-year-olds. And she won!

9 . A study from the University of Montreal has found that watching ice hockey (冰球) greatly increases your heart rate. For television-watchers, the increase was an average 75%, while for those watching live it rose by 110%. This is equal, say the researchers, to running for 15 minutes.

Heart rates were highest during overtime and if there were scoring chances.

However, there is other research showing that watching football can stress the heart so much that it causes strokes (中风) and heart attacks. A study of German fans compared heart rates and blood pressure as they watched their country play in the World Cup. Both heart rate and blood pressure were raised when they watched their own team, and stayed higher for hours afterwards.

The Canadian study was conducted by an observation made by 13-year-old Leia Khairy; daughter of Prof Paul Khairy, the lead researcher. She noticed that while her own heart was beating wildly as she played soccer, the parents on the sidelines were jumping up and down energetically. But Paul Khairy states, “Watching an ice hockey game can’t be replaced by physical activity. It raises heart rate but does not carry the same benefits on cardiovascular (心血管的) health as exercise.

The study of German foot ball fans found that a stressful match more than doubled the risk of a heart attack or a stroke. So it may be that you need to be fit before you watch a sporting event, rather than hope it is equal to brief exercise. Studies have only shown a significant effect on men; and there is no correlation between a fan’s emotional connection with a team and the occurrence of a heart attack. The authors of the Canadian paper suggest that anyone watching an exciting game should take seriously ally symptoms (症状) such as chest pain or shortness of breath. .

Actress Jia Ling topped the social media topics on the second consecutive day of the Chinese Lunar New Year as her surprising weight loss of 50 kilograms during the shooting of her movie Yolo brought about heated discussions over healthy lifestyle and     1     (allow) some viewers to draw much     2     (inspire) from her tough weight-loss journey.

Topics related to Jia’s surprising weight loss were dominating (主导) Weibo like “Jia Ling     3     (total) shocked me,” as netizens discussed whether it was time to develop a more     4     (balance) habit starting from the Spring Festival. “Her achievement is quite inspiring and it deserves (应得) a movie ticket,”said moviegoer Li     5     regularly visits the gym to lose weight.

Jia noted that the movie is not about boxing or losing weight,     6     rather is a heart-warming story about “learning to love yourself.”     7     (finish) the filming of the movie, Jia had to increase her weight by 20 kilograms before starting to lose weight in only six months.

However, not everyone agreed on Jia’s weight loss program. “Not everyone can manage to shoulder the burden (重担) of     8    (lose) 50 kilograms in just six months,” said Jiang, a fitness expert. “To lose weight     9     a healthy way, we need to set several reachable short-term     10     (goal). It would be better to work out a schedule and stick to it.”