1 . Reader’s Digest has launched its 2024 Beautiful Britain competition to celebrate the nature, landscapes and urban sides of Britain. The competition is running until the 12th of May and anyone can send in an original photo for consideration.

The aim of the competition is to view Britain from interesting, unique and unusual viewpoints and to focus on its diversity (多样性). Entrants (参赛者) are required to send in a high resolution photo via an entry form or directly by email to photocomps@readersdigest.co.uk for consideration.

Entrants for the competition will also need to include a full name, their location and a contact number, sending in a previously unpublished photo to be considered. Photos sent in will be judged by award winning photographer James Eckersley, who specializes in portraiture.

The winning entry will be featured on the back cover of Reader’s Digest’s July 2024 issue, with the winner also receiving a £400 Amazon voucher and a Royal photographic society membership for a year. The second-place entrant will win a £250 camera world voucher and the third-place will receive either an experience or a workshop course voucher from Jessops. For full details and ways to enter, click here.

About Reader’s Digest:

Launched in 1922, Reader’s Digest has built 100 years of trust with a loyal audience and has become one of the largest circulating magazines in the world. The first UK edition of Reader’s Digest hit the shelves in March 1938 and Reader’s Digest has produced an edition for eager readers every month since then.

2 . Tai chi, a traditional, slow-moving form of Chinese martial art, is known to increase flexibility and improve balance. Now, new research suggests it’s better than more energetic aerobic exercises (有氧运动) for lowering blood pressure in people with prehypertension (高血压前期). Prehypertension is considered a warning sign that heart disease may be ahead, and it raises the risk of having a heart attack.

The new findings, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, add to a large body of research pointing to health benefits from tai chi.

In the study, researchers in China randomly assigned 342 adults with prehypertension to one of two interventions. The average age of participants was 49. Roughly half the people participated in aerobic exercises, including jogging, climbing stairs, brisk walking and cycling. The other half was trained to practice tai chi. Both groups got hour-long sessions four times a week.

After 12 months, those in the tai chi group saw bigger drops in their blood pressure than those in the aerobic exercise group. What’s more, nearly 22% of the people who practiced tai chi saw their blood pressure fall to within normal range, compared with nearly 16% of people in the aerobic exercise group. And fewer patients in the tai chi group went on to develop hypertension than in the aerobic exercise group.

How does tai chi help lower blood pressure? The practice tends to cause more of a response from the parasympathetic nervous system (副交感神经系统), says Ruth Taylor-Piliae, a professor at the University of Arizona’s College of Nursing, who was not involved in the study. The parasympathetic nervous system is the network of nerves that relaxes your body after periods of stress or danger.

“I think the beauty of tai chi is that you don’t have to have a special gym membership or special clothing,” Taylor-Piliae says. “Once you learn tai chi, you can do it anytime, anyplace, anywhere. And it does kind of provide that calming, relaxing effect.”

3 . Research has showed physical activities are very important for students. So many schools are now encouraging students to take part in any form of healthy exercise.

Physical education is an important part of healthy living for people of all age groups, especially for the students. This is because school life is full of stress.

Besides that, in today’s world, many school children eat unhealthy foods. These may include soft drinks, pizzas and burgers. Eating these foods can make school children gain weight.

Physical education at school helps prevent school children from putting on weight. Physical exercise and activities will help them burn off more calories (卡路里). If these calories are not burned off, they will be stored as fat.

At the same time, such activities play an important role in the growth and development of the bones (骨骼). Exercise such as jumping is especially important for school children.

A physically active student will also have a healthy heart. Research shows that kids who perform aerobic (有氧的) exercise, two to three times a week for at least twenty minutes, have a healthier heart compared with those who don’t take part in physical exercise. Some kinds of the healthy aerobic exercise are playing basketball, playing soccer and so on.

5 . “The benefits brought to my life from running are not only physical. Running gets me out of home,” says Youyou, a visually impaired (视觉障碍) runner.

Yachi has been pacing (领跑) for Youyou for several years. They crashed into each other repeatedly when they first tried running with the 30cm-long rope between them. When they run, a 30cm-long blue rope connects Youyou’s left wrist (手腕) to Yachi’s right. They move like each other’s mirror image, using the rope as a form of communication. When Yachi’s and Youyou’s speeds are the same, the rope will naturally relax. The two don’t actually need to talk too much about running. Now, they run like each other’s clones.

Thanks to the rope, running is no longer a lonely task, explains Yachi. “This is a matter of achievements for both of us. Not only am I helping him improve, he is also pushing me to hold on and be strong,” he says.

When preparing for a competition, more pacers join them, forming a running formation. During training, Yao Ying runs in front, Yachi is on Youyou’s left, and Xiao Yu’er is at the back. Watching them run from behind, the unbreakable formation seems to surround (包围) Youyou; but in fact, all of them are surrounded by the unbreakable force of friendship.

Training is no longer the only purpose of their runs. It also allows them to hang out together as friends. When they go out to eat, Youyou doesn’t really like the restaurants that are overly attentive because he’s visually impaired, which makes him feel uncomfortable.

Yachi, Yao Ying and Xiao Yu’er all know Youyou well. No matter what they do, how much progress in running is made, and what exciting competitions are waiting, running has allowed them to connect and head into the unknown together, which in itself is a great achievement.

6 . Arm wrestling(扳手腕) is a type of athletic contest.     1     Each one places an elbow(肘) on a table, holds the hand of the other and tries to force it back to connect with the table.

    2     In their view, it doesn’t require many things used in other sports, including physical strength and other skills. In fact, it is not just physical strength; strategy plays a key role. Good observation is also necessary for success in arm wrestling. What’s more, competitive arm wrestling is an organized sport with very specific rules. Anyone who breaks rules may even lead to losing a match.

Like many other sports, there are different classes in arm wrestling. For championships, players are divided into classes by weight.     3    

Arm wrestling has a very long history. It started as just a Saturday night past time. A journalist named Bill Soberanes founded the sport around 1952. Since the American Armsport Association(AAA) sanctioned(认可) it, many organizations have worked hard to support and promote competitive arm wrestling.     4     Some are local, representing certain regions, while others try to promote the sport on an international level. Whether small local or international championships, arm wrestlers from all walks of life put their skills to the test, pushing their bodies to the limit.

Now, arm wrestling attracts a variety of people, of all ages and backgrounds.     5    Many people enjoy the sport purely for fun, while others approach it with spirit common in true competitors.

7 . A pacer is someone who runs in races or marathons to help set the pace for runners. There are different types of pacers. A race pacer usually carries a sign highlighting a specific competition time for a race. He helps runners reach their goals without relying on technology, such as a smart watch or GPS. Professional pacers are used in long-distance races. They run at different sections of the race to inspire runners. A record pacer helps a professional runner set a new record, who often leads the race for a predetermined distance at a predetermined pace.

A runner being paced runs directly following a pacer. Having a pacer can be helpful for a long-distance runner because researches show that it takes more energy to lead in a race all through the race than to follow another runner. The pacer takes on the responsibility of timing and establishing the pace so the runner only has to focus on his own running. Having a pacer as a guide in a long race can take some of the stress and pressure off by keeping an even pace. The pacer may also provide encouragement along the way to work towards the goal.

There are times, though, when running with a pacer can be more stressful than beneficial for a runner — especially for amateur runners. Not having taken professional training, you set a goal to run a particular pace, but then you realize this may not be the best speed for you. In some cases, the pacer is running too quickly for what you can stand. Other times, you could misjudge your abilities and run a slower pace than what your body can bear.

It is important to note that you don’t have to stay with a pacer just because you started with him. If you feel strong at the end and want to finish faster, you can run ahead. Or if he is too fast, you could slow down and maybe even join the slower pace group behind you.

9 . Due to the heavy academic pressure and safety issues, our children’s movements are limited by a lack of extra-curricular activities, which usually ensure that they meet the daily recommended level of physical activity.

For those children attending a high school, my own included, the morning and afternoon walk could be the only chance that they get to spend time outside. This is a golden opportunity to add sports into their day, without taking part in group sports or going to a closed indoor gym(健身房).

For walking to school, there are also many other benefits, such as improving school performance, reducing anxiety, improving spirits, better sleep, a sense of independence,opportunities to meet friends or think alone, paying attention to small details and being amazed by the surrounding environment.

However, parents still have fears. Parents fear cars, injury, extreme weather and even wild animals. These fears, many of which are almost impossible to happen, prevent parents from allowing their children to do something that’s actually beneficial to them. “Removing an opportunity to be active leads to an increase in childhood obesity(肥胖), which can have a greater negative impact on a child’s life than the risk of being injured due to being active,” saidDr. Mariana Brussoni, a professor who researches children’s outdoor and risky play.

When it comes to changing the culture around parents driving children to school, much work still needs to be done. Therefore, parents should try to let go slowly and give up the idea that driving their children to school is convenient. Brussoni said, “We hope to shift parents from focusing on protecting their children to trusting their independent abilities.Schools can also play a role in encouraging children to walk to school.”

10 . My fitness journey started when I couldn’t fit into my coats and weighed 176 pounds. This was my wake-up call. I was overweight, unhappy, and struggling to get back to health and happiness. I needed to be healthy again, so I decided to lose weight and regain control of my life.

I started working out and lost 40 pounds in two months. I was 33 with two kids. My journey started but I had much more to do. I ran marathons but grew bored of them, so I stepped up the challenge: and competed in triathlons (三项全能) for the next five years. I thought I discovered my passion. I’m a fierce competitor and enjoy racing even more. At 38, I was unable to compete and train at the level I desired. I was fearful of being lost and unhappy again.

As I was leaving the weights area one day, a girl asked if I competed in body building. I told her I didn’t and she said I should. This was the start of my new passion. I approached a bodybuilder at the gym and asked him about the sport and he convinced me to train for my first figure show.

I won every class I entered. I demanded a great deal from my body and aimed to improve before every competition, I maintained 10-11 percent body fat all year round. I have added 10 pounds: of muscle in the past four years.

Women over 40 needs to know that it’s possible to achieve our dreams. It’s about choices. Age isn’t a factor. If you want it, you have to work for it. If it were handed to you, it wouldn’t be sweet or unique.