1 . You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression — this was the theme of this year’s International Public Speaking Competition (IPSC), held in London from May 11 to 12. Thirty-three young speakers aged 16 to 20 from around the world gathered at The English Speaking Union to tell their stories, including Wu Dongxu, 19, a student from China. To him, the event wasn’t just about giving a speech on first impressions. It also made a strong impression on him.

“Rather than a competition, the experience was more like an inspiring research trip to me, a trip that allowed me to see firsthand the differences and similarities between Chinese and foreign cultures,” said Wu.

Apart from the obvious differences in food, transportation and climate, what impressed Wu most was the different styles of Chinese and foreign public speaking.

Although still a teen, Wu is no stranger to the public speaking podium (讲台). He has participated in many speaking competitions since 2017. But on the stage of the IPSC, speakers had no podium to stand behind. They just had to face the audience.

“This was the first time that I gave a speech without a podium, which made me realize how important eye contact and body language are,” said Wu. “It also gave me more freedom to convey more information with my body language instead of just with words.”

Another difference that caught Wu’s attention was the evaluation criteria (评价标准). According to him, in every speaking competition he had participated in in China, things like pronunciation, fluency and quality of language are always important. But to his surprise, in the IPSC accents and grammatical mistakes are not considered in the evaluation process. It is the story itself that matters most.

“Audiences are eager to hear powerful stories, no matter where they are from. That’s because the emotions expressed in them are shared by all human beings although there are the cultural differences.” said Wu. “Diversity, respect, tolerance and understanding — these are what the IPSC really wants to stress and spread.”

2 . A small study out of Skidmore College examined the advantages of morning vs, evening exercise for both women and men. Paul, professor for health at Skidmore, led the study.

“We had the groups divided into evening and morning groups,” he says. “We found women and men answered differently to different types of exercise depending on the time of the day, which surprised us.”

The study showed that for women who want to lower blood pressure (血压), the risk of heart disease or reduce fat, morning exercise works best. Those women hoping for upper body muscle (肌肉) gains or mood (心情) improvement should consider evening exercise. For the men, the findings were somewhat different: Evening exercise lowers blood pressure, the risk of heart disease, and feelings of tiredness. But similar to women, they burn more fat with morning exercise.

“For many people, the best time to exercise will depend on their chronotype,” says Heisz, author of Move the Body, Heal the Mind.

“Chronotype is your body’s natural habit to sleep at a certain time—it’s what decides whether you’re a night owl or an early bird. For the 25% of the population that considers themselves a night owl, getting both enough sleep and enough exercise can be difficult,” adds Heisz.

He continues, “Sleep—which provides your body the necessary time to recover (恢复) and make gains from exercise—should always be the first choice. When it comes to exercise, regardless of research on the advantages of certain exercises at particular times of the day, your results will not be good if it doesn’t allow enough time for sleep.”

3 . Wonderful views from the mountains, breath-taking places waiting to explore, fresh air, as well as all the special health benefits, are the main rewards of mountain hiking.     1    

You need to train your lower body muscles, anytime and anywhere. Strong legs and core muscles will improve your balance and help you hike longer. Focus on your lower body strength and on your cardiovascular (心血管的) workout.     2     You really can train anywhere: use your backyard, living room, or bedroom to keep your body ready for the true conditions in the mountains.

You will need a stronger back. Who’s going to carry your backpack?     3     So we are quite sure what the true answer is. Develop back-muscles with exercises like V-ups, deadlifts, diver push-ups, and exercise named “mountain climbers”: Start in a traditional plank (平板支撑) position and then bring your knee forward under your chest. You will start to feel your abs (腹肌) for sure, too.

    4     Even Rome wasn’t built in a day so give yourself the pleasure to enjoy discovering what your body is capable of! All the perfect benefits will improve your blood pressure and blood sugar levels, helping you strengthen your core, and even help you control your weight as an additional benefit.     5     Just don’t forget to stretch after each training.

Please remember that your training for mountain hiking should be combined with real hiking. And don’t miss the other clues on what to do for mountaineering training!