1 . Torsongan Bullik is a 28-year-old cross-country skier. When he was a freshman in junior high school in 2009, he excelled at long-distance running. As an amateur in 2016, he finished third in the Xinjiang Wusu International Marathon. And then a passion for cycling revealed itself as his hometown hosted the Tour of Sayram Lake, a national road race for amateur cyclists.

“The high-spirited cyclists, their flashy costumes and helmets fascinated me,” he recalls. “I felt that cycling was really cool.”

In 2012, Torsongan’s father gave him a mountain bike that cost 5,000 yuan ($695), which was a lot of money for his family. He loved the bicycle so much that he used it at every opportunity. Two years later, he entered his first competition, although there was no fairy-tale ending as he lost his balance on a steep slope. But he was determined and kept testing his limits. This paid off as he has won medals at all levels of the sport in China.

On Oct 18, 2018, Torsongan was the first to cross the finish line during a high-altitude bike race in the Xizang autonomous region. But surprisingly, it was the national cross-country skiing team that he impressed with his endurance (耐力). They were in search of new talented athletes for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Accepting the invitation from the team marked a turning point for Torsongan’s career, but challenges remained. “After training with the team during the day, I had to go to the gym to level up my upper-body strength in the evening,” Torsongan said in an earlier interview.

He didn’t make the final list, but worked as a technician assisting (帮助) in the operations of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Regardless of the outcome of the 14th National Winter Games, Torsongan enjoyed the challenge of competing, and has his eyes set on the next race.

“I will continue 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.

3 . A woman about 100 years old just proved that age means nothing by breaking three amateur(业余的) swimming world records.

On Saturday, Jan. 20, Betty Brussels _________ the Victoria Masters Swim Club Meet and beat the rivals in the 50m backstroke, 50m breaststroke, and 400m freestyle in the 100- to 104-year-old age _________.

Betty Brussel didn’t get into _________ swimming until she was in her 60s, and this was the first time she had been able to _________ such an achievement. She was able to break the records despite _________ a pacemaker(心脏起搏器) she received after suffering a heart attack in her 70s.

Betty finished her 50m backstroke in 1:24.91, which was almost five _________ faster than the previous record. She surpassed(超过) the _________ standing 400m freestyle record of 16:36.80 by _________ hers in 12:50.03. Betty set the first record for the 50m breaststroke with a time of 1:56.22.

“I was surprised by my own _________ yesterday,” said Betty. “I gave it my all; I never give up. It was wonderful. I was totally __________ by everybody’s support. I like to win, but __________ have never been the most important thing to me. If somebody else wins, I am __________ for them.”

Even though Betty Brussels only just __________ her own achievements, award-winning filmmakers Hannah Walsh and Emma Puchniak are already talking about a possible __________ that could be released in about a year.

“I live life every day and __________ it,” Betty told the publication. “I feel very fortunate to do what I do.”

4 . Scientists are now digging into precisely why exercise holds so many benefits for our mental health and memory. The answer, studies say, lies in our brain chemistry.

Each time you work up a sweat, your body releases feel-good happy hormones (荷尔蒙), including endorphins, dopamine and endocannabinoids, the latter being responsible for the so-called runner’s high. Now researchers are also pointing to myokines (肌肉因子) as an important contributor to the mental health benefits of exercise. When our muscles contract, myokines are released into the bloodstream, helping your muscles and organs communicate. They think this communication increases resilience to stress, reduces symptoms of mental suffering and anxiety and has a direct effect on depression.

A 2021 scientific report published in Neuropharmacology showed evidence that myokines boost brain function, like improving memory and mood. “Myokines reduce systemic inflammation (炎症), which is especially beneficial for people with drug-resistant depression whose low mood is linked to high inflammation,” explains Dr Jennifer Heisz, an expert in brain health and associate professor in the department of kinesiology at McMaster University in Canada.

A recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed that treatment for depression can be much more effective when physical activity is added to the usual care. Participants found benefits after 12 weeks of exercising for 30 to 60 minutes a day. “While exercise is not a replacement for professional mental health treatment, physical activity can complement and enhance the effects of the treatment,” says lead researcher Ben Singh, a research fellow at the University of South Australia.

“It is amazing to consider how moving our bodies can heal our minds,” says Heisz. Whether you’re cycling, walking around your neighbourhood or doing yoga, getting sweaty is good for your body and mind. To get the biggest overall health boost, the key is to zero in on sports and activities you enjoy, so you’ll keep going back to them.

5 . Tai chi, a traditional, slow-moving form of Chinese physical exercise, is known to increase flexibility and improve balance. New research has been conducted to determine whether tai chi has an influence on lowering blood pressure in people with prehypertension (高血压前期).

In the study, Chinese scientists put 342 adults with prehypertension into two groups. The average age of people taking part in the study was 49. About half the participants (参与者) took part in aerobic exercise, including jogging, climbing stairs and cycling. The other half was trained to practice tai chi. Both groups got hour-long exercises four times a week.

Nearly 22% of the people who practiced tai chi saw their blood pressure fall to be normal, compared with nearly 16% of people in the aerobic exercise group. And fewer patients in the tai chi group went on to develop high blood pressure than patients in the aerobic exercise group.

So what is it about tai chi that helps lower blood pressure? “The practice tends to get more of a response from the parasympathetic (副交感的) nervous system, which is the network of nerves that relaxes your body after periods of stress or danger,” says Ruth Taylor-Piliae, a professor at the University of Arizona’s College of Nursing.

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

Evidence suggests it can also help protect against cognitive fall and even improve memory. But you have to practice it continually to get the most benefit.

8 . Starting a daily running routine needs determination. Looking back on my old running routine, it wasn’t so much the passion that affected my sticking to a regular schedule — but it was the environment. There had to be no rain pouring down, there had to be not many people on the basketball court and the ambient (周围的) temperature had to be just right. Or maybe I was just making an excuse for myself not to get up at 5 in the morning?

I was quite successful at doing so when I was 15 and when it was summer. When I was overweight, I ate more snacks than the actual full meals in a day, and I hardly got off the sofa. One summer day, I decided that it was time to put a stop to the idea that I was just the fat kid. I didn’t want to put in that box anymore. There was a tipping point (临界点) where inspiration happened, and discipline (自律) just took over from there. I needed to make sure that I ran 10 laps of the park a day — this was the contract (契约) I made with myself that summer. And if I achieved that, I knew I’d be closer to my goal of being just a kid with normal weight.

Ten laps, six days a week — sometimes no breakfast, hardly a bite at dinner, one snack a day—this lasted two months. I’d lost over 30 pounds that summer, which was roughly a quarter of my body weight. Some days, I didn’t have the motivation. But the contract I made with myself kept reminding me — if I’d break it, would I even bother making future self-contracts anymore? There were sleepy days, and there were days when I should have rested my trembling knees, but discipline won over them all.