In my old school days, running     1    (consider) boring and painful for me. When I started to work, I realised exercise should be part of my lifestyle. Later, running became my career. Over the years, I     2    (coach) many running teams. Needless to say, running has its benefits. It is believed     3    running can decrease the risk of death. So are you currently not doing it? I encourage you to start now.

4 . Jump to It

Jumping rope is an activity that contributes to a healthy lifestyle and helps meet your fitness and wellness goals. Here’s how jumping rope benefits you.

It burns calories. How many calories does jumping rope burn? While this depends on your pace on average, you may burn about 100 calories jumping rope for 10 minutes.     1    

It’s easy to do. You can jump rope almost anywhere, making it a great option for on-the-go or when you’re traveling. Some people keep the habit of working out in the open air.     2     Being able to pick up a rope is a great option.

It builds bone density (骨密度). Your bone density decreases as you age. Luckily, jumping rope helps keep your bones strong.     3     The impact or stress from landing after a jump helps strengthen your bones.

It improves your heart and lungs. Jumping rope strengthens your heart and lungs by raising your heart rate quickly. Those who do rope-jumping exercise have better vital capacity.     4     Strong vital capacity contributes to better cardiorespiratory (心和肺的) fitness, which means you can exercise longer with less effort.

It makes you feel good. Did we mention it’s fun? After exercise, your body will release a special chemical, which can help with depression. Therefore, if you get anxious sometimes, being active can also help calm ourselves down.     5    

6 . After a challenging workout, the last thing you probably want to do is spend five to ten minutes stretching.     1     Why is stretching so important and how often do you need to do it? Here we are going to share what we have learnt from some experts.

When you think about exercise, most people participate in some type of aerobic (有氧的) activity that improves their cardiovascular (心血管的) endurance.     2     Those are two very important elements of a fitness program, but there’s also a third element. That is your flexibility and mobility, which is most often the one that’s ignored.

Stretching helps keep us mobile. We are born super mobile as babies and young children, but lose this as we grow into adults.     3     It means we are able to move less; we are functionally less able to do everyday stuff like picking up a pen from the floor, or climbing stairs efficiently.

    4     It’s also going to help reduce the risk of injury. Some people are naturally more flexible than others, but no matter whether you can touch your toes or not, you should be working on your flexibility and mobility because the more moveless you are, the more your muscles are shortening, which in turn is causing you to be tighter.

When you get up, you maybe go for a quick walk to fill up your water bottle or get a cup of coffee, then come back and do a seated leg stretch or a standing version.     5    

9 . An estimated 1 to 2 million people work out in virtual reality monthly. If you’re like me and find it hard to spend meaningful time in the gym, VR fitness might be for you. Here are my picks from the apps I’ve tested:

①Les Mills BodyCombat: Les Mills BodyCombat is great for beginners with a lot to offer—the works center around punching, squatting, and knee-striking targets. While the update added workouts and a new mixed reality mode showing you the room around you, I still look to other apps and games for variety. It also doesn’t have a “cool down” after the workouts—so I’ll typically switch to another app after my workout to relax. $30/ one time purchase

②FitXR: FitXR is a subscription-based app with a diverse line of workouts. A recent update added Zumba and a mixed reality mode called Slam to a list that includes boxing, combat, high-intensity interval training, sculpt and dance. I enjoy FitXR quite a bit, but it’s not my top recommendation due to the cost, the poor pictures, and some missing mixed-reality options. $9.99/month

③Supernatural: Supernatural is one of the most popular VR fitness apps. Unsurprisingly, it’s a polished experience with beautiful locations from around the world, popular music you’ll recognize, and energetic trainers with two main workout types—Boxing and Flow.$3.00/one time purchase

④Xponential + : Xponential +, the newest offering for Quest platforms, has partnered with other workout studios to bring their workouts to reality. I love how the app brings the work out into your living room by displaying a small version of the trainer on your floor or ceiling when it detects that you’re in a plank, pushup, or lying on your back. $9.99/month-also includes access to workouts via app or web.

10 . 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.”