Senior enjoys whipping up some great exercise
Print Edition
PRACTICING taichi and dancing in open air spaces are relatively comfortable ways of exercising for many senior people in Jiading, but one elderly man has gone for a more intense approach — swinging 2-kilogram steel chains.
Each day, close to noon, people can hear the sound of chains swishing through the air outside the Lianmin Garden Neighborhood.
“It’s only Old Xu”, said Xu Meidi, a resident at the neighborhood.
“Old Xu” — Xu Hongshan — has exercised with chains for five years, swinging them through the air and “whipping” targets.
The steel chains Xu was using on the day that Jiading News reporter paid him a visit are more than 3 meters long.
Xu told the reporter that he has eight steel chains, with the longest ones exceeding 4 meters.
His collection of chains are made from old items: tire inner tube is fashioned into the chain tips, while springs are used for the steel chain links, which are welded with steel tubes.
One steel chain takes him an afternoon to make, said Xu, who is aged 70.
Xu said there are many steel chain exercises from his hometown of Yangzhou, in neighboring Jiangsu Province.
In 2009, he had a chance to train with the chains, and fell in love with the whooshing sound they make while he exercises.
Swinging steel chains may sound easy, but Xu says it’s not. When he borrowed a chain from a friend and tried to swing it, Xu accidentally struck his own head with a chain tip, leaving him bleeding from his forehead. But he says that’s all part of the learning curve. “If you want to play, you have to pay for the ‘tuition’,” he said.
Xu did not stop practicing and says he now manages to avoid accidents.
He also claims that his previously high blood pressure has been reduced by the unusual workouts.
Finding swinging steel chains a little dull after a while, the senior bought a 1.8 kilogram wooden spinning top as a target. However, in less than six months, the top was broken.
After he learned from friends that there are steel spinning tops sold online, Xu bought one weighing 2.8kg.
Now the senior has become stronger than before and has developed a new technique: holding a chain in each hand and whipping the spinning top 300 to 400 times without a break.
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