Keeping fit in China

Well, this is what I do... for what ever it is worth...

[1] First of all, I do a minimal daily exercise. This is twenty push ups and twenty sit ups every day. I have a sit up bench that we bought on taobao for under 80 RMB. It does a great job.  I also ride the bike to and from work for a half an hour each way daily. This all is not strenuous at all, but it is important to have some basic exercise to move the body and get it circulating.

Then...

[2] I use traditional Chinese herbs and diet to maintain my body chi.  I have developed a very Chinese method of maintaining my health. I went to a traditional Chinese herbal doctor and told him that I am getting older, and that I am finding that I have a belly paunch, and that my arms are sore and my joints aches when I move them. So he asked me some questions, felt my pulse, looked at my tongue, and told me that my body was "cold".

It's not that it's physically cold. Rather the organs are getting harder, and less resilient to change. He said that my "chi" or "body energy flow" was being impeded by the "harder" and "colder" elements of the body and this made it more difficult for the energy to flow through my body.

I know that it sounds so strange, but I and my wife have been using traditional Chinese remedies alongside our Western medicines, and find a wonderful synergy between the two. We are both big believers.

He prescribed this green medicated goo that looks like a green milkshake and tastes like...well, it is really bitter. Further, I have to  stop eating cold things, no ice cream. No beer. Hot or cold. And focus on fish and vegetables. I drink this goo twice a day.

After one week of the medicine, I lost 3 Kg, and my belly disappeared! (noticeably)   I found that it is now easier to do my pushups and sit ups and my body no longer creeks and moans when I do my exercise. I do think that I need to do more, and start breathing exercises, but I want to approach all this holistically.

I am not saying that this is a perfect solution for everyone, but for me, it seems to improve my life. Yes, I think that eventually I will need to join a gym and start using the stair-climber and treadmill, but I've only just started.

I have priced gyms, and all want you to lock in a yearly membership plan. It's been my experience, that no matter how gung-ho you are, eventually your interest in going to the gym will wane. I used to lift weights, and so I am well versed in this. What I can say is that in China, the gyms tend to be un-air conditioned. The belief is that you exercise to sweat out the impurities. Pricing varies dramatically from gym to gym. You need to shop around.

I live in Dongguan city of GuangDong province, where house rent is about 2500 RMB for 60 square meters apartment.
2600RMB/year is the annual charge from gym(top class). 1200RMB/year is of local class.
Since most of Chinese dishes are oily, I eat 2 meals during working day to avoid taking too much oil.

I practice Taiji every day.  Once a week with a group when class is out, up to four times a week during class time.  Help keep me fit and has in proved my stamina and my posture as well.

Hello everyone,

As an expat, keeping your healthy habits in China is not very easy indeed.
The daily food here is not organic, the air is quite polluted and we all (local people and expats) tend to work a lot, which may increase your stress level. Also, it is quite hard to start and keep sport habits, mostly when we know few people and travel a lot.

However, some very simple habits can perfectly fit in your Chinese way of life.

1) BE LOCAL. As mentioned above some local and traditional sports and medicine can help you and may be much more efficient than what you used to know back home!

2) EAT LOCAL. Local cuisine is actually quite healthy if you pick up the right dishes and don't eat too much. Rice brings you carbs, meat brings you proteins and most Chinese dishes include lots of vegetables. Imported/foreign food is actually not healthier than local one if you eat too much of it (cheese, soda, pastry, alcohol, bread, etc.)

3) DO SPORT. Since China's cities are huge and still quite cheap, we tend to take the taxi or the subway for our daily transportations. However, you'll be surprised to see how easy it is to reach the recommended 10,000 steps a day. Also, let's use the shared bikes. Both are amazing ways to discover new restaurants, shops and beautiful streets.

4) MAKE FRIENDS. Since health is not only a body thing, it is very important for your mental health to have a social life. It is quite easy to make connections with other expats and even with Chinese people as soon as you go beyond the language barrier.

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We hope that you found some good tips here and wish you a beautiful life in China!

Dennis