Xinhua News Agency, Lanzhou, March 8th: from “thin is beautiful” to running and lifting iron — seeing China’s new aesthetic in the female fitness boom
Xinhua news agency reporters Zhang Rui and Wen Jing
under the spotlight, zhao Xiaoyu was wearing a bikini with bright oil paint on his body. Together with other contestants, Zhao Xiaoyu showed the judges and audience his well-built figure with clear lines and tight muscles. The confident and generous smiles of female players, coupled with the form of full of strength, won a sound of praise from the audience.
This is the scene where 26-year-old Zhao Xiaoyu participated in the women’s bodybuilding competition for the first time in 2017. She graduated from fine arts and was a senior bodybuilding enthusiast. She was still very excited when she recalled the picture of her first participation in bikini bodybuilding competition, “That was my first competition and I won the third place. In the past, people may feel that ‘muscle women’ is not good-looking or even a little weird. However, with the development of fitness exercise, people now prefer a healthy posture, because it symbolizes self-discipline and persistence “.
In the National Fitness Program (2016-2020) issued by the State Council in 2016, it is proposed that by 2020, the number of people who take part in physical exercises once a week or more will reach 0.7 billion, the number of people who often take part in physical exercise reached 0.435 billion, and the total scale of sports consumption reached 1.5 trillion yuan.
Under the call of “national fitness”, fitness is no longer a fashionable thing, but a good living habit that is conducive to physical and mental health and can effectively relieve pressure.
Health is greater than bone feeling “muscle” is no longer male “privilege”
“fitness makes me meet a better self.” Zhao Xiaoyu said frankly. She used to like eating snacks, bars and staying up late. After falling into the “fitness pit”, in order to keep fit, she now eats fast food only a few times a year. “Every time I eat hamburgers, it is like the new year. When I feel depressed because I can’t eat and drink happily, I will look in the mirror. Seeing the tight skin and healthy posture in the mirror because of fitness, I think this happiness cannot be replaced by delicious food.” Zhao Xiaoyu said with a smile.
When talking about the changes of women’s fitness in recent years, Zhao Xiaoyu was deeply touched: “In the past, many girls were alert to muscles and were afraid that they would develop large muscle blocks, which were not good-looking. In recent years, the popularity of fitness knowledge has made everyone realize that squat will not make the legs thicker, and lifting iron will not make the arms stronger. Women can use fitness equipment correctly, which can make their body lines more beautiful and more sporty.” She just started to exercise two years ago and found that she was the only girl in the equipment area of the whole gym. Now, more women come to the equipment area to practice their hips and firm abs.
“I think the moment a girl raises a dumbbell in the gym is the beginning of the aesthetic change of the public.” Zhao Xiaoyu said.
Wang Nan, a 27-year-old fitness enthusiast, told reporters that the reason why he chose fitness was the “nightmare” physical fitness test during college. “When I was in college, because I was thin and weak body, my lung capacity and long-distance running were not up to standard in the physical test every year.” Now, she has found that her heart and lung function and physical strength have improved significantly after two years of fitness. “Now you can run six kilometers in one breath.” Wang Nan smiled and talked about his changes.
Wang Nan also likes to watch the model contest at ordinary times. She obviously feels that the change of model figure in recent years is a powerful explanation of the aesthetic change of the public. Wang Nan said: “The previous models pursued bone sensation. The models on the catwalk were thinner than one, and some even reached the point of wrapping bones. Nowadays, many models will show their fitness photos on social platforms. The models standing on the runway also show the beauty of female muscles after fitness to the public.”
“Now, health is much more important than bone feeling.” Wang Nan said.
A strong heart needs a strong body more
with the change of social concept, many “exclusive” Men’s Fitness programs have now seen more and more women.
23-year-old Liu Kehong is a fight coach in the big tree fitness studio in Lanzhou city. She has witnessed the change of this fitness program for four years.
“When I was at work, few girls came to learn fighting, and the female fighting coach in Lanzhou could count it with one hand. Now almost every gym has fight classes, and there are more and more female students.” Liu Kehong said.
As a female fight coach, Liu Kehong also encountered many misunderstandings at the beginning of his career. Many people think that fighting is a boy’s sport, so girls should dance and practice yoga. However, when the gym students saw Liu Kehong’s handsome and vigorous posture, both men and women were quickly “impressed” by her. “I proved with my strength that fighting is not an exclusive sport for men, and girls can also be very handsome when fighting.” Liu Kehong said.
Liu Kehong said that she hoped that more women would participate in fight training in the future. Although fighting training is very hard, it can exercise perseverance and physique. Girls can not only lose weight and shape, but also protect themselves when encountering unexpected situations. “Girls should have both a strong heart and a strong body.” Liu Kehong said.
Women are gradually becoming the “new force” in China’s fitness market
The reporter found through visiting many gyms that many gyms now have fitness equipment suitable for women, there are also fitness programs and courses specially designed for women, and personalized fitness services for women emerge one after another. The root of all these changes lies in the increasingly large female fitness consumer market, and female groups are becoming the new focus of China’s fitness industry.
The 2018 China Fitness industry data report released by refined training and three-body Yundong on GymSquare shows that from the perspective of the membership ratio of fitness clubs and studios, women have become the main force of fitness groups, more women explore new ways to pursue beauty from fitness. Nowadays, more and more women are willing to enter the gym and change the public’s aesthetic view imperceptibly with self-discipline, confidence and persistence.
In the interview, Zhao Xiaoyu and Liu Kehong all said that scientific understanding and professional fitness approach will make women meet healthier, more beautiful and stronger themselves.
The “women” who wear sports vests on the treadmill and exercise hard in the equipment area are gradually becoming the best spokesman for the self-confidence and beauty cognition of women in today’s Chinese society.