Apparently in Asia, they don't work out. My roommate, who is a pale white girl, has been to Asia, and has a lot of random friends from China and the Koreas, informed me of this fun fact once I got home from my gym date. They do Tai Chi (spelling?) and some other form of something to stay in the tiny form they have. This would have been good information to know before I left to meet with Yenyoung.
We met up outside the gym, and she was in something that would be the equivalent to an iconic Juicy jumpsuit. So I politely asked her if she still wanted to go to the gym, or just go grab some food. She responded that she was ready to work out, so we proceeded inside.
The few times she has been there it was only to do the running machines, so she wanted to learn how to do the weight machines. This is a simple enough task - just teach a few machines on arms, legs, and do some core exercises after. Everyone can handle the machines to some extent, right? Wrong. The first two leg machine we did, she could handle. And it was great - good bonding exercises. But then we did some arm lifting, and there was one machine she physically couldn't life five pounds on. I was completely shocked. I tried to motivate her and help as much as I could, but when it got down to it - I was shocked. I just never realized that there are people who have never intentionally done exercises to strengthen their muscles before. After that we did some core work out, and after a total of 50 crunches (a variety of sorts to give her credit) she was done.
The comment that caught me most off guard was, "I'm starting to sweat - no more." Sweat was a sign of being finished, where as here, sweat means your finally starting to get a work out. It was so interesting, and honestly, not what I was expecting.
After lifting weights we got smoothies and chatted about history. U.S. history in the 1940s and 1950s, and then I got to hear her point of view on Korea's history - particularly with the war between the North and the South and the affects that continue to remain in the two nations. It was extremely interesting to hear about. All in all, not the best work out I have ever partaken in, but a great day at the gym.
Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteThis was one of the more interesting posts I have read. I too was “shocked” when I read the part about Yenyoung not being able to lift the small amount of weight. I was unaware that in Asia, working out is not a popular form of exercise. Here in the US, we are constantly surrounded by advertisements for gym memberships, muscle building programs, and nutrition supplements. Because of all the advertisements and the emphasis placed on maintaining a healthy and fit lifestyle, I believe that it is hard to imagine a society that doesn’t “hit the gym” on a regular basis. I also found the part of your post about sweating extremely interesting. I can’t believe that sweat is considered to be a sign for being finished with the work out. As you stated, it is typical for an individual to believe that they are having a good workout only when they are sweating. I enjoyed reading this post and found it quite informative. Sometimes we get so trapped in our own bubbles that we don’t think about the norms of other peoples around the world.
David Belpedio