C6 Tuesday, June 11, 2013
FITNESS & WELL-BEING
DEPTH
CHARGED Aqua workouts and water therapies offer health benefits with a lower impact on joints and muscles than running, writes Rachel Jacqueline
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ix months ago, the unthinkable happened to Cecelia Tam. A passionate runner, she became bored of pounding the pavement and could no longer face the wear and tear on her joints. Desperate to stay motivated and keep fit, she relocated her workout to the pool. “I needed something to loosen me up,” says Tam, 38. She was apprehensive at first, thinking she would arrive in a class full of geriatrics. She was also worried her swimming skills were not up to scratch. But her fears were unfounded, and aqua workouts are now a regular part of her exercise regimen and a good way of indulging her love of the water. Using a variety of modified equipment, such as water dumbbells, webbed resistance gloves and pool noodles, Tam works up more sweat during aqua workouts than she ever did running. “After a pool workout I am more energetic and refreshed,” she says. It makes sense: in water, the body is buoyant and there’s much less impact on the joints during exercises. In addition, water is 12 times more resistant than air. The result is the perfect combination of low-impact cardio and strength training. “Running on pavements places an incredible amount of compressive forces and pressure on your body,” explains Ben Lai, osteopath at
City Osteopathy in Central. “Being in the water reduces those forces, making it especially beneficial for injury rehabilitation and arthritic conditions.” While water workouts are not new, pool-based fitness and therapy in different formats – from aqua resistance training, aqua jogging to aqua zumba – is enjoying a worldwide renaissance. “Aqua fitness is becoming increasingly popular [in Hong Kong],” says course coordinator Lychee Lai of ATP Swimming Centre, which offers personalised aqua fitness programmes Physiotherapist Lewis Lam works with injured rugby player Li Chi-on at the La Salle to individuals swimming pool in Kowloon Tong. Photo: Dickson Lee and private Water is this many times clubhouses. more resistant than air, took their toll, she needed a “More people cooling, Although the take up for increasing the value of particularly in his hydro exercises classes has way to release her stress and can enjoy it a workout been gradual, it’s catching on, tone her muscles. summer, when especially “Aqua zumba is my he says. The sport is addictive those with high intensity because it turns the dreaded joint or back exercises like running problems, or those who are can expose you to the risk of idea of a workout into a more dehydration or sunstroke.” positive experience, according overweight.” to aqua zumba enthusiast Sue Marco Ku, director at swim Lilian Chan, from the Wong. Aqua zumba is the school Sportsmax Hong Kong, Asian Academy for Sports & hydro variation of the Latin Fitness Professionals, says 70 added a variety of water-based aqua trainers have been exercise and therapy dance fitness programmes to his classes programme certified since the courses about 18 months ago. that’s become a were introduced in 2007, and worldwide craze. “Not every one in Hong that number is expected to Before jumping into grow. Kong can swim,” says Ku. “I the water six months “We find clubs want to noticed parents dropping maximise the use of the pool their children off for ago, Wong, 29, swimming training and didn’t have any and lots of life guards and type of fitness wanting to get involved, but swimming coaches want to regimen. But after long, were not confident in the expand their scope of sedentary hours working services,” says Chan. water or thought swimming CECILIA TAM, EX-RUNNER “Working out in water is was boring.” as a marriage planner
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After a pool workout I am more energetic and refreshed
timeout,” she says, before confidently taking to the water to shake her tail feather with Tam, who also recently added zumba to her aqua-based workout regime. Being in the pool, Wong doesn’t have to worry about having two left feet or the lack of a dancer’s agility, says aqua zumba instructor Christian Monge, 40. “In the pool you have resistance, so the speed is different. Your feet can’t move as fast,” says Monge. But the added resistance has big benefits. “You burn the same amount of calories but your muscles get more of a workout.” Dr Martin Juneau, director of prevention at the Montreal Heart Institute in Canada, says water training can have the same benefits as land training in terms of improving aerobic fitness. In a study he presented last year at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress, healthy participants were put through exercise tests on both the land and water cycling machines (with water up to chest level). Maximal oxygen consumption – which indicates how good a workout is – was almost the same using for both. Juneau also found that participants’ heart rate was a little lower in the water. This is because the heart pumps more
blood for each beat, as the pressure of the water on the legs and lower body makes the blood return more effectively to the heart. A lack of pool venues and availability of courses, however, means aqua workouts are still not commonplace in Hong Kong, says Lai. Last summer, her centre ran a promotion on group buying website Groupon to generate more awareness. Around 300 people took up the offer. Water workouts are also great for therapy and rehabilitation. After suffering a shoulder injury while playing rugby, former Hong Kong national rugby player Li Chinon took up aqua therapy twice a week to accelerate his recovery. “I’ve found my range of movement is much better after aqua therapy,” says Li, 23. “It involves similar exercises to what they would do in the physiotherapy clinic, but it’s more challenging [and with better results] because of the added resistance.” Physiotherapist Raymond Tsoi believes the pool is the best way to treat clients. “The water helps to relax overused muscles,” he says. “It also unloads the joints, especially the weight-bearing joints in the body, such as the hip, knee and spine.” Above all, being in the water is enjoyable. “I get to go in the pool for my sessions,” says Li. “That’s more fun than being in a physio’s office.” life@scmp.com
LAB REPORT Better brain at a stretch A 20-minute session of Hatha yoga improves certain brain functions compared to walking or jogging. In a new study in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 30 female undergraduate students showed more improvement in reaction times and accuracy on cognitive tasks after yoga than after the aerobic exercise, which had no significant effect on these brain functions. “Enhanced self-awareness that comes with meditational exercises is one of the possible mechanisms,” says lead researcher Neha Gothe. “Meditation and breathing exercises are known to reduce anxiety and stress, which in turn can improve scores on some cognitive tests.” Clear the air for fewer absences Improving classroom ventilation can reduce student illness absence by about 3.4 per cent, say scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the US. They analysed data on ventilation rates collected from more than 150 classrooms in California over two years, and found that more than half did not meet the state’s standard ventilation rate. However, the researchers don’t know how or why poor ventilation results in more illness absences, or if there is even a causal connection. Small changes could make a big difference at a stroke Small lifestyle changes are linked with large reductions in stroke risk, finds a study in the American Heart Association journal Stroke. Researchers assessed stroke risk of nearly 23,000 Americans age 45 and older using seven criteria: being active, controlling blood sugar and cholesterol, eating a healthy diet, managing blood pressure, keeping a healthy weight and not smoking. On a scale of zero to 14, every one-point increase in score was associated with an 8 per cent lower stroke risk. People with the highest scores (10 to 14 points) had a 48 per cent lower stroke risk than those with zero to four points.
Something to sprout about ................................................ Jeanette Wang jeanette.wang@scmp.com Healthy eating was second nature for Sydneysider Kimberly Ashton, but when she moved to Shanghai a decade ago, she was starved of options. “Organic stores, health food cafes… there are plenty of healthy options and places to get good food in Sydney,” she says. “But in Shanghai, it’s still a new concept to eat healthily and want to be healthier.” Ten years on, there’s a small but growing community of health-conscious consumers and businesses in China’s most populated city – Ashton has been one of the main driving forces in this. Ashton, who studied Putonghua in Hangzhou, is the co-founder – and “chief sprouting officer” – of Sprout Lifestyle, an educational retail space in Shanghai’s Xuhui district. Launched late last year, Sprout organises and hosts regular events and workshops, such as cooking classes, seminars, organic farm tours, retreats, documentary screenings and nutrition workshops. Ashton also offers health coaching and private nutrition consultations. A former events marketing professional, she trained at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York and is studying naturopathic medicine. Sprout is a natural progression from another business she and Sprout partner Georgia Zhou started about 2½ years ago – and is still going strong – called The Wellness Works. It’s a consulting company for individual and corporate wellness programmes
Get ready to roll Sprout Lifestyle’s brown rice sushi rolls (left) These delicious rolls are simple to make and are great served as a side dish or appetiser.
Sprout Lifestyle’s store in Shanghai. Photo: Chiara Squinzi that organises health-related events such as organic farm tours, healthy cooking workshops, seminars about naturopathy and structural wellness retreats. Also offered is coaching on incorporating healthy activities into one’s daily life to be more efficient at work, and how to live greener. “Sprout Lifestyle is more consumer-facing,” says Ashton. “Through our events at The Wellness Works, people kept asking me where to buy healthy food, which is not so easy to find in Shanghai. So we thought we’d do that, and it’s been going really well. We’re about to launch the online store in June. “But we’ve kept the events going because we’re all about growing healthy habits. I believe that if I just sell healthy products and don’t show people how to use them or cook with them, it’s no use. So we do anything between 12 to 20 events a month. We have a little kitchen in the store where we hold cooking workshops.” April and May are Sprout’s busiest time, Ashton says,
because people want to get outside, lose weight and eat healthily. The organic farm tours, for up to 30 people each time, are often oversubscribed. The most popular event by far is the raw chocolate workshop, which takes up to 20 people per class and often has a waiting list. “Most people are just there for the chocolate – they don’t care whether it’s raw or not,” says Ashton. “But that’s a good way to get into something healthy.” In about six months, Sprout has built up a database of close to 2,000 customers. In early
If I just sell healthy products and don’t show people how to use or cook with them, it’s no use KIMBERLEY ASHTON, SPROUTS
June, Sprout will open a cafe at Shanghai’s new Eco Village, a converted textile warehouse in south Xuhui district. There’s clearly a demand in Shanghai. But the bulk of Sprout’s customers are expats or English-speaking Chinese white collar professionals who’ve either worked overseas or are well travelled. According to Ashton, the local Chinese tend to be less curious and open about healthy trends – though this is changing due to the recent food scares and food safety issues, and a rising consciousness about health and disease. With help from Ashton’s efforts, widespread change could come sooner rather than later. Ultimately, her goal is to build a community of health consumers and practitioners, such as fitness trainers, TCM doctors, health coaches, nutritionists, and health food industry people. Says Ashton: “I want to bring this network of people together, because without a good base, it’s very hard to spread the message and get consumers onboard.”
Ingredients 200g brown rice, cooked and cooled 1 tsp umeboshi (Japanese plum) vinegar, optional 2 sheets nori (dried seaweed) Red peppers, avocado, cucumber, sliced lengthwise 1 handful fresh pea shoots or alfalfa sprouts (or your favourite sprouts) Toasted black or white sesame seeds Organic soy sauce or tamari (for dipping) Method • In a large bowl, mix brown rice and vinegar thoroughly. Toss in 1/2 teaspoon of sesame seeds. • Place one sheet of nori on a sushi mat or chopping board. Spoon three tablespoons of rice horizontally across one end, leaving about 2.5cm clear from the edge. • Place sliced peppers, avocado and cucumbers on top of the rice. Top with fresh sprouts. • Roll the sushi, squeezing the mat inwards and making a tight roll. • Using a damp knife, slice into eight pieces and place on a serving plate. Garnish with a sprinkling of sesame seeds. • Serve with soy sauce or tamari.