No Excuses

Kickstart your new year fitness routine with this language guide to working out

新年健身flag，你立了嗎？

Text by Yang Tingting （楊婷婷）

Illustration by Xi Dahe

Afresh start to the calendar is a symbolic moment to make changes in one’s life. New Year’s Resolutions （新年計劃xīnniánjìhuà）， usually to do with accomplishing a personal goal or breaking a bad habit， are becoming more and more popular with young Chinese today.

According to data research software developer Statistica， around 50 percent of Americans made New Year’s Resolutions to exercise more last year， and 48 percent planned to lose weight. In 2016， newspaper China Youth Daily published a similar survey， with 60 percent of Chinese respondents vowing to “keep fit and take care of themselves” after the Lunar New Year.

New year， new atmosphere. I will start exercising.

Xīnniánxīnqìxiàng， wǒ yào kāishǐ jiànshēn.

新年新氣象，我要開始健身。

I want to transform myself by spring.

Wǒyàozàichūntiānwánchéngyìchǎngtuìbiàn.

我要在春天完成一場蛻變。

It doesn’t help that most things people eat during the holidays tend to expand their figure：

Every holiday I gain 5 kilograms. How can I burn these calories？

Měiféngjiājiépàngshí jīn， rúhé ránshāo kǎlùlǐ？

每逢佳節(jié)胖十斤，如何燃燒卡路里？

But according to e-commerce platform Tmall， there are over 100 million people “pretending to work out” in China every day. That is to say， of the 400 million users on the website who have expressed an interest in fitness， less than 300 million actually exercise regularly， while the rest simply buy gym memberships and exercise equipment they never use—or better yet， simply watch and forward exercise videos， without following

the steps.

Fitness is about more than announcing your intention to exercise. Before embarking on your new year exercise routine， check out this language guide to not only refine your workout plan， but learn some essential fitness vocabulary：

Rather than just having a simple goal like “I’m going to work out，” most trainers recommend that you set a specific training objective to make you both physically and mentally ready to begin a new fitness program：

I want to lose fat.

Wǒyàojiǎnzhī.

我要減脂。

I want to sculpt my body.

Wǒyàosùxíng.

我要塑形。

I want to build muscles.

Wǒyàozēngjī.

我要增肌。

It can also help to create a timeline for your exercises， spreading out your goals throughout the year：

Every Wednesday， I will work on my abs.

WǒměiZhōusānyàoliànmǎjiǎxiàn.

我每周三要練馬甲線。

I will lose 5 kilograms by February.

Wǒ de mùbiāoshìèryuèqiánjiǎnzhòngshíjīn.

我的目標(biāo)是二月前減重十斤。

Want to start your fitness routine without committing to expensive gym memberships and equipment？ With social media， it is now easier than ever to exercise at home. On video-sharing platforms like Bilibili， exercise vloggers can become influencers in their own right， winning millions of views with their accessible content and fun delivery：

Everyone who has tried this exercise video swears by it. Millions of netizens agree that this works.

Shìguo de dōushuōjué， bǎiwànwǎngyǒuqīncèyǒuxiào.

試過的都說絕，百萬網(wǎng)友親測有效。

Vloggers who are knowledgeable in their subject， effective with their recommendations， or simply entertaining to watch， are referred to as “hidden treasure vloggers” or “寶藏博主 （bǎozàng bózhǔ），” even though they may have millions of followers and brand endorsements already：

Pamela Reif is the devil. You can always trust her intensive full-body weight-loss training.

MóguǐPàméilā， quánshēnjiǎnzhī， nǐkěyǐyǒngyuǎnxiāngxìnPàjiě.

魔鬼帕梅拉，全身減脂，你可以永遠(yuǎn)相信帕姐。

On the other hand， exercising alone without anyone to push you makes it easier to skip a move or take a day off due to “exhaustion.” Home-exercisers who make a habit of “點贊收藏一鍵退出 （diǎnzànshōucángyíjiàntuìchū， click ‘save’ a video， then quit）” might console themselves with：

Sharing the video is equal to doing the workout， which rounds up to weight loss.

Zhuǎnleděngyúzuòl(fā)e， sìshěwǔrùděngyúshòule.

轉(zhuǎn)了等于做了，四舍五入等于瘦了。

Those wishing to avoid this fate might try to rally fellow netizens in the comments section under the workout video：

For every like under my comment， I will stick to the workout for another day.

Zhègeliúyánxiàdiǎnzànyígèjiānchídǎkǎyìtiān.

這個留言下點贊一個堅持打卡一天。

However， you might find that no amount of “l(fā)ikes” and comments online is as motivating as in-person instructions and the presence of other exercisers pushing themselves. Thankfully， in most Chinese cities， gyms are easy to find—it’s usually just a matter of standing on the sidewalk until a salesperson approaches you， waving a brochure：

Wanna learn about swimming and workouts？

Yóuyǒngjiànshēn， liǎojièyíxià.

游泳健身，了解一下。

Once you’ve taken the brochure， agreed to add the persistent salesperson on WeChat， and toured the premises， the salesperson will swoop in to offer you a gym membership with attractive benefits and discounts：

Members can enjoy free beverages and snacks， and free 24/7 hot showers year-round.

Huìyuánkěyǐxiǎngshòumiǎnfèi de cháshuǐhédiǎnxin， háiyǒuquánnián èrshísìxiǎoshígōngyìng de miǎnfèirèshuǐzǎo.

會員可以享受免費的茶水和點心，還有全年24小時供應(yīng)的免費熱水澡。

If you buy a two-year membership now， we will give you four additional months for free， plus a free trial session with a personal trainer.

Xiànzàibànlǐliǎngniánkǎ， kěyǐmiǎnfèizèngsòngsìgeyuèhésījiàotǐyànxiàngmù.

現(xiàn)在辦理兩年卡，可以免費贈送四個月和私教體驗項目。

Personal training is where gyms earn most of their revenue， so the salesperson will push hard to sign you up：

Our trainers are all top-notch personalfitness coaches accredited by international associations.

Wǒmensījiàodōushìyǒuguójìrènzhèng de jīnpái sīrén jiàoliàn.

我們私教都是有國際認(rèn)證的金牌私人教練。

But figuring out the membership system is only half the battle. After hitting the gym for just a few days， you may get stuck in a trap of self-satisfaction and mock yourself as part of the 健身氣氛組 （jiànshēnqìfēnzǔ， workout atmosphere group）：

I’ve spent five minutes working out， and two hours taking selfies.

Jiànshēnwǔfēnzhōng， pāizhào liǎng xiǎoshí.

健身五分鐘，拍照兩小時。

My gym card has turned into a shower card， and I’ve blocked my personal trainer’s texts.

Jiànshēnkǎbiànxǐzǎokǎ， háibǎsījiàokāimiǎndǎrǎo.

健身卡變洗澡卡，還把私教開免打擾。

You might find that the real benefit to a personal trainer is not your coach’s accreditations， but simply having someone to nag you to hit the gym：

Can you make some time to come over and exercise in the next few days？

Zhèliǎngtiānkěyǐ ānpáishíjiān guòl(fā)ái ma？

這兩天可以安排時間過來嗎？

It’s not enough to just get a gym membership. You need to get moving！

B% sh# b3nle k2 ji& k0y@ le， y3o d7ng q@l1i a.

Búshìbànlekǎjiùkěyǐle， yàodòngqǐlái a.

不是辦了卡就可以了，要動起來啊。

Some might also find it helpful to join a group on WeChat or other social media platforms with friends or fellow exercisers， who can share progress， participate in fitness “challenges” together， and motivate one another：

Day 25： I jogged for 5 kilometers and my intake was only 1，500 calories. See you tomorrow！

Dǎkǎdìèrshíwǔtiān：wǔgōnglǐmànpǎo， shèrùyìqiānwǔbǎidàkǎ， míngtiānjìxù！

打卡第25天：5km慢跑，攝入1500大卡，明天繼續(xù)！

To further motivate yourself， consider giving yourself rewards for achieving your fitness goals， like a fabulous dinner at your favorite restaurant：

I bribed myself into exercising with a cheat meal.

Wǒ de mìngshìqīpiàncāngěi de.

我的命是欺騙餐給的。

But be careful not to let your rewards defeat the purpose of exercising：

I found myself gaining another kilogram after my cheat day. I’m crushed.

Qīpiàncāndìèrtiānbùxiǎoxīnzhòngleliǎngjīn， xīntàibēngle.

欺騙餐第二天不小心重了兩斤，心態(tài)崩了。

If you resist all the temptations and stick to your plan， reaching your goals can also be its own reward：

I’m so excited to have learned to use three pieces of gym equipment today.

Jīntiānjiěsuǒlejiànshēnfáng de sāngeqìxiè， kāixīn！

今天解鎖了健身房的三個器械，開心！

It feels like I’m freeing up my body every day.

Měitiāndōuxiàngshìzàijiěkāishēntǐ de fēngyìn.

每天都像是在解開身體的封印。