Guest
Ge Yunshen
Interview Background
Have you systematically studied scientific approaches to exercise? Have you ever been injured while working out, and if so, how did you manage it? In your opinion, what steps should we take in our daily lives to prevent sports injuries? In this episode of "Fumin Moment—Healthy West Nanjing Road Sub-district", we are honored to have Dr. Ge Yunshen, Associate Senior Physician of the Department of Sports Medicine at Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Director of the Administrative and General Office at Huashan Hospital Pudong Fudan University, and holder of a doctorate in sports medicine, to share his insights on safe and scientific fitness practices.
Host:
Today's topic is scientific exercises for better health. We are honored to have Dr. Ge Yunshen, who is the Associate Senior Physician of Sports Medicine at Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University and Director of Administrative Affairs at Huashan Hospital Pudong Fudan University. Dr. Ge specializes in sports injuries of the knees, shoulders, ankles and other joints, as well as ligament and soft tissue injury treatment. Over the years, he has served as Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Medical Director for major sporting events in Shanghai. Let's welcome Dr. Ge to share some knowledge about scientific exercise with us. Please give him a warm welcome.
Ge Yunshen:
It's a great pleasure. Thank you very much for the invitation from West Nanjing Road Sub-district and Shanghai Jing'an Media Center. I'm here representing Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University to give a health education talk about exercise. Today, we'll focus on discussing scientific approaches to exercise, particularly for young people during their lunch break.
Ge Yunshen:
According to the World Health Organization, health isn't merely the absence of disease—true health encompasses both physical and mental well-being. Being disease-free only means you're relatively healthy at this moment, not necessarily truly healthy. Modern people, especially white-collar workers, face tremendous pressure with their busy schedules. To be truly healthy, we need to be well-rounded in four aspects: physical health, psychological health, social adaptability, and moral health.
Ge Yunshen:
Why should we exercise? First, we know that exercise promotes cardiovascular and pulmonary health, especially through aerobic activities like aerobic exercises, fitness routines, and running. It can strengthen our bones and muscles. Athletes give us a direct impression of physical robustness. Exercise can increase bone density and strengthen ligaments and joints. Furthermore, exercise helps regulate the endocrine system. As you know, diabetes is increasingly affecting younger people, with many developing it in their 30s. Exercise can help lower blood sugar levels, thus providing excellent regulation of our endocrine system. Additionally, it promotes the transmission of endogenous neurotransmitters and the secretion of endocrine transmitters, which can improve our mental state.
Ge Yunshen:
Exercise is the world's best tranquilizer. As I mentioned earlier, many people suffer from anxiety, tension, insomnia, and stress due to work. These issues can be alleviated through exercise. It's not simply about thinking, "I have nothing better to do, so I'll exercise more and tire myself out to sleep better." Nor is it just about putting the body into a relaxed state. Exercise doesn't just make you tired so you can fall asleep. Instead, it improves oxygenation in brain cells, enhances work efficiency, and relieves tension in the nerves and muscles, creating a calming effect.
Host:
Can you tell us about aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise?
Ge Yunshen:
As we learned in school, there are aerobic and anaerobic exercises. In fact, there are many different types of physical activities. Aerobic exercise is performed with sufficient oxygen supply to the body. These activities, such as brisk walking, fast walking, and jogging, can be sustained for longer periods and improve cardiovascular and lung function. Additionally, hiking and climbing stairs are also forms of aerobic exercise. However, we need to choose exercises that fit our own needs. Young people who are healthy and injury-free can participate in any type of exercise. However, for middle-aged and elderly people who might have joint problems or back issues, activities like climbing stairs or hiking might not be suitable.
Ge Yunshen:
The second type is anaerobic exercise, which in modern medical terms is called strength training or resistance training. It involves muscle exertion and metabolism—essentially muscle-building activities. Doing this type of exercise frequently can easily lead to muscle soreness, which is caused by lactic acid buildup after anaerobic exercise. Strength training is essential in our daily lives. Many people enjoy lifting weights at the gym, which is a classic example of strength training. Strength training is effective for strengthening muscles.
Ge Yunshen:
Of course, as mentioned earlier, anaerobic training is a full-body workout, so its effects on strengthening specific muscle groups may not be as noticeable. Strength training is particularly important for middle-aged and elderly people, who often experience a loss of strength and lack sufficient muscle power, so incorporating strength exercises can be highly beneficial. The best approach is to combine different types of exercise: incorporating strength training within aerobic workouts and including flexibility training before and after exercise—this creates an ideal combination. If possible, it's beneficial to participate in team sports or competitive activities. Many team-building events now choose sports activities because they allow people to have fun together while exercising. I think this is an excellent approach that should be maintained long-term.
Host:
What should you do if you get injured during exercise?
Ge Yunshen:
There are several misconceptions we need to clarify: First, regarding rest—it doesn't mean taking sick leave and staying in bed all day. What we mean by rest is allowing the injured area to recover without aggravating it or causing secondary injury, while other parts of the body can remain active. We often see exercise enthusiasts who, despite leg or knee injuries, come asking, "Doctor, can I still do bench presses?" And yes, bench presses are fine—you're not using your legs or feet, so lying down and pushing weights is perfectly acceptable. The second is ice therapy. You need to be careful with this. You can't just put ice on for one or two hours straight. I've seen many cases where the problem wasn't insufficient icing, but rather frostbite, with patches of red skin and eventual numbness, which can be very dangerous. I recommend icing for a maximum of 15 minutes, and even shorter periods for children. After removing the ice, let the area return to normal temperature naturally. You can repeat this process. Once the temperature rises, you can apply ice again. This alternating pattern is acceptable. Then there's compression bandaging, which isn't suitable for all areas. For severe swelling, I recommend visiting a doctor during the acute phase to get an X-ray and rule out serious issues like fractures.
Host:
Is it true that exercise accelerates knee joint degeneration, and that muscles won't atrophy if you stop exercising?
Ge Yunshen:
Actually, exercise itself doesn't accelerate knee joint degeneration—rather, exercising with pre-existing knee problems might aggravate the underlying condition. I mentioned earlier how important muscles are. Your muscle mass typically peaks in your 20s and 30s, but without exercise, it can decrease by half by age 70. This is why we often discuss preventing sarcopenia in elderly people. Reduced muscle mass combined with lack of exercise increases the risk of falls. When elderly people fall, their quality of life significantly deteriorates and many complications can arise. I hope everyone can develop good exercise habits starting now to protect their body, promote health, and protect their joints. If you can still exercise at 90, your quality of life will be much better. We don't want to reach old age only to end up bedridden, as that would significantly lower our quality of life. So, start exercising now.
Host:
Will leg exercises make your legs bulky? Will practicing waist exercises make it thicker?
Ge Yunshen:
People of all ages and genders can and should exercise, but women, due to different hormone levels, generally won't develop muscle mass like men do. Can women develop such muscle? Yes. It's possible in bodybuilding, but it can be very painful and comes at a significant cost. Under normal circumstances, this won't happen, so there's no need to worry.
Host:
Is it true that sweating more during exercise leads to better weight loss results?
Ge Yunshen:
This is another misconception. I believe weight loss isn't just about reducing body weight, but about controlling body fat while increasing muscle mass. However, there's another point: if a woman's body fat percentage is too low, it can actually affect her immune system. Therefore, we shouldn't let our fat levels drop too low, and we shouldn't rely solely on fasting. It's important to maintain a balanced diet. I didn't specifically focus on nutrition in today's talk, although there are many considerations about both eating and exercise-related nutrition. But I think life is already challenging enough for us now—it would be really bad if we couldn't even allow ourselves to eat a bit. So, if you want to eat well, get moving and burn it off. As for sweating, the amount you sweat is related to sweat gland distribution. It's a misconception that more sweating equals better exercise results.
Host:
This is the end of today's interview. Let's thank Dr. Ge again for his wonderful sharing! We've learned a lot. Goodbye!
Ge Yunshen:
Goodbye, everyone!