Le Thi Phong, a 68-year-old resident of Hai Ba Trung District in Hanoi, visits the E Yard on Van Chuong Street in Dong Da District every day to do bar exercises.
The white-haired elderly woman swings on a bar nearly two meters high, back-and-forth quickly, strongly, and decisively.
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| Le Thi Phong steps onto a stone to grab onto a bar at the E Yard on Van Chuong Street in Dong Da District, Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Bao / Tuoi Tre |
“When we first saw her doing the exercises, we admired her but worried about her at the same time,” said Le Thi Thanh, a 60-year-old in Dong Da.
“It looks very dangerous.
“I tried it once and fell painfully.
“But after observing her for a while, we realized that she is very strong and diligent during her exercises.”
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| Le Thi Phong performs a hanging leg raise on a bar at the E Yard on Van Chuong Street in Dong Da District, Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Bao / Tuoi Tre |
Phong once tried walking to improve her knee pain, which turned out to be effective.
Noticeable health improvement encouraged her to take new exercises utilizing public equipment available at the yard, including the bars.
For the past two years, cycling to the E Yard to do exercises has been part of Phong’s daily routine.
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| Le Thi Phong performs upside-down crunches on the bars at the E Yard on Van Chuong Street in Dong Da District, Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Bao / Tuoi Tre |
“When I started practicing pull-ups, I could only perform about two hanging leg raises,” Phong recalled.
“After two years, every time I get on the bar, I can do 13-15 raises now.
“Many people advised an old woman like me should not perform such dangerous maneuvers.
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| Le Thi Phong performs a body stretch at the E Yard on Van Chuong Street in Dong Da District, Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Bao / Tuoi Tre |
“But I understand my fitness and know how strong I am, so I just practice slowly.
“Now my health is very good, with no more spine or shoulder pain as before.”
Located about two kilometers from the E Yard, Thong Nhat Park in the same district is the place where 71-year-old Nguyen Van Tram has gone to exercise similarly to Phong for the past ten years.
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| Nguyen Van Tram performs pull-ups at Thong Nhat Park in Dong Da District, Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Bao / Tuoi Tre |
“It is not easy to perform exercises like this as it requires a process of practice,” Tram said.
“There was a long time when I was sick and could not go out for exercises.
“When the illness improved, I immediately resumed the routine.”
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| Nguyen Van Tram performs pull-ups at Thong Nhat Park in Dong Da District, Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Bao / Tuoi Tre |
Tram advised young people to exercise regularly.
“Or else, they may not be as strong as us,” he added in a humorous and confident way at the same time.
Huynh Phuong Nguyet Anh, an expert of the orthopedic department at the University Medical Center under the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City, advised people take exercises suitable for their physical condition with a moderate frequency.
Pull-ups, hanging leg raises, and other acrobatics that Phong and Tram do are not recommended at first, Anh warned.
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| Nguyen Van Tram performs crunches on a stone bench at Thong Nhat Park in Dong Da District, Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Bao / Tuoi Tre |
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| Nguyen Van Tram suspends his body at Thong Nhat Park in Dong Da District, Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Bao / Tuoi Tre |
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