Funded by the Sports Administration, Ministry of Education (MOE) in 2022 and 2023, strength and conditioning training rooms were renovated and constructed on the Lantan and Minghsiung campuses, National Chiayi University. On April 16th, the opening ceremony was held at the Gymnasium on the Lantan campus. 並Now 63 years old, Li Caiwei, also known as “Super Grandma Q,” is a lecturer from the Department of Chinese Literature, NCYU. She won four gold medals at the 2023 Asian Classic Powerlifting Championship and broke the Asian record in the deadlift category. She demonstrated deadlifts for the participating teachers and students at the opening ceremony. More than a hundred people attended the event.
In his remarks, NCYU President Han Chien Lin expressed gratitude to MOE’s Sports Administration for providing funds of more than NT$5. 6 million. In addition to the funds, NCYU raised approximately NT$150,000 to renovate and build strength and conditioning training rooms on the Lantan and Minghsiung campuses. Physical education is one of NCYU’s key projects. NCYU is dedicated to promoting sports, and has through merit-based recruitment trained athletes in baseball, basketball, volleyball, badminton, track and field, swimming, boxing, wrestling, among others. Despite the commitment, it has faced challenges such as outdated weight-training equipment on different campuses, which led to ineffectiveness in physical training. Thanks to funding from the Sports Administration, the newly renovated and constructed fitness training equipment on the Lantan and Minghsiung campuses will help enhance the athletes' tension training and the overall health and fitness among the students and faculty.
Yu-Cheng Chung, Chairman of the Physical Education Office, indicated that the NCYU Strength and Conditioning Training Room has incorporated the emerging multi-joint weight-training facilities since the planning stage. It can stimulate multiple muscle groups simultaneously, which is similar to the everyday movements we use in real-life and sports routines, thus enhancing muscle cooperation. After meticulous evaluation, an eight-station continuous squat rack and compound squat rack were planned as key to multi-joint training. Together with dumbbells and kettlebells, they allow people of different ages to enjoy the fun of multi-joint weight-training. The weight-training equipment purchased for both the Lantan and Minghsiung campuses can be used paired with comprehensive weight-training plans, proper usage methods and weight-training assessments. This not only can effectively improve the strength, endurance, speed, and flexibility of athletes and the general public, but lead to significant growth and progress in the athletes’ performance.
After the opening ceremony, Super Grandma Q – Li Caiwei demonstrated deadlifts. Lecturer Li said that seeing these novel and diverse weight-training facilities made one feel like they are in a top-notch fitness center. It’s never too late to exercise and keep fit. Strength training helps improve both mental and physical health, making life more fulfilling and energetic. Lecturer Li encouraged the elderly to find suitable exercise routines and stick to them consistently. While the elderly, who generally suffer from insufficient muscle strength, should consider weight-training, it is prerequisite to have a professional coach nearby to guide them in correctly applying force.
To give
participants an overall understanding of the equipment in the training room,
the Physical Education Office also invited Jiang Sen-Shen, a strength and
fitness coach from the NCYU baseball team, to the event. With a master's degree
in strength and conditioning from Loughborough University, UK, Jiang is a
NSCA-CSCS certified strength and fitness specialist, and a NASM-CES certified
corrective exercise specialist. On site, he provided guidance to guests and teachers to practice simple
weight training movements, and try various weight-training equipment. Through
professional guidance, it is hoped that fitness training can become part of our
daily life.
Photo 1: Super Grandma Q – Li Caiwei, a 63-year-old lecturer
from the Department of Chinese Literature, demonstrates deadlifts.
Photo 2: opening ceremony of the Strength and Conditioning
Training Room.
Photo 3: President Han Chien Lin did pectoralis major
stretching with the compound squat rack.
Photo 4: Jiang Sen-Shen (right), strength and fitness coach
of the NCYU baseball team, explained how to train explosive strength with
weighted sleds.
Photo 5: Students from the NCYU baseball team demonstrated
squat training.
Photo 6: A group photo of participants at the opening
ceremony of the Strength and Conditioning Training Room.