2024-07-27 05:51:25
“I was taking care of other people’s health, but I was neglecting my own. I was skinny fat with no muscle and a lot of body fat. My physical strength had declined, and my shoulders had become hunched, making my body shape strange. I felt the need to exercise. I decided to run to the fitness center and get personal training.”
Director Baek Su-jeong (52), who provides skin and body care, started weight training in 2021, a year after the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). She had been interested in health, such as swimming a long time ago and doing yoga recently, but she was not consistent. She said, “I started yoga, but all the places were closed due to the spread of COVID-19, so I couldn’t go. I thought I needed to exercise, and I started muscle training after thinking about what the most effective exercise was.”
“There is something like this. As I take care of other people’s health, I think I should be a role model. My job is to counsel people and give them advice on how to stay healthy, but I can’t be too hard on myself. That was the fundamental reason I started doing muscle training.”
![“My body changed through muscle training… I became a senior supermodel and a fit model.” [양종구의 100세 시대 건강법]](https://dimg.donga.com/wps/NEWS/IMAGE/2024/07/27/126150052.1.jpg "“My body changed through muscle training… I became a senior supermodel and a fit model.” [양종구의 100세 시대 건강법]")
Muscle training wasn’t easy. I had a hard time adjusting. If you don’t do muscle training, your muscles will hurt a lot. In fact, your whole body will hurt, so it’s hard to do it consistently. Still, Director Baek received personal training twice a week without fail. He said, “Honestly, I should exercise outside of my personal training hours to be effective, but it was too hard and not easy.” Chronic lumbar disc pain was also a problem. When my back hurt, I couldn’t exercise for a week or two and had to go to the hospital. However, my body changed even with muscle training twice a week. Around that time, an acquaintance suggested, “Why don’t you try participating in a senior model competition?”
Director Baek learned model walking and poses and participated in the 2022 SBS Supermodel Selection Contest ‘The Grace’. The Grace was a senior model selection contest held by SBS that discovered Korean supermodels in the past. Director Baek surprised everyone by winning two awards, including the grand prize. At the time, even though she was 50 years old, she attracted attention for her looks that were no less than those of people in their 20s and 30s. Among the various people who participated, including announcers, actors, and models, Director Baek, who had no relation to modeling at all, won the grand prize.
“I was surprised too. Since I work in skin care, I have been paying attention to skin aging prevention, but more than anything, I think my body shape changed through muscle training. My body, which used to be hunched over, straightened out, so I grew taller. My body shape also became more toned. After receiving the grand prize at The Grace, I have been working out harder on muscle training.”
It was a virtuous circle effect of winning the grand prize. The driving force behind winning the grand prize was not entirely the effect of muscle training, but after competing, he started doing personal training in addition to the PT he received twice a week. This year, he ran to the fitness center almost every day. He laughed, saying, “I even did muscle training twice a day.”
Now, my routine is to receive weight training PT or personal training before work in the morning and do aerobic exercise in the afternoon. I do aerobic exercise after work at 9 p.m. For aerobic exercise, I mainly do indoor stair exercise (aka Stairway to Heaven), which is very effective for me. It is an exercise where you continue to climb stairs at a constant intensity on a stepping machine at a fitness center. Director Baek said, “Stairway to Heaven for 30 minutes is more effective than running a treadmill for 1 hour.”
Director Baek won the grand prize in the fit model category at the Seoul Wellness Muscle Fitness Championship (WMFC) held at the Seoul Olympic Parktel on July 7. He won first place in the female fit model 50s category and became the best among all fit models in their 20s. The fact that he followed a bodybuilder’s diet for about 5 months before the competition was effective. He reduced carbohydrates and ate a diet centered on protein and vegetables to increase muscle definition. When you reduce body fat through diet, your muscle definition increases. He said, “My body changed a lot after I started the diet.”
“Fit model is the fit of fitness, meaning healthy. They evaluate the appearance of wearing leggings, but they don’t select someone with too much muscle, and they select someone who is slim and healthy overall. Anyway, I was so happy to be selected as the best regardless of age.”
Kim Dae-hoon (52), who participated in the WMFC with Director Baek, also won first place in the male fit model 50s category. Director Baek said, “My husband, who enjoyed other types of exercise, started working out with me late in life and I was happy to see good results.”
The story of the Baek couple teaches us many lessons. Muscles can be built regardless of age. Since the publication of the paper titled “High-Intensity Muscle Training for 90-Year-Olds” in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1990, research results have been published showing that muscle training is effective regardless of age. At that time, nine men and women over the age of 90 were given high-intensity muscle training for eight weeks, and their muscle strength and gait improved. Building muscle makes you live at least 10 years younger. That’s why muscle training is called a rejuvenating elixir that brings back youth.
Muscles are a symbol of youth. Youth is like energy. It is because you can express various powers. Muscles are the driving force of energy. As you age, your energy decreases. The difference is the difference in muscle mass. Ultimately, if you build muscle even as you age, you can become younger. When your body changes, you also experience positive psychological changes. Sports psychologists say that when your body changes through muscle training, your self-esteem increases. In particular, for women, it prevents depression that can occur due to their shabby appearance as they age.
Muscle training changed Baek Won-jang’s life. It not only made his body elastic and cool, making him a senior model, but also changed his quality of life. He became healthy. His weight, which once reached 60kg, is now maintained at 50kg. His chronic fatigue disappeared. The swelling caused by menopause disappeared. His adult diseases such as vascular diseases disappeared. Above all, he gained stamina and worked harder. He said, “I was tired of touching other people’s bodies all day, but now I do it with more energy.” He also enjoys working as a therapist while working as a model.
“Not much has changed yet,” said Director Baek.
“It took me three years to transform like this. To be honest, it took a long time. Some people change completely in six months. At first, I felt the need to do muscle training, but I didn’t like it. At one point, I hated the smell of sweat and rubber at the gym. Now, it’s different. Muscle training is transforming me. I’ve become a senior model and a fit model. I want to build up my body and take on another challenge.”
Reporter Yang Jong-gu [email protected]
2024-07-27 05:51:25