Liaocheng, February 20th (reported by Liu Yunfei) - With eleven pounds of iron chains bound to his ankles, one leg easily resting on a bridge pillar 1.4 meters high, and even capable of lifting it over his head with ease, this wasn't a performance by an acrobat but rather the unique fitness method of a seventy-year-old man. On the morning of February 19th, Ren Dequan, who was exercising at Jingming Bridge in the city district at the age of 71, said that in order to take care of his spouse, he had been practicing this leg-strengthening exercise for nine years, which proved highly beneficial to his health.
At around ten o'clock in the morning of February 19th, on Jingming Bridge, a peculiar silhouette caught the reporter's attention: an elderly man wearing cloth shoes comfortably placed his left foot on a bridge pillar 1.4 meters high. Both of his ankles were bound with towels and two iron chains, maintaining this posture for more than ten minutes. The elderly man was named Ren Dequan, aged 71, and he had been persistently exercising in this manner for nine years. He mentioned that except for family gatherings during the New Year, he rarely missed a day. "I start practicing every morning at ten o'clock for about twenty minutes before walking home," he said.
Ren Dequan told the reporter that not only did he bind iron chains to his ankles while practicing, but also in daily life. "Except for eating and sleeping, I wear them all the time; this helps strengthen my legs," he explained. There is a method to binding the iron chains to the ankles. First, two 60-centimeter long towels are tied on to serve as protection, followed by two 1-meter long thick iron chains, and finally two 1-meter long thin iron chains, totaling eleven pounds in weight.
"When I first started, I began with the thinner chains and gradually added the thicker ones; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to adapt," Ren Dequan stated. His wife had suffered from cerebral thrombosis for nine years and was confined to a wheelchair for a long time. Every day, he pushed her around, and after a while, his legs became unbearably tired. "When my wife was still alive, I joked with her that pushing her every day made me feel like I might collapse too. That's why I decided to strengthen my legs," he recounted.
Ren Dequan introduced that this kind of exercise isn't suitable for everyone and requires a certain foundation. "When I was eight years old and practicing martial arts, I trained in this way. After turning twenty, I stopped until my wife fell ill, and then I picked it up again. Now, I'm used to it. When I walk, my legs feel both strong and agile, which is very beneficial to my health."