Hi, I'm Wei-Hong Li, an amateur bodybuilder. I have been into fitness for around five years since when I was a fourth-year undergraduate student. My idols are Lazar, James Grage and Simon Panda, who are famous bodybuilders in the bodybuilding industry.
I am also quite keen on reading and writing. I quite believe in the old saying "文明其精神，野蛮其体魄" by Chairman Mao - "Civilize the mind, strengthen the body."
The Beginning
Around five years ago (2014) when I was a third-year graduate student at Sun Yat-Sen University, I started to go to the gym at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies in order to reduce my weight. With a year's training, I initially failed as I could not keep regular exercise.
In 2015, I got admission from Sun Yat-Sen University for my master's degree. At that time, I was in my final year as an undergraduate student. I was so confused and tried my best to figure out how to build muscle efficiently.
Progress & Learning
After 6 months of hard work, I reduced my weight to 70kg. But I found I was not fit enough in terms of shape and muscle definition.
In addition to this, I felt that the workout was a bit tedious and it was hard to keep working out every week.
Mindset Transformation
Instead of treating workout as a task, I changed to form it as a habit following my brother's suggestions. From then on, I went to the gym regularly (4-5 times a week) and trained systematically.
I learned that fitness is not simple. It is the combination of exercise, supplementation, and rest. As the popular saying goes, if you want to be in shape, you need to 'train like a beast, eat like a horse and sleep like a baby'.
Learning & Mentoring
In the meanwhile, I started reading books and blogs about fitness, where I learned about some superstars like Lazar, Simon Panda and James Grage, who had a very great impact on my fitness career. Also, I learned something from my younger brother.
With five years of experience in fitness, I became stronger both physically and mentally. In each training day, I would test which strategy or exercise is the best for a specific muscle group. From 2016, I became a fitness trainer to help other students in our ISEE Lab get in shape or reduce fat. I am very glad to see most members in our team do regular exercise now and gained significant success this year. Besides, with constant training, I am fit now and I am able to do the human flag!
Fitness Around the World
In October 2017, I got an opportunity to conduct a visiting study to be involved in the Royal Newton Project at Queen Mary University of London in the UK. I kept regular exercise in the gym, which was just on the first floor of our lab building, or trained in the park. Although the weather was very cold compared to Guangzhou, the environment there was extremely nice. I believe I will keep doing exercise at any place, at any time.
The Power of Reading
Beyond fitness, I kept regular reading, which is a bridge to knowledge.
Apart from research and fitness, I hope I can own an excellent study with a vast quantity of books, spacious space as well as classy chairs, tables and furniture. It will be an extremely leisurely time to read a book with a very nice cup of tea in such a comfortable environment. It is also an extremely great place to share Kung Fu tea with my family and friends. By the way, my favorite teas are Red Tea from Yunnan Province and Dancong Tea from my hometown.