Chapter 6: Training (Part Two)

Time flies like a white horse passing a crack in the wall. In the blink of an eye, night has fallen, and the bright moonlight spills over the earth, casting a silver glow. As the night deepens, the temperatures along the southeastern coast remain stifling; the afternoon highs can reach thirty or forty degrees Celsius. Although this is a few degrees cooler than in August, September remains sweltering, and it is in this heat that they carry out their training.

At this moment, Zhang Qin’s group, following a long and arduous session, has finally reached the tail end of their practice—the final movement. And what, one might ask, is this mysterious final exercise? The answer is the "quick push."

Speaking of the quick push, it bears some similarity to the common clean and jerk. In a clean and jerk, an athlete must exert great effort to thrust a heavy barbell upward; in a quick push, however, the athlete must rapidly thrust an object forward and upward, then retract it with astonishing speed. To complete such a movement—deceptively simple yet highly demanding—requires an incredibly rigorous level of core strength.

Specifically, the quick push is designed to develop explosive power in the arms. Furthermore, it is closely linked to the release speed in shot put. Why is this? Because in throwing a shot, that critical moment actually relies on leg power as the starting point, followed by a clever rotation of the hip joints to transmit the immense power generated by the legs to the upper body. Ultimately, the power of the upper body converges in the arms, prompting them to hurl the shot forward with lightning speed. The entire process unfolds like flowing water, forming a flawless shot put motion.

The importance of the quick push lies in the fact that the shot used weighs five kilograms. When an athlete possesses sufficient strength, the force applied to the shot at the moment of release is greater, causing the shot to travel higher and further. The release becomes more explosive and rapid, imparting a higher initial velocity to the shot. It is no exaggeration to say that mastering the quick push technique is undoubtedly crucial for improving one's shot put performance.

Zhang Qin lifts a seventy-jin barbell. He holds it in front of his chest and begins his movement. The clattering of the weight plates echoes back and forth. To others, it might sound like a chaotic racket, but to the ears of a student athlete, it is the sound of progress.

A tall boy in the same group as Zhang Qin says, "I'm exhausted."

"Being exhausted means you’ve been training with sincerity," Coach Liao, who oversees the sports training team, suddenly remarks from nearby.

"Indeed!" the entire group responds in a long, drawn-out chorus.

"Jason has been very serious today. He is truly giving it his all!"

"He used to slack off, but he doesn't anymore."

"When did I ever slack off? Haven't I always been serious? Stop barking!"

***

Time passes swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, all of today's events have been successfully completed. The students on duty move methodically, working together to organize the equipment and carefully carry it back to the warehouse for storage.

At this moment, everyone’s eyes turn toward the track. It turns out that the coach, with his sharp eyes, caught a few people trying to slack off during the warm-up laps. According to the rules, those caught red-handed must face punishment: a 400-meter run.

Speaking of the 400-meter run, it is truly a daunting challenge—the "devil" of all athletic events. Why so? Because it requires the runner to sprint four consecutive 100-meter stretches. Even for a world champion who has dominated the field, trying to finish 400 meters in one go often leaves them gasping for air, or even collapsing on the ground, unable to get back up.

"Listen up, everyone must finish under one minute and five seconds. If you finish under one minute and five seconds, you get an extra lap."

"On the track!" Following Coach Huang's shout, the penalized students are forced to step onto the track, though they do so with expressions of deep grievance.

*Beep!*

At the coach’s whistle, everyone on the track surges forward.

29.

31.

34.

...

When they finish the first lap, the coach calls out the time from the sidelines. Since the school track is not a standard 400-meter oval, but a 200-meter one, a 400-meter run requires two laps. Coach Huang calls out the time at the end of the first lap to help the students gauge their pace.

***

Before long, they finish the entire distance with the speed of a whirlwind, and today’s 400-meter training finally comes to an end. With that, all the scheduled training items are complete. Next is the vital stretching and cool-down phase. Why is it essential to stretch and relax the muscles?

The reason is that if muscles are not stretched and relaxed promptly after intense exercise, they remain in a state of high congestion, sustaining the tension experienced during the workout. The true goal of stretching is to maximize the elasticity of the muscles, encouraging those that were tightly wound during exercise to transition into a relaxed and supple state. It must be noted, however, that stretching is by no means a comfortable affair; on the contrary, it is often accompanied by unbearable pain.

"Put your clothes on quickly! Don't catch a cold!" At this moment, everyone is lying or sprawled on mats, usually in pairs, assisting one another with stretches. Although it is September and the weather is still hot, everyone is drenched in sweat after exercising, making them prone to catching a cold if they remain bare-chested on the field. Yet, very few students actually bother to put their shirts on. After intense physical exertion, the body's natural resistance is lowered, and without prompt and proper measures to stay warm, the risk of catching a cold or other illnesses increases significantly.

Zhang Qin’s partner is "Chicken"—everyone calls him by this nickname. He is extremely thin, having come to school from the countryside; his family is not very well-off, and he still wears shoes with the soles worn completely flat.

The first move is the backbend. One person kneels on the foam mat while the other gently presses down on their knees to ensure stability. The kneeling person then carefully leans their body backward. As they lean further, their head draws closer to the floor until it finally touches. Throughout the process, the pain constantly gnaws at the mind.

After the first move comes the second. The person who just performed the backbend slowly straightens their knees and reaches their hands forward, a pose similar to a standard seated forward bend.

The third move is slightly more complex. The same person crosses one foot over the thigh of the other, forming a posture like sitting cross-legged. They then lie back on the mat while their partner gently but firmly grips their leg, first pushing forward and then applying downward pressure. This effectively stretches the leg and gluteal muscle groups.

The fourth move is the most painful. This time, the person lying down relaxes completely on the mat, while the partner sits on the middle of their back. The partner then reaches down, grabs the person's shoulders, and pulls upward until the upper body is lifted about twenty or thirty centimeters off the mat. Both sides must be fully focused and work in close coordination; any carelessness could lead to injury.

Once the partners complete this series of high-difficulty moves, they move on to the mutual back-stepping and leg-stepping phase. This uses external force to break up muscle fibers and prevent them from adhering to one another. This effectively reduces the buildup of lactic acid after exercise, alleviates muscle soreness, and accelerates physical recovery.

Because today is Saturday, most students look forward to a good night of relaxation. However, for those of us who train for sports, the situation is different. Ever since we committed to athletic training, the teachers have strictly forbidden team members from playing basketball or soccer. Why is this? In basketball, shooting usually requires a wrist-flick to add power and control, but this "wrist-pressing" motion is strictly prohibited in the shot put event of the college entrance exam. Shot put requires the arm to be fully extended and the shot to be thrown in a straight line; any "wrist-pressing" would alter the trajectory and affect the final score. Therefore, to ensure better results in shot put, the teachers are dead set against basketball. Moreover, the five-kilogram shot is heavy, and improper wrist mechanics during training can easily lead to injury.

As for the ban on soccer, the reason lies in the explosive ankle tension required when striking the ball. In the triple jump event of the sports exam, however, the athlete’s ankle must roll forward upon landing to cushion the impact and maintain balance. Clearly, these two movements conflict. The most critical task right now is to prepare for the upcoming college entrance exam, and any factor that might negatively affect the score must be eliminated. For this reason, the teachers strictly restrict the sports team from playing soccer or basketball. In the words of the coach: "If you still have the energy to play basketball or soccer, it means your training volume isn't high enough—go run two more 400-meter laps!"

No one is willing to endure the agony of the 400-meter run, so everyone heads home after training. If anyone secretly plays basketball, they do so elsewhere, never on school grounds. The social life of student athletes after training is diverse; some go for milk tea, while some boarders go to the classroom to use the multimedia equipment. Those with phones find a milk tea shop to play games.