TEXT_Cheryl Iao, Maggie Mak
PHOTOS_Lily Lam, Spencer Mok
Macao female bodybuilder Pang Chi Man held a healthy living workshop on “The Various Benefits of Strengthening Pelvic Floor Muscles” in the Sir Robert Ho Tung Library.
With the development of society, more and more members of the public pay attention to exercise and health. If theoretical guidance and good eating habits are combined with exercising, they can gain better results with less effort. From April to June this year, the public libraries of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) organized a series of healthy living workshops to guide the public on health and exercise skills. In this issue of “Library Portrait”, Pang Chi Man, a female bodybuilder from Macao, was invited to share with participants the functions of pelvic floor muscles, training methods, and the benefits of gluten free diet with the theme of “The Various Benefits of Strengthening Pelvic Floor Muscles” and in combination with the libraries’ collection.
Strong pelvic floor muscles are essential for daily life and exercise. The pelvic floor muscles are like a net that supports and protects the organs in the pelvic cavity. Pang Chi Man pointed out that many women experience urine leakage due to increased abdominal pressure during pregnancy or after giving birth, which is actually a malfunction of the pelvic floor muscles. She introduced and demonstrated the Kegel exercise to strengthen pelvic floor muscles, which allows participants to understand the benefits of training the pelvic floor muscles, how it can help women prepare for pregnancy and prevent postpartum urinary incontinence and other problems. Females are more likely to develop “gynaecological diseases” if the training of pelvic floor muscles is neglected. However, the stereotype of “gynaecological diseases” made many people think that only females need to train their pelvic floor muscles. She shook her head and corrected it: “Males also need training, and they also have the same problem. Training of pelvic floor muscles can be effective because it can control their bladders and reduce urine leakage.”
“Exercise methods will always become outdated, but the knowledge learned from books keeps pace with the times. Through reading, you can not only enrich your knowledge of sports and health, but also learn more about the precautions during exercise and reduce the chance of injury.” In addition to sports, reading also greatly inspires Pang Chi Man. With the theme of this pelvic floor muscles training, combined with the book Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain for Life, she introduced in detail the information on pelvic floor muscles and gluten-free diet that are closely related to female fertility. “Training the pelvic floor muscles is an external factor for fertility, while a gluten-free diet is the training from the inside. A long-term gluten diet is unhealthy for the guts, affecting brain power and maternal physical changes. Those who are pregnant are likely to face increased risks of autism in their fetus.” She encouraged members of the public, regardless of their age or gender, to exercise as early as possible. “Muscle training is for life, not only for time when it is needed.”
Pang Chi Man instructed the participants on the training methods to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles.
Workshop participants interviewed
Miss Lam believes that it is easier to master the skills of training through the combination of theory and practice.
Miss Lam, who participated in library promotion activities for the first time, believes that the combination of theory and practice in this workshop is more conducive to in-depth and professional mastery of the knowledge and skills of training the pelvic floor muscles. In addition, exercising in the Portuguese-styled Sir Robert Ho Tung Library not only breaks the stereotype of the members of the public on libraries, but also enables them to feel the tranquility and elegance of the building. It is expected that in the future, activities will be held on the outdoor platform of the library to further promote the cultural architecture with Macao’s characteristics and give the public an interesting and comfortable experience.
Ms. Loi will borrow relevant books to deepen her understanding of pelvic floor muscles.
Participating in this activity, Ms. Loi hopes to train this special muscle group as soon as possible and share relevant knowledge with her family to prevent urinary leakage caused by age and increased abdominal pressure. Moreover, at the beginning of the class, the tutor gave a lecture using words and pictures so that the “static” of knowledge and the “dynamic” of exercise can be combined to attract and enable readers to feel the diversity of the library. In the future, she will borrow relevant books to further enrich her knowledge of pelvic floor muscles.
