Reader question:

Please explain “wear and tear”, as in: “High-intensity workouts come with a lot of wear and tear to the body.”

My comments:

High-intensity workouts?

Such as running the 100-meter dash, for instance. Olympians are able to finish the 100-meter race in about 10 seconds. That’s how intense it is – Athletes run as fast as they can, giving their all, sparing no effort.

Other high-intensity exercises include the marathon, going swiftly to the other extreme of athletics – or mountain climbing, cycling, swimming, aerobic dancing, anything that makes you feel exhausted and burned out physically afterwards.

Wear and tear to the body?

That means these types of high-intensity workouts are very taxing to the body, putting great pressure to the joints on the knee, for example, and may lead to permanent physical damage in the long run.

Wear and tear practically means they’ll make you feel worn and torn.

Metaphorically speaking, of course.

Let’s find more fitting examples for worn and torn. If you wear the same cotton clothes all year round, for instance, at the year end you may find your shirts and trousers threadbare in some places and torn in others. Similarly, if you wear the same pair of shoes all year round, you’ll probably find them worn and, literally, torn apart.

Wear and tear, in short, refers to the damage caused by continued use. “Wear” and “tear” means the same thing, actually. These two words work together as a phrase simply because they rhythm, sounding musical and nice to the ear.

Anyways, high-intensity exercises can cause damage to the body due to their extra-intensive wear and tear.

You can control and limit the damage, however, by exercising regularly and mildly. If you want to pick up the intensity, do it slowly, increasing the intensity bit by bit.

Not all of a sudden – especially if you are not at all young and haven’t been working out for a long time.

So, that’s wear and tear on the body and that is that. Let’s now see media examples of other things suffering “wear and tear”:

1. We all know that we should exercise more as part of a healthier lifestyle but few people are aware that many forms of exercise can create problems. This is particularly true as we get older when damage to joints and general wear and tear to the body can become a serious problem. There are certain activities though, of which T’ai chi is one, which do not stress the body when exercising.

Unlike other forms of exercise, T’ai chi requires students to practise in the most unhurried, gentle and relaxed way possible in order to gain maximum benefits. The unhurried and effortless movements are practised with calm concentration making practice extremely pleasurable. If the exercise is not comfortable and enjoyable you are probably doing something wrong.

It sounds so simple but in fact one difficulty when teaching T’ai chi is in changing attitudes to exercise and getting people to slow down and take things easy. Alan Baker often says it is his job to teach people to be lazy.

Although he is only joking there is some truth in this. When people understand the correct principle it can be quite a revelation. As one individual put it: “It’s like exercising without exercising”.

- Relax into health and fitness, HenleyStandard.co.uk, April 14, 2014.

2. When Calgarian Arlene MacCallum heard about a new research study that’s trying to determine the impact of weight and body shape on kidney function, she didn’t have to think very long before signing up.

“My father had kidney disease and died at quite a young age, and my husband is a kidney transplant recipient,” she says.

“It just seemed natural that I would get involved in something like this that might shed more light on how kidney disease develops.”

Over the years, health scientists have drawn clear links between obesity and sleep apnea, and sleep apnea and deteriorating kidney function. Now researchers with Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the University of Calgary are investigating whether excess weight alone has a harmful effect on the kidneys.

“Diabetes and high blood pressure are two of the biggest risk factors for kidney damage but a growing body of research now suggests that how weight is distributed may affect kidney function,” says Dr. Sofia Ahmed, an AHS nephrologist and principal investigator in the study.

“Anything that creates extra wear and tear on the kidneys can contribute to a loss in function, in the same way that a car that’s driven hard over time can’t continue to perform at the same high level. In our study, we hope to learn more about what the relationship may be between increased weight and how it is distributed – such as apple or pear shapes – and kidney function.”

In particular, researchers will be looking at a hormonal system called the renin-angiotensin system and whether extra weight has an impact on it and, in turn, how hard the kidneys have to work to keep a person’s blood clean.

- Weight distribution may cause ‘extra wear and tear’, AlbertaHealthService.ca, April 22, 2014.

3. All Wheaton students and employees are issued photo identification cards, which are to be carried at all times. Tampering with information on the College ID is a violation of the Honor Code. Dining Services utilizes a computerized meal card access system to administer the food service program. Students may not eat in College dining facilities without their College ID’s. This policy is actively enforced. The College ID is required for entrance to campus events and facilities.

Students and employees should carry their ID cards at all times and must produce them as a means of identification on the campus when requested by a College official or designated representative. Refusal to do so is considered a violation of the Honor Code.

New students now have the opportunity to send their college identification card photos electronically prior to arriving on campus. This allows Public Safety to create a Wheaton ID card over the summer and have the card ready when the student checks in. Any returning students who want to update their photos over the summer will be charged the $25 replacement card fee.

In the event an ID card is lost or stolen, a replacement must be obtained from the Public Safety Department. Lost or stolen ID cards should be reported immediately to the Public Safety Department and Dining Services. The cost of replacing a lost ID card is $25.00; the cost of replacing an ID card which is worn out due to normal wear and tear is $25.00. Students who have lost their ID cards may obtain meals in the dining halls with temporary meal coupons (available at the Public Safety Department), by providing their name and ID number to charge to their PS account, or by paying cash. PS account charges and cash purchases will not be reimbursed.

- College ID cards, WheatonCollege.edu, August 19, 2014.

本文僅代表作者本人觀點，與本網立場無關。歡迎大家討論學術問題，尊重他人，禁止人身攻擊和發布一切違反國家現行法律法規的內容。

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About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

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（作者張欣 中國日報網英語點津 編輯：陳丹妮）