66: Chapter 66 Birthday

Time passed quickly amidst the casual conversation.

At ten-thirty, Chen Ting came out of her room, her hair still a bit messy, wearing pajamas.

She rubbed her eyes as she passed through the living room, saw Chen Mo sitting on the sofa, paused for two seconds, and then instantly woke up completely.

"Xiao Mo!"

She walked over quickly and gave Chen Mo a solid hug. "When did you arrive?"

"I arrived this morning."

Chen Mo's shoulders swayed from her hug. "Weren't you sleeping? I didn't want Aunt to wake you up."

"What kind of talk is that! You're celebrating your birthday and I'm still sleeping? That's just not right."

Chen Ting released him and looked him up and down. "I'm going to wash up first, let's talk later."

At eleven o'clock, Chen Wei arrived as well.

He pushed the door open and entered, with Sister-in-law following behind him.

Chen Wei saw Chen Mo the moment he entered, strode over, and patted his shoulder hard. "Xiao Mo, you guy, I haven't seen you in three months and you've gotten a lot sturdier."

Chen Mo smiled.

Chen Wei's grip strength was much greater than before.

Sister-in-law was carrying a cake box; she smiled and greeted Chen Mo before going to help out.

The family sat in the living room; the teacups on the coffee table were steaming. The television was on, but no one was watching it; the screen was broadcasting the latest construction progress of the resettlement areas in various places.

Somehow, the conversation turned to exercise.

Chen Wei said that the hotpot restaurant had many customers recently, and he was so tired every day that he couldn't straighten his back.

Uncle said that he walked a few laps in the neighborhood every morning, and felt his body was much better than before.

Chen Ting complained that she was busy with work and had no time to move at all.

Chen Mo waited until they finished speaking before opening his mouth.

"Uncle, Brother Wei, Sister Ting, have you seen those training movements recommended by the state recently? The ones being promoted right now."

"I scrolled past a few while watching videos," Chen Wei said. "They didn't look like anything special, just some pushing and stretching."

"These movements are very effective." Chen Mo's tone was very serious. "I have a friend in the military, and he said the army is already fully implementing this set of movements, and the next step is nationwide promotion."

Chen Wei was taken aback. "Really?"

"Really. These movements look simple, but the training efficiency is much higher than regular fitness. The way they engage muscles is different, and your flexibility can improve after practicing them."

Chen Mo paused. "I've been practicing them for the past few months while I was away, and I feel the effects are much better than what I practiced when I was a fitness coach. It's just high intensity, and it can be a bit tiring."

"Sure." Chen Wei was the first to agree. "A new fitness center just opened nearby; let's go after we finish lunch."

Uncle also agreed.

Aunt shook her head with a smile on the side. "You guys, don't worry about exercising before you've even eaten."

Chen Ting leaned on the sofa. "I'm busy with work, and I only move when Mom and Dad force me to; otherwise, I'm too lazy to go."

She glanced at Chen Mo. "But since you're back today, I'll go and experience it this afternoon."

At noon, the family went to a nearby restaurant called Jiangchu Banquet.

Aunt had booked a private room in advance, and the table was full of dishes. Chopped pepper fish head, braised pork belly, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and the cake Brother Wei brought was in the middle.

Uncle put several helpings of food into Chen Mo's bowl with his chopsticks, and Aunt kept saying to eat more, as he had lost weight.

Chen Mo finished it bite by bite.

After finishing the meal and returning to Uncle's house, the family sat for a while longer. At one-thirty in the afternoon, Chen Mo stood up. "Let's go, let's head to the fitness center."

The newly opened fitness center was nearby, a three-story building with dark gray paint on the exterior walls and a sign at the entrance that read "Yi City National Fitness Center".

Inside was a spacious lobby, with treadmills, strength equipment, and a free training area all available.

The free training area was covered with soft mats, and there was an electronic screen on the wall, looping the breakdown tutorial of the Basic Antagonistic Training movements promoted by the state.

Chen Mo led the family to the free training area and stood still on the soft mat.

"Have you tried the movements recommended by the state recently?"

"I just glanced at them while scrolling through videos," Uncle said. "I didn't look at them seriously, let alone try them."

Chen Mo was not surprised.

Uncle's generation's exercise concepts were still stuck on traditional activities like running, brisk walking, push-ups, and pull-ups.

It wasn't that they weren't working hard; it was just that their information hadn't been updated.

Although traditional exercise methods could be effective, the efficiency was too low. They only trained single muscle groups, and the coordination of antagonistic muscle groups couldn't be fully mobilized, let alone improving the Force Multiplier.

"You just need to practice these movements from now on. These movements can cover all muscle groups in the whole body, which is much more efficient than running or push-ups."

Chen Mo said, "The state also said that people with exercise habits absorb Spiritual Qi faster and the effects are better. Spiritual Qi has the effect of prolonging life; when your body is healthy, your quality of life is much better."

"I'll do one first, you guys watch."

Chen Mo walked to the center of the soft mat, spread his feet apart, and lowered his body slightly.

He performed the simplest Basic Antagonistic Training pose.

The movement was very slow, and the sequence of force generation for every joint was clearly visible.

Tightening the abdomen, pushing the back muscle groups forward while pulling the pectoralis major backward, retracting the shoulder blades; the entire torso trembled slightly in the antagonistic pull.

After finishing one, he stood up. "You guys try it."

Chen Wei went up first.

He learned the posture from Chen Mo, but the movement deformed as soon as it started; his abdomen wasn't tightened, and the antagonistic force between his back and chest was completely uncoordinated.

Chen Mo walked over, pressed his hand on his shoulder, and adjusted the angle.

"Don't shrug your shoulders here. The point of force application is here."

Chen Mo's fingers pressed accurately on the lower angle of Chen Wei's shoulder blade.

With his perception, he could clearly see the force state of every muscle on Chen Wei's body—which muscle was slacking off, and which muscle was compensating.

He only needed a light touch to convey the correct force position.

Then it was Chen Ting.

Her movements were stiffer than Chen Wei's, and her antagonistic force was almost zero.

Chen Mo didn't rush her, just helped her adjust her posture over and over again. Each adjustment wasn't much, just changing a little bit.

If he changed too much, she wouldn't remember; changing a little bit and being able to remember it was progress.

Uncle was the last one to go up.

He was the oldest and had the weakest physical foundation; just Standing Post to maintain the standard posture took him nearly five minutes to find the right feeling.

Chen Mo squatted beside him, one hand lightly supporting his waist to help him tighten his core muscle groups.

Uncle's back began to sweat slightly, and his breathing became heavier, but his movements were more serious than Chen Wei's and Chen Ting's.

After Chen Mo adjusted every angle for him, he gritted his teeth and remained still, not complaining a word.

"Right, that's it."

After practicing for less than an hour, the few of them were already drenched in sweat.

The intensity of Basic Antagonistic Training was far beyond the load of ordinary people's daily exercise; even the simplified version was a high-intensity challenge for them.

Uncle's undershirt was soaked, Chen Wei's arms were trembling slightly, and Chen Ting was sitting on the ground gasping for air.

"Okay, let's stop here for today."

Chen Mo scanned the state of the three people. "Remember these movements; you can practice them every day from now on, even at home. Control the intensity yourself; you don't need to do it for too long at the beginning. The key is that the movements are standard."

He wiped the sweat off his face with a towel, although in reality, he hadn't sweated at all.

That past hour didn't even count as a warm-up for him, but he deliberately made his breathing heavier and squeezed out a few beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Xiao Mo, this thing looks like it doesn't move, so why is it so tiring?" Uncle asked, panting.

"This is antagonism; on the outside, you don't move, but all the muscles in your body are competing against each other. It's much more tiring than running or push-ups, but the efficiency is also much higher. Practice for three months, and you'll know."

Chen Wei sat on the ground, lifted his still-trembling arm, and looked at it. "Indeed, I'm never this shaky even after a busy day."

Chen Mo smiled.

He glanced at his phone; it was nearly three in the afternoon.

"We'll continue tomorrow."

Chen Mo put on his jacket.

As the family walked out of the fitness center, the afternoon sunlight was spilling over the city buildings.

Uncle was still discussing the force techniques of the movement with Chen Wei, and Chen Ting followed behind, rubbing her sore shoulders.