JavaScript is off. Please enable to view full site.

Former athlete runs height stimulation classes for obese minors in Vietnam

Former athlete runs height stimulation classes for obese minors in Vietnam

Sunday, July 17, 2016, 19:08 GMT+7

A retired track and field athlete has extended her successful career by running height stimulation exercise classes, the first of their kind in Ho Chi Minh City, meant for minors at risk of obesity.

Back in the mid-1990s, former national high-jump team member Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tam’s staggering height of 1.74 meters, coupled with her gorgeous looks, stood out against her two internationally recognized teammates.

The three girls all came from the northern city of Hai Phong.

Later, Tam met Nguyen Duy Bang, a holder of multiple male high-jump national records.

The two soon fell in love and got married before settling down in Ho Chi Minh City and opening the Bang Tam Sports Club.

The club has gained a strong following in recent years due to its signature height stimulation exercise classes, the first of their kind in the southern hub.

Special classes

On an average day, Tam teaches two classes at the Military Zone 7 Stadium in Tan Binh District.

In one of the classes, nearly 20 overweight children with thick glasses were doing a workout that involved sprinting exercises.

Though sweating profusely, both the instructor and her students were laughing and cheering on each other, showing a sense of pride and teamwork.

mRwfM4Rm.jpg

Nguyen Duy Bang, a holder of multiple male high-jump national records (L), his wife Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tam and their daughter pose at a track and field event. Photo: Tuoi Tre

“Most of our students are obese, overweight, or have limited height growth. Many are too lazy and inert for physical exercises and are obsessed with food,” Tam said.

“Today’s kids are also weighed down with overloaded academic schedules, resulting in parents’ undue emphasis on their children’s studies rather than their physical activities,” she added.

Tam prides herself on her ability to remember the bodily and facial features of approximately 1,800 out of the 2,000 young enrollees in her classes, though their names often elude her.

The former athlete currently teaches five classes per day, each with approximately 60 students.

Her first class typically begins at 6:00 am and her last ends at 8:00 pm.

The classes are held at three locations, namely Military Zone 7 Stadium, Hoa Lu Sports Center in District 1 and Ho Chi Minh City Nutrition Center.

The training program, designed by Tam herself, is divided into three phases that aim to prepare her students for a wide array of exercises in different sports.

The staff of her classes work with overweight kids to perform activities designed to help them shed weight while providing a fun-packed workout session built to speed up their bodily growth and maximize their height.

With a regular enrollment of approximately 600, the classes also provide a stable means of livelihood for 20 former athletes who have parted with their professional sports careers.

In early June, Tam worked closely with the municipal nutrition center to open a workout and appetite suppression facility.

8rgCKTGR.jpg

Nguyen Duy Bang (L) instructs his young students in his height stimulation class. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Life-turning twist

Tam resigned from her competitive sports career in January 2007 after an unsuccessful performance at the 2006 Asian Games, held in Doha, Qatar in December.

Two days after the resignation, the girl found herself following her husband to Ho Chi Minh City, where they started from scratch.

She taught at some sports centers before providing home tutoring to work her way through college.

Exhausted from working and studying simultaneously, there were times when she considered switching to a higher-pay modeling job.

She is happy now that she did not make the switch.

Six years later, a life-changing twist came when Tam was asked by local dancesport “queen” Khanh Thi to provide height stimulation coaching for Thi’s students.

“It then dawned on me that hampered height is one of Vietnamese youths’ weaknesses, due in part to lack of physical exercise,” Tam said.

She was amazed when she found out that school students exercise every week on a trip to Singapore.

Trinh Cong Phuong, deputy director of the Hoa Lu Sports Center, who has collaborated with Tam and her husband for several years now, said he was highly supportive of Tam’s idea to launch height acceleration classes in 2013.

So far, the idea has proved a big success, with up to 100 students crowded into some of the summer classes at his center. 

7JQzFOhN.jpg

Children are pictured training at Bang Tam Sports Club. Photo: Tuoi Tre

“As far as I know, this model is the first of its kind in Ho Chi Minh City,” Phuong noted.

Students now come from different age brackets and classes are comprised of children and adults suffering from obesity, bone, and joint diseases.

“Highly appreciative of those who have helped me, I yearn to pay back by striving to provide stable coaching jobs for more retired professional athletes, whose sports career is quite fleeting and unforgiving,” Tam, a blissful mother of two, said.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Tuoi Tre News

More

Read more

;

Photos

VIDEOS

‘Taste of Australia’ gala dinner held in Ho Chi Minh City after 2-year hiatus

Taste of Australia Gala Reception has returned to the Park Hyatt Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Vietnamese woman gives unconditional love to hundreds of adopted children

Despite her own immense hardship, she has taken in and cared for hundreds of orphans over the past three decades.

Vietnam’s Mekong Delta celebrates spring with ‘hat boi’ performances

The art form is so popular that it attracts people from all ages in the Mekong Delta

Vietnamese youngster travels back in time with clay miniatures

Each work is a scene caught by Dung and kept in his memories through his journeys across Vietnam

Latest news