澳大利亚“人猿酷跑”掀起健身热潮

If you’re bored with old-fashioned running, or if you feel that it’s not a complete workout, you might want to try crunning, a new fitness craze that’s taking Australia by storm. No, it does not mean crying while running, it’s actually a cross between crawling and running that involves getting down on all fours and moving as fast as you can.

如果你对跑步这一老式的健身方法感到厌烦，或者你觉得这不是一个全面的健身方式，你可能会想尝试下“酷跑”（crunning）这个新花样，“酷跑”掀起了澳大利亚新的健身热潮。当然，“酷跑”并不像我们听起来那样边哭边跑。事实上，它结合了爬行和跑步的特点，要求你俯下身四肢着地，尽你可能地快速移动。

The bizarre workout, best described as your thighs’ worst nightmare, was invented by Australian fitness enthusiast Shaun McCarthy. We’re not sure what prompted him to come up with the bizarre activity, but he seems convinced that it will revolutionize fitness as we know it. “The only thing that crunning’s changed about fitness… is that it’s changed everything about fitness,” he says.

这个怪诞的健身方法简直是大腿的梦靥，其发明者是澳大利亚的健身爱好者肖恩·麦卡锡。我们尚不明确是何原因促使他想出这个奇怪的锻炼方式，但麦卡锡似乎坚信“酷跑”将为健身运动带来革命，正如我们知道的那样。“‘酷跑’为健身带来的唯一改变就是它改变了健身的一切，”麦卡锡说道。

The short video of him crunning through Melbourne that he posted on Facebook makes the activity look more like a spoof than a serious workout, but it seems to have inspired others to take up running on all fours as well. McCarthy only went public with crunning five weeks, but it has been getting quite a lot of attention online and he claims there is now a steadily-growing movement in Australia.

“麦卡锡在脸谱上上传了他以“酷跑”方式穿行整个墨尔本的视频，但视频让人觉得更像是恶搞而不是健身，不过还是吸引了一些人跟风，采取他的办法锻炼。麦卡锡以“酷跑”走红才五个星期，但在网上已经得到了一定的关注，据麦卡锡表示，目前澳大利亚用“酷跑”健身的人数正在逐渐增加。

But is crunning a better fitness activity than jogging or running? It would appear so, as McCarthy has been saying in interviews that crunning is a more complete workout because it includes the upper body as well. “It really works your thighs and shoulders at the same time,” he said, adding that he believes it burns more calories as well.

但是，“酷跑”真的比慢跑或者长跑更适合健身吗？麦卡锡在采访中表示，时间会证明“酷跑”是一个更加全面的健身方式，理由是“酷跑”也锻炼了身体的上半部分。“‘酷跑’同时活动了你的大腿和肩膀”，他说，之后又说他相信“酷跑”能够燃烧更多的卡路里。

Some fitness experts believe that McCarthy might just be onto something there. According to Kim Baylor, a certified personal trainer, “any exercise that involves full body motions leaves the chance to develop a lot of strength.”

一些健身专家认为麦卡锡的做法有些道理。持有教练资格证的私教金姆·贝洛尔称，“任何囊括全身的运动都有可能消耗巨大的能量。”

However, others think it’s just a fad and might even be harmful if done incorrectly. “Physiologically, humans weren’t built for quadruped mobility like apes,” fitness coach Kevin Dean told Gothamist.“Because we’re bipedal/upright, our wrists have different structures than our ankles (whereas a quadruped animal would have four of roughly the same joint). Outside of learning something new, I can see broken noses, bad wrist/repetitive injuries, and shoulder problems (arising from crunning).”

“在生理方面，人类并没有获得像人猿那样四足移动的能力”，健身教练凯文·迪恩告诉外媒Gothamist的记者。“因为我们是直立行走，手腕的构造不同于脚踝（而四足动物在它们脚上有四个几乎一样的关节）。我看到有些人学习新方法时，鼻子受伤，手腕受伤，并且会反复弄伤自身，肩膀也会出现问题（“酷跑”导致了这些问题）。”

McCarthy suggests wearing protective gloves to avoid damage to your hands while crunning, and taking things slow. “Do not outcrun yourself – it could be bad for your neck or back,” he said. Or, you could just stick to traditional running.

麦卡锡建议在“酷跑”时戴好保护性手套以避免受伤，并且要放缓速度。“不要过度追求‘酷跑’——它可能会对你的脖子和背部造成伤害，”他说道。或者，你只要坚持传统的跑步方式就好了。

Vocabulary

spoof: 恶作剧

bipedal: 两足动物的；两足动物

quadruped: 有四足的；四足动物