Students from China’s Shanghai Sports Institute study at TCNJ

EWING — "We call her Superwoman. She is very strong and powerful," Yang Zeyue said about his classmate Yulan Jiang as she stepped up on the treadmill in The College of New Jersey's Human Performance Lab to measure her aerobic fitness.

Yang and Yulan are two of 10 sophomore students from China's Shanghai Sports Institute who spent the last two weeks taking classes at TCNJ's Health and Exercise Science program.

On Thursday, the final day of instruction, the hands-on lab was focused on determining two students’ aerobic fitness by using a device that measured their maximum intake of oxygen as they ran on a treadmill.

“They all want to know how fit they are,” TCNJ professor Jie Kang said, noting that they all brag about how fast they run or how much weight they can lift. “I don’t believe them,” he said with a laugh. “I believe the numbers.” Test subjects Yifan Zhao and Yulan both proved to be in good health.

The relationship between TCNJ and Shanghai Sports Institute started when Kang visited the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Chinese branch.

After meeting with the professors and students there, he knew that they would greatly benefit from a summer program at TCNJ’s health and exercise facilities.

“I have a feeling that they’re more than impressed,” he said as the students meandered through the lab, which boasted a slew of high-tech equipment that can study and determine almost every aspect of one’s physical fitness.

Since their arrival at the college on June 30, the students have been busy “diving into the surface of health and exercise science,” lab intern and TCNJ senior Vincenzo Nocera said. Throughout the classes and labs that ran Monday through Thursday, they learned about athletic training, sports psychology, nutrition, and more during classes and labs led mostly by TCNJ staff. “They’re lucky because they’re learning from a bunch of professors that are talented and smart,” Nocera said.

The students said they experienced a greater appreciation for TCNJ's health program.
"We did some [things] we didn't do before," Wen Jiang said, comparing the Shanghai Sports Institute to TCNJ, where she said there is more activity-based learning.

When they were not in the classroom, the Chinese students had the opportunity to sample American culture. They spent the Fourth of July in New York City, went shopping in New Jersey outlet stores, attended a Trenton Thunder baseball game, and finished off their week with a visit to the beaches of Atlantic City.

"Its beautiful here," Yang said.

Over the years, the Health and Exercise Science department has worked with international students from across the globe, including Japan and Spain, but this was the first summer program that offered students college credit toward their university.

“We’ll probably make this an annual thing,” Kang said.

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