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Here's a guy I think some Healthy Bums might be interested in. https://www.cbass.com/ Back in the mid 80's I remember his "RIPPED" column being the last page in Muscle & Fitness magazine. I always blew it off because I was an immature, goofy teenager and I was like, "what's up with this balding dude in the speedo." Boy, was I stupid! I rediscovered him on the internet a few years ago and I periodically check back to see what he's up to. The man is a wealth of the best information on health, fitness, and the latest trends (at 81 years of age). It's especially interesting to read how his personal regimen has evolved as he's aged.

@Victor I read in another post from you that you have a nerve impingement in your hips. That probably prevents you from doing compound movements (which is what I mainly do with a sandbag that is 30-40 pounds). Have you tried doing bodybuilder style isolation movements? For lower body do leg curls and leg extensions. To hit the glutes do kickbacks, straight leg deadlift, or good mornings depending on what doesn't hurt. For upper body there is no end to what you can do with dumbbells. 13 years ago I hurt my back really bad and spent 3 months in physical therapy. The exercises the therapist had me do all involved light dumbbells and a balance ball. At the end of 3 months I was really happy with how I looked and changed my whole philosophy - I didn't need to lift heavy weight to build muscle. I've seen several scientific studies conclude that weight training is superior to other forms of exercise (walking, running, yoga). That's why I'll never give it up. So, please stick with it and find what works for you. Good luck.

I'd be interested in hearing your ideas on merging Eastern and Western systems. Part of my journey that led me here was reading 'High Magick' by Damien Echols. A lot of his preliminary exercises we're doing things like rubbing the hands together and playing with a chi ball and breathing techniques. Later the book gets into the Qabbalistic Cross, The Middle Pillar, the LBRP, talismans, and more. So much of what he talks about involved manipulating energy. So, I set out to find what I thought would be the best system for building my internal energy system. For that I settled in Qigong. Recently I watched a talk given by Dandapani. He talked about what he labeled "monk magic", he might as well have been talking about thought forms, servitors, and talismans, but he didn't use those words. So, to me there seems to be some commonality between systems. The past 2 days I have been doing the Qabbalistic Cross as part of my warmup before Zhan Zhuang. I don't know if I should be doing this, but I thought I would give it a try. BTW, something that really inspired me is that Damien did his magick while in solitary confinement on death row before he was exonerated. Nobody was letting him have wands and daggers. This led me to look for a system that just needed me and nothing else.

Hi Victor, it seems like you and I have some things in common (although I'm 48 and in the US). My degree is in computer engineering. I've played guitar since I was 15, about 5 years ago I started the switch to Bass. I've been a weight lifter since I was 12. I love just going to my basement, putting on some music, and focusing on the movement. It's always been a kind of meditation, my happy place. Recently I've made sandbag training my primary mode. I love how it lets me hit the transverse and lateral planes better than iron weight movements which typically only target the frontal plane. I came to Qigong because I was attracted to the standing form of meditation. As an engineer I sit in front of a computer all day. After 25 years of it my hips are wrecked. Between work and a family with 2 kids I'm left with little time to exercise, so I have to be efficient. I've gone through periods with no exercise or meditation and those have been the darkest times in my life. I injured my back really bad doing kettelbell snatches 13 years ago. I've had back pain issues ever since. When I became determined I that I really needed to do something to improve my mental state and well being I did a lot of research. I experimented with Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn practices, Kriya Yoga, and Kundalini Yoga. I ultimately decided that Qigong was the best for me. In your entries I see that you are getting restless. I too, easily get attracted to the new, bright, shiny object and want to chase after the next cool thing. I think it's just a characteristic of the engineer mindset. We're curious people by nature. With all that said, I have been doing Zhan Zhuang as taught by Lam Kam Chuen. I'm up to 15 minutes now. I really enjoy it. Everything I read, see, and hear seems to say that this is "the secret" to greatness.

Hi, I recently joined here as well, but I think I'm doing a practice that is similar to yours. I am also mainly working from The Way of Energy. I signed up on Flowing Zen and learned Lifting The Sky from Sifu Anthony. Doing some research on Lifting The Sky I found a video of Wong Kiew Kit leading a seminar. It looks to me like a very gentle push at the top, just enough to lengthen the spine. Personally, I've come up with something of my own version that happened spontaneously with this knowledge. In my warmup I do arm circles as Lam Kam Chuen describes. But, I have a visualization to go along with it. When my hands are at the bottom they are in front of me palms facing in. There is a fountain of chi coming out of the Earth between my feet. On top of that fountain is a ball of chi that I pick up (kind of like at the bowling alley that machine always returns your ball). I lift that ball over my head. At the top I turn my palms outward, flick my wrists, and bring my arms down to the side for another rep. When I flick my wrists any unwanted/negative energy flys off of my fingertips and away from me. The ball of chi pops and I am showered by positive golden energy.

I have meditated on and off for nearly 30 years using various techniques. I sit in a cubicle and write software all day. I like to be active, I've been a weightlifter for 36 years (I'm 48). I was attracted to the idea of standing meditation when I found Qigong. I bought 'The Way of Energy' by Lam Kam Chuen and watched his videos on Youtube. I have been Standing Like A Tree for about a month now and am up to 13 minutes Standing at the Stake (going for 15 tonight). My total routine takes 30 minutes with warmup (knee circles, hip circles, Lifting The Sky, Wuji and relax) and closing (Lifting The Sky, Shaking, twist and slap body, massage, walking). I do it everyday before going to bed. I'm looking for a Tai Chi or Qigong teacher. It looks like I have 2 available in my area (Greensburg, PA). In the meantime I'm trying to learn all that I can. I have been reading 'The Healing Promise of Qi' by Roger Jahnke (for some theory). I receive newsletters from Flowing Zen and Energy Arts. I just ordered 'Chi Kung: The Way of Power' by Lam Kam Chuen (I love his style, had to order used from Half Price Books), 'The Inner Structure of Tai Chi: Mastering the Classic Forms of Tai Chi Chi Kung' by Mantak Chia (I read in the forums here that this has a Tai Chi form for small spaces. I know he has his critics, but this seemed like one of his safer, more practical books), and 'Opening The Energy Gates Of Your Body' by Bruce Frantzis (gets rave reviews, seems like a must-read). I could tell quite a long story about how i got here. I'll just say I've tried a lot of things and I'm really excited about Qigong. I'm all in. I've learned a lot already lurking here in the forums. I'm looking forward to sharing in health, vitality, and spiritual enlightenment with everyone here.