Heart Rate during Qigong

[buscon]

hi,

 

i've just bought a heart rate monitor for monitoring my fitness exercise - i think i was overtraining lately, i want to avoid that.

 

Now I got aware of different heart rate zones, for different kind of exercises.

 

What's the heart rate zone of a Qigong session ?

 

I'll tell you my heart rate during qigong when I've tried

 

Best

[Aetherous]

I've heard that in general, the heart rate plus your age should add up to 170 at most.

 

So if you're 30 years old, your heart rate can reach 140 in order to be safe and not get side effects.

[Jeramiah Zeitigeist]

Well, thats a strange question !

 

What has heart rate got to do with Qigong practice ? As its not a CV practice, and not intended to be an aerobic or anaerobic practice, you shouldn't be thinking in terms of heart rates !

 

Also, Qigong, and Zhan Zuhang is not intended to be a physical exercise. If it becomes physical, its no longer Zhan Zuhang. If it becomes physical, you are starting to tense up, and tension blocks energy flow.

 

I come from a pro cycling background. I lived with a heart rate monitor for years, until heart rate training was replaced with power training. Heart rate is a very poor method of gauging training responses. There is heart rate lag, and cardiac drift, and the effect of tiredness and over training, and temperature variation, and the fact that heart rates are specific for each sport. Heart rate does not indicate training. It is a rather poor indicator of the response to a given training stimulus by a muscle, with many other factors involved. Hence its use is declining.

 

The old equation of max heart rate being 220 minus your age is nonsense. It means nothing at all.

 

My resting heart rate is 39. My max on the bike is 184. I can ride at 176 for ten minutes, 174 for twenty minutes, 166 for three hours. But that isn't at all relevant to Qigong. Qigong isn't a physical exercise, so relax and just concentrate on the flow.

[buscon]

@Jeremiah: thanx for the great answer!

 

I actually know that qigong is a different physical activity, I bought my heart rate monitor for my strength training and for kung fu - anyway good that you make it clear.

Still I was cursious to know what's happening during qiqong and if there is a kind of heart rate zone for qiqong.

 

I tried yesterday and I got a pulse rate between 90 and 100 doing qigong, is that make sense ?

[Jeramiah Zeitigeist]

@Jeremiah: thanx for the great answer!

 

I actually know that qigong is a different physical activity, I bought my heart rate monitor for my strength training and for kung fu - anyway good that you make it clear.

Still I was cursious to know what's happening during qiqong and if there is a kind of heart rate zone for qiqong.

 

I tried yesterday and I got a pulse rate between 90 and 100 doing qigong, is that make sense ?

 

Hi Buscon

 

It depends on whether we have the figures for your resting heart rate, and your maximum heart rate too ?

 

Resting heart rate is easy, just take it before you get out of bed.

 

Maximum is more difficult, as maximum heart rate is exercise specific. So my maximum heart rate in cycling is different to my maximum in running or in martial arts.

 

Do you know what your maximum is ?

 

Then we can work out percentages, and get an idea of which systems your body is activating, ie, fat burning zone etc. Although those zones commonly used are all relative and not strictly accurate anyway.

 

Which Qigong are you doing ? Moving or still ? Deep stance or upright ?

 

Then we can see whats happening !

[ChiDragon]

@Jeremiah: thanx for the great answer!

 

I actually know that qigong is a different physical activity, I bought my heart rate monitor for my strength training and for kung fu - anyway good that you make it clear.

Still I was cursious to know what's happening during qiqong and if there is a kind of heart rate zone for qiqong.

 

I tried yesterday and I got a pulse rate between 90 and 100 doing qigong, is that make sense ?

This is my experience. I used a digital blood pressure meter.

 

Normal conditions:

90 - 135 <--- Systolic

60 - 85 <--- Diasystolic

60 - 80 <--- Heart rate

 

In your case, the heart rate 90 - 100 seems a bit high. Can you describe what you did during your qigong practice....???

[ChiDragon]

This is my experience. I used a digital blood pressure meter.

 

Normal conditions:

90 - 135 <--- Systolic

60 - 85 <--- Diasystolic

60 - 80 <--- Heart rate

 

In your case, the heart rate 90 - 100 seems a bit high. Can you describe what you did during your qigong practice....???

Here are my personal data during abdominal breathing at sitting position:

Systolic/diasystolic/Heart rate

114 72 77

114 64 73

106 70 75

108 70 72

105 65 73

099 72 78

116 66 78

126 64 78

104 68 72

110 63 80

110 71 81

093 66 72

108 62 76

104 66 70

115 67 76

 

These are consecutive readings.

Edited January 8, 2012 by ChiDragon

[Jeramiah Zeitigeist]

Here are my personal data during abdominal breathing at sitting position:

Systolic/diasystolic/Heart rate

114 72 77

114 64 73

106 70 75

108 70 72

105 65 73

099 72 78

116 66 78

126 64 78

104 68 72

110 63 80

110 71 81

093 66 72

108 62 76

104 66 70

115 67 76

 

These are consecutive readings.

 

 

So do you know what your resting heart rate is, while lying in bed ? Then we can see how much your abdominal breathing has raised your heart rate.

[joeblast]

also if those rates are while sitting, it is well within reason to add 10-20 for light moving qigong sounds like 90-100 would be reasonable!

[ChiDragon]

also if those rates are while sitting, it is well within reason to add 10-20 for light moving qigong sounds like 90-100 would be reasonable!

 

I did measure my personal data for light moving qigong. They were about the same. It seems to me 90-100 indicates that the movements were little bit vigorous. However, I will make measurement again with light movements.

 

If one breathes properly, due to the sufficient of oxygen, then the heart shall not beat faster than normal.

 

@Jeramiah Zeitigeist

I have not measured my heart rest rate. My main concern was that am I within the normal healthy range...??? I was...

Edited January 8, 2012 by ChiDragon

[ChiDragon]

After 5 minutes of light movement and breathing Chi Kung, my blood pressure and heart rate are as follows:

 

Measured consecutively:

Sys Dia HR

153 73 74

140 80 74

128 79 72

136 77 70

Edited January 8, 2012 by ChiDragon

[buscon]

This is my experience. I used a digital blood pressure meter.

 

Normal conditions:

90 - 135 <--- Systolic

60 - 85 <--- Diasystolic

60 - 80 <--- Heart rate

 

In your case, the heart rate 90 - 100 seems a bit high. Can you describe what you did during your qigong practice....???

 

I did the 8 brocades, I did it again and the values still in that range more or less.

My heart rate at rest is quite low, around 50. I didn't test my maximum heart rate, I've just used as a reference the formula:

220 - age

that is 188 for me.

 

I'll try to measure it again and let you know.

[ChiDragon]

I did the 8 brocades, I did it again and the values still in that range more or less.

My heart rate at rest is quite low, around 50. I didn't test my maximum heart rate, I've just used as a reference the formula:

220 - age

that is 188 for me.

 

I'll try to measure it again and let you know.

 

There is no need to measure your maximum heart rate if you are a Chi Kung practitioner. As a Chi Kung practitioner, your heart rate will never go up that high, unless you are an athlete. As a matter of fact, you want to avoid the maximum heart rate at all times. You never want your heart to beat that fast. That's why Chi Kung practitioners do slow movements and do abdominal breathing to keep the heart rate at normal while consuming a maximum amount of oxygen.

Edited January 8, 2012 by ChiDragon

[buscon]

There is no need to measure your maximum heart rate if you are a Chi Kung practitioner. As a Chi Kung practitioner, your heart rate will never go up that high, unless you are an athlete. As a matter of fact, you want to avoid the maximum heart rate at all times. You never want your heart to beat that fast. That's why Chi Kung practitioners do slow movements and breathe to keep the heart rate at normal while consuming maximum amount of oxygen.

 

I do kung fu and weights training too, that's why I bought a heart rate monitor, and that's where I'll smt measure my maximum heart rate.

Now I'm recovery from a period of overtraining, so it's not the best time to measure it.

 

Still, I'll keep an eye on my heart rate doing qigong, resting and doing sports - then I'll let you know

[mYTHmAKER]

I think where you are breathing from might affect heart rate i.e tan tien vs higher up.

Has anyone experimented with this.

Qi gong - tai chi - weight training.

[buscon]

I think where you are breathing from might affect heart rate i.e tan tien vs higher up.

 

 

I breath mainly in the lower dan tien, during meditation, qigong, kung fu and normal life - so I don't think that is the problem...

[mYTHmAKER]

I breath mainly in the lower dan tien, during meditation, qigong, kung fu and normal life - so I don't think that is the problem...

 

Wasn't thinking of it as your problem. Was just curious how where one breaths from affects heart rate

and if anyone did an experiment that would show up on a monitor.

[ChiDragon]

Wasn't thinking of it as your problem. Was just curious how where one breaths from affects heart rate

and if anyone did an experiment that would show up on a monitor.

There is one way of breathing is through the respiratory system. The only things that are affecting the heart rate were the change in blood pressure and the amount of oxygen in the oxygenated blood.

[Wayfarer]

Hi Buscon,

 

I found this to be an interesting question. I used to do a lot of exercise until I hurt my knee while being thrown in Aikido, until then I had done a lot of running with a heart rate monitor (until I could tell what my rate was from feel). I still exercise although I'm not as fit as a few years ago but still fitter than most guys my age.

 

As well as practising Qigong I'm learning Chen Style Tai Chi which as you may know involves movements that build up the energy for a sudden powerful release. I recently started adding these moves to my Qigong routine and while remaining relaxed (muscles) I did around 30 second sequences of energy build up before releasing however I can't do this for long as my heart rate zooms to what I guess is around 180 or so. If you want to take a look at the kind of thing I mean see the You Tube video of Chen Tai Chi below and watch from 3:00 to 3:30 - that will get the heart rate going! Long flowing moves to gather in the energy then a sudden release of power - a great feeling!

 

 

Heath

 

 

hi,

 

i've just bought a heart rate monitor for monitoring my fitness exercise - i think i was overtraining lately, i want to avoid that.

 

Now I got aware of different heart rate zones, for different kind of exercises.

 

What's the heart rate zone of a Qigong session ?

 

I'll tell you my heart rate during qigong when I've tried

 

Best

[ChiDragon]

Hi Buscon,

 

I found this to be an interesting question. I used to do a lot of exercise until I hurt my knee while being thrown in Aikido, until then I had done a lot of running with a heart rate monitor (until I could tell what my rate was from feel). I still exercise although I'm not as fit as a few years ago but still fitter than most guys my age.

 

As well as practising Qigong I'm learning Chen Style Tai Chi which as you may know involves movements that build up the energy for a sudden powerful release. I recently started adding these moves to my Qigong routine and while remaining relaxed (muscles) I did around 30 second sequences of energy build up before releasing however I can't do this for long as my heart rate zooms to what I guess is around 180 or so. If you want to take a look at the kind of thing I mean see the You Tube video of Chen Tai Chi below and watch from 3:00 to 3:30 - that will get the heart rate going! Long flowing moves to gather in the energy then a sudden release of power - a great feeling!

 

 

Heath

 

Have you been practicing the basic movements...??? The demo shown in the VID is an advance level. The "build up the energy for a sudden powerful release" is called "Fa Jin". A practitioner must have been practiced the basic for sometime in order to Fa Jin. If you haven't done so, maybe that is why your heart rate goes up to 180. If that was the case, it would be like that you were doing strenuous exercise without passing the basics.

Edited January 10, 2012 by ChiDragon

[Wayfarer]

Thanks ChiDragon,

 

I think you are right. Although I have practised Tai Chi for 20 years (not Chen) I have not been doing that type of exercise - it just goes to show how powerful some of these exercises are!

 

 

Have you been practicing the basic movements...??? The demo shown in the VID is an advance level. The "build up the energy for a sudden powerful release" is called "Fa Jin". A practitioner must have been practiced the basic for sometime in order to Fa Jin. If you haven't done so, maybe that is why your heat rate goes up to 180. If that was the case, it would be like that you were doing strenuous exercise without passing the basics.

[buscon]

I measured the heart rate in the morning doing qigong and it's around 80-90 bpm

I did the 8 brocades, i got peaks around 100 when I was in mapu (I do a quite low stance).

 

Does it make sense ?

[ChiDragon]

I measured the heart rate in the morning doing qigong and it's around 80-90 bpm

I did the 8 brocades, i got peaks around 100 when I was in mapu (I do a quite low stance).

 

Does it make sense ?

 

 

When you do the qigong(in motion) and the 8 brocades, how was your breathing...??? What I meant was how did you breathe...???

 

Did you get a little sweat on your forehead after the 8 brocades practice...???

Edited January 12, 2012 by ChiDragon

[buscon]

When you do the qigong and the 8 brocades, how was your breathing...??? What I meant was how did you breathe...???

 

I breath deep and slowly in the lower dan tien - How should I breath otherwise ?

Or did I misunderstood your question ?

[ChiDragon]

I breath deep and slowly in the lower dan tien - How should I breath otherwise ?

Or did I misunderstood your question ?

 

Your breathing is correct. How fast are your movements...??? If you do it too fast, your heart rate will go up. If your movements were synchronized with your slow breathing, your heart rate will not go up.

Edited January 12, 2012 by ChiDragon