Possible cardio exercises in a meditative lifestyle, what do You do?

[Antares]

This HS is stressful for knees.

 

Protector, which HS you would recommend? I do HS as part of my qigong method. But people want to know about cardio exercises in this thread. But thank you for reminding us of HS importance.

 

And thank you once again

[Protector]

 

I do a goat stance-like horse stance but way lower with a meditation and arms are involved. I recommend a horse stance that puts lot's of pressure on the femur(that's kinda the point of horse stance lol). So zhan zhuang would be good but way lower.

[ChiDragon]

 

In horse stance i breath deep and slow. Can you do this while doing cardio exercise? My heart beat is normal but in cardio it should go up. The idea of cardio is to increase heart beat and pump the blood, no?

 

First of all, we would like to know the function of the heart before we can come to a conclusion that the heart rate should go up or down. The function of the heart is to pump as much blood out as one beat or squeeze. The amount of blood can be squeezes depends on the condition of the heart. Ideally, we want to heart to squeeze all the blood out of the heart at one contraction. However, for an average person, one can only squeeze some of the blood out. Therefore, that leaves us two ways to aid the heart to maintain a constant volume of blood to flow out of the heart.

 

1. To increase the rate of the heartbeat.

2. Assist the heart to have one strong contraction at one beat to squeeze most of the blood out of the heart.

 

 

[i am]

You're (obviously, as has been pointed out) talking about different horse stances. The horse stance I do is like what Eugene is talking about, and is not cardio. The horse stance Protector is talking about is a whole different deal, and though he likes to be funny (and is!) and drag you along and provoke you, his style horse stance very much is on topic for this thread, even if he is having fun not explaining why, and talking philosophy instead.

[ChiDragon]

Even though breathing was not mentioned by most Zhan Zhuang practitioners, but it is inevitable not to talk about it. Breathing exercise has a lot to do with the heart too. However, there are many people did not realize that breathing is a hidden exercise for cardio. If you give me a chance to explain the two ways to aid the heart to maintain a constant volume of blood to flow out of the heart, then you will know what that is all about.

1. To increase the rate of the heartbeat.
2. Assist the heart to have one strong contraction at one beat to squeeze most of the blood out of the heart.

PS....
Please keep in mind, regulating breathing is very essential in the martial arts industry. It has a lot to do with our physical heart in the body.

Edited June 9, 2013 by ChiDragon

[ChiDragon]

 

1. To increase the rate of the heartbeat.

 

Here is how the heart works.....

There are two sensors inside the heart are constantly monitoring the blood pressure and oxygen levels. The decrease in pressure means less volume of blood flow which will less oxygen content in the blood. As soon there was a detection of change in pressure or oxygen level, the brain will send a signal to the heart to pump faster for more blood.Thus at the same time, the breathing rate will be increased also to breathe more oxygen into the lung.

 

The purpose of the heart is to maintain a constant volume of blood flow in the circulation. If the volume of blood decreases, the heart will beat faster to compensate for the decrease in volume. Most people thought by increasing the heart rate was considered to be cardio exercise. Unfortunately, Increasing the heart rate is actually making to heart to do more work and harder than normal. Running, walking, hiking or biking falls into Condition 1. It is not a good way for cardio exercise. Hence, condition 1 by adding more stress to the heart muscles due to the frequency of contraction is most undesirable.

 

 

Edited to add:

Walking maybe considered a normal exercise but it is still not as effective as Chi Kung.

Edited June 10, 2013 by ChiDragon

[RongzomFan]

The ideal condition for cardio exercise is to have the heart pump more blood without increasing the rate of heartbeats. It is better not to cause the heart to beat faster while exercising and still has the highest efficiency. To my knowledge, any fast movement of the body will cause the heart to beat faster which is an undesirable for the heart. Modern doctors thought to exercise the heart is by increasing its rate a little bit faster will be ideal for the heart. However, it will make the heart to work a little more harder than normal. To me, making the heart to work even just a little bit harder is not ideal for the heart. The ideal condition is to make the heart beats slower and pumps more blood at one complete heartbeat cycle.

 

So exercise is bad? Ok I will stop working out.

[Antares]

To me, making the heart to work even just a little bit harder is not ideal for the heart. The ideal condition is to make the heart beats slower and pumps more blood at one complete heartbeat cycle

 

According to your logic even walking is no good at all. How long can you stand in low horse stance? Five minutes? Is it enough training for the heart conditioning?

[ChiDragon]

To me, making the heart to work even just a little bit harder is not ideal for the heart. The ideal condition is to make the heart beats slower and pumps more blood at one complete heartbeat cycle

 

According to your logic even walking is no good at all. How long can you stand in low horse stance? Five minutes? Is it enough training for the heart conditioning?

 

It is not how long can you do the low horse stance. Rather, it is how long did it take you to do it....??? One cannot do the low stance at the beginning; It takes time to practice to get there. A knowledgeable instructor will tell you to start with a high stance, then slowly go into the low stance. It is not a matter of how long can one do the stance for the heart; it is the regulating in breathing which does the trick.

 

Please give me a chance to finish my explanation on Condition 2 in my OP. Then, you will know what I mean.

two ways to aid the heart to maintain a constant volume of blood to flow out of the heart.

 

1. To increase the rate of the heartbeat.

2. Assist the heart to have one strong contraction at one beat to squeeze most of the blood out of the heart.

[ChiDragon]

There are two ways to aid the heart to maintain a constant volume of blood to flow out of the heart.

 

1. To increase the rate of the heartbeat.

2. Assist the heart to have one strong contraction at one beat to squeeze most of the blood out of the heart.

 

 

Let's review.

Condition 1: The heart rate increased was by the natural responses due to the lack of oxygen or low blood pressure.

 

In Condition 2, to assist the heart to have a strong contraction at one beat is by intention. This time, let's talk about the contraction of the heart. The heart needs energy for contraction. It gets the energy from the glucose and oxygen. The glucose is from the food which is stored in the liver already; and the oxygen is from the constant breathing. How strong the contraction of the heart depends on the amount of oxygen that was provided. Therefore, if one can increase the amount of oxygen with a method to regulate the breathing, then, one can assist the heart to have a strong contraction at each beat.

 

If the heart has ample amount of oxygen for contraction, then, it doesn't need to beat as fast as normal in delivering the oxygenated blood to the body cells. Another words, the heart rate will be slower and squeeze a greater amount of blood out of the heart. It means that the heart is more efficient with less effort to perform its function.

Edited June 10, 2013 by ChiDragon

[Tung]

I quit doing my cardio workout, but started doing some fajing like movements in my taichi.

and when i started running again i was surprised how good my condition was, i had mostly lost stamina in my leggs other then that i was fine.

 

And i did go over 6 months without doing any extra leg or cardio workout.

 

I found jumping being a good way to get good cardio, bend down touch the floor jump as high as you can.

[Antares]

 

I found jumping being a good way to get good cardio, bend down touch the floor jump as high as you can.

 

They say rebounding is very good for cardio. I am going to get one.

[runner11]

Mainly just running for me, and occasional swimming. Something I've been trying to work on is moderation in endurance activity. I tend to get addicted to it, and I need that runner's high to feel good. Before I know it, I have no urge to relax, and I just want to work out constantly and eat lots of food. I'm trying to make a point to ask myself before I run, do I really want to run right now, or am I just looking forward to the energized runner's high afterward. If its the latter, I'll do something more yin, like sit on the beach and read a book.

[Antares]

ChiDragon, what about metabolism with HS?

 

And I did not get it how you do this HS. Is it special HS for cardio or part of your qigong? I have diff static stances in my qigong.

I do not think i am going for additional to my qigong HS. Going to get rebounder

[ChiDragon]

I wouldn't depend on HS for metabolism because most of the energy were directed to the leg muscles. For metabolism, I would do static Chi Kung such as Zazen. Sitting in Zazen is less stressful than zhan zhuang. So, most of the energy will be utilized for metabolism because the energy was not used else where.

During the performance of HS, the leg muscles are demanding for more oxygen to generate the energy for contraction. Since you are not doing any fast movements, therefore, you will not breathe faster. Instead, you are breathing slow and deeper. Thus the heart will be contracted fully which is actually doing the cardio exercise. Another words, the cardio exercise was done by the full contraction of the cardiac muscles rather than breathing beating faster.

Edited June 12, 2013 by ChiDragon

[Satya]

Just posting here rather than starting a new thread.

 

Running and cycling/any cardio outside is obviously preferable (to me anyway),

 

but, I'm just wondering, for the person in the cold winter months, or for who, for whatever reason, is stuck inside with a small amount of space, what can/would any of you suggest, cardio workout wise, preferably with other elements such as: energetic or a meditative element, or some kind of additional element?: (in the 'Spark' exercise book the author highlights research that shows, when compared to exercise alone [which improves concentration] exercise involving complex movements results in better concentration still).

I do cardio versions of surya namaskar/sun salutations, sometimes for this purpose, which works well, but, I'd like to know if there's any other good stuff out there.

Are there particular Bagua or other martial sequences, etc, that are good for this? I don't know much about martial stuff (apart from the short form in Tai Chi, but, and did a bit of Judo/Karate when younger) so apologies if this is a 'stupid' question.

 

Cheers guys.

[ChiForce]

I think people should try endurance sports like cycling. I cycle and used to race bike too, for 4 years. Spending 4 to 6 hours on the bike will burn all of your karmas away and whatever toxins you have in your body system. You also learn how to control your food intake close to fasting. It could train your body to use your energy, chi, more efficiently. Mentally? It will strengthen your mind when your legs are close to cramping up and you still have 30 miles to go before heading home. What pain and suffering? All illusions. Hehehehe......