Weight lifting and qi

[Guest guest]

I am aware that aerobic exercise moves the qi of the body, but what

about anaerobic exercise such as lifting heavy weights?? It does not

seem to me as though this would have the same qi-moving effect... but

I am unsure what kind of effect it *would* have... can anyone help me

out?

 

Mbanu

[Guest guest]

Chinese Traditional Medicine , " walmart_hurts " <jcc@c...>

wrote:

> I am aware that aerobic exercise moves the qi of the body, but what

> about anaerobic exercise such as lifting heavy weights?? It does

not

> seem to me as though this would have the same qi-moving effect...

but

> I am unsure what kind of effect it *would* have... can anyone help

me

> out?

>

> Mbanu

 

 

Hi Mbanu,

 

I'm no expert, but in my experience light weights do move qi and

invigorate the blood. Where as heavy weights, IE: maxing out, causes

stagnation of qi. The most obvious symptom of this being stiffening

of muscles and limbs, mostly in the short term the days following a

session, but also in the long term as can be seen from the stiff

bodys and lack of flexibility of some body builders.

 

But it also depends of the method of weight lifting I believe. Pure

strength training can be done using constant tension exercises. A

good example of this would be the Horse stance of the traditional

martial arts. This exercise builds strength and stamina like you

would not believe, without losing flexibility or circulation of qi or

blood.

 

What is actually happening here in the long term is that the muscles

and tendons are being charged with qi, qi is literally being stored

and ingrained in the fibre of the muscles, while remaining flexible

and nimble. And simultaneously building stamina by nourishing your

Dan Tien. Of course this can only be verified through personal

experience. But there are other ways of using weights and applying

the same principles. But I reckon that body structure and alignment

principles are of the essence here, just as they are on Horse stance.

 

If pure body building was what was on your mind IE: bulk gain, I am

yet to find a way to do it without forsaking circulation of qi and

blood and effectively, tightness. Body building usually involves

reaching your max reps for a particular weight or working your

muscles to exhaustion point. This on a continual basis does not move

Qi, but the opposite.

 

There is a lot of overlap between these areas, and only trial and

error can tell an individuals reaction to weight lifting. Other

factors included here are constitution, diet and emotional balance;

healthy Liver/Heart/Lung (TCM organs) functions with the smooth flow

of qi. Everybodies different.

 

On a mental/emotional level this stagnation of qi and blood can give

rise to sadness, depression, alternation of moods, irritability,

frustration. This of course will not happen to everyone, but people

with a predisposition to Liver disharmonies, or a Lung or Heart

deficiency (TCM) may be more prone.

 

You'll also notice the aggression levels (Testosterone from a western

perspective) of some serious weight-lifters rising, being prone to

outbursts of anger and in extreme cases acting this outin violence,

possibly relating to rebellious Liver Yang/Fire or in serious cases

Blood Heat/Stasis. All of which can originate from stagnation of

Qi. Of course some of this has to be attributed to some of the

chemicals/drugs serious weight lifters are taking.

 

Thats my rant, hope it helps.

 

Cheers,

 

Chris.