Exercises
Below is a typical morning workout. I have drawn these exercises from many traditions, including Chinese Qi Gong, Hindu Wrestling, Yoga, and 19th and 20th century western physical culture materials. Many exercises occur in various traditions. In some cases I give one or more references, but this is not to imply that those are the only, or even the best references. There are also various opinions on the "best" way to do many exercises. Here I offer my interpretation of things that work for me. Feel free to modify them to meet your own needs.
The first group of exercises below are done with my heels elevated off the ground. This gives me a chance to work my calf muscles at the same time I work the other parts of the body. These exercises also incorporate deep breathing. In general, I inhale when arms go out or chest expands, and exhale when arms come in or chest contracts. These exercises are done with high tension, working the flexor and extensor muscles against each other. These exercises are based on the routines published by John McSweeny and John Peterson. I have, however, modified them to my tastes.
Wrist Twist - 4 reps
Deltoid Raise - 4 reps
Shoulder Roll - 4 reps
Barrel Squeeze - 4 reps
Atlas Biceps Flex and Press - 4 reps
High reach - 10 reps
Imaginary Rope Climb - 10 reps
The abdominal exercises below are based on the Nauli Kriya - This yoga exercise takes a little while to understand. Keep trying. These should be done on an empty stomach.
Abdominal exercise 1 - Exhale completely while bending over. Then straighten up without inhaling. Pull the abdomen up and in.
Abdominal exercise 2 - As #1, but relax the abdomen and pull it in several times, all without inhaling.
#'s 3 and 4 are a bit more difficult and you may wish to practice #1 and 2 for a couple months before beginning these. If they don't come easily at first don't worry. Just keep trying.
Abdominal exercise 3 - As #1, position fists on inner thighs. By pressing with the fist on the inner thigh you will be able to isolate the abdominal muscles on each side of the abdomen. By varying the pressures of the fists you will be able to produce the rolling motion shown in the video. This will help to massage and tone the internal organs as well as the abdominal muscles.
Abdominal exercise 4 - As #3, but press with both fists at once to isolate the central muscles of the abdomen.
Next come some exercises for spinal flexibility. These exercises are based on the routines published by Matt Furey. I have, however, modified them to my tastes.
Tai Chi Waist Turner - 50 reps.
Back Arch with Forward Bend and Squeeze - Place hands on hips. Feet are spaced about shoulder-
width apart./ Inhale deeply and lean back as far as possible./ Pause for a moment and then bow forward./ As you bend forward, exhale vigorously and squeeze your abdominal muscles./ I do this about 4 times, going progressively farther back each time. The first 2 times bending forward I slap along lines running up the outside, inside, and front of my legs.
At this portion of the workout I begin to alternate push-up variations, leg exercises, and flexibility exercises.
Bethak - 25 reps. This is one of the classic exercises from the Hindu wrestling tradition. It is similar to the deep knee bend.
Inclined pull-up on the rings - 25 reps. This is one of the few exercises I do that uses equipment.
Side Stretch 1 - Bounce lightly with the breath, 10 times on each side.
Bethak - 25 reps.
Dand - 15 reps. This is one of the classic exercises from the Hindu wrestling tradition. Go slowly enough to feel the stretch at each extreme.
Reversed Dand - 10 reps.
Side Stretch 2 - Hold for 10 breaths on each side, but don't bounce.
Bethak - 25 reps.
Pushups - 25 reps
Trunk Rotation - 5 reps each direction
Bethak - 25 reps.
Atlas push ups or dips - As described in the Atlas course. The Atlas site is still selling the Atlas course that you used to see in the back of the comic books. Still a good course after all these years.
Neck Exercises - Done with full tension in the neck.
This completes the standard portion of the exercises. After that I may do additional things, like:
Jogging - usually 15 minutes in the park with my dog Billy.
Tai Chi -
Chin ups -
Wallace variation of Arm Grab -
Sustainable pursuits
There are exercise routines that tax the individual and leave him feeling depleted, and routines that energize the individual. The exact nature of these routines varies from individual to individual, and a routine that might exhaust one individual might be a refreshing and energizing break for someone else.
The elite athlete exercises in pursuit of specific physical goals, and makes sacrifices in order to achieve those goals. He may expend large amounts of physical and psychological energy, sacrifice overall health, damage tendons or joints, repeatedly shock his brain, or unbalance his body chemistry in pursuit of his goals. For the knowledgeable athlete who accepts the cost of his actions, this is fine. A problem occurs when individuals who really seek good health and the ability to enjoy their physical bodies adopt the training routines of the elite athlete. These people accept the price the elite athlete pays, but may be moved no closer, perhaps moved even further away, from their goals. How many times have we heard of the “busted up weightlifter,” the emaciated runner with shin splints, or the martial artist whose knees no longer function properly?
There is no question in my mind of the ability of HIT protocols to induce muscular hypertrophy. But the body will promptly slough off this unnecessary muscle as soon as the proponent grows weary of the routine of taxing his muscles to failure or near failure, and then allowing them to heal. It requires considerable effort to maintain the body in a state of imbalance. After a time, many proponents lose the psychological energy required to continue the effort, and then lose the gains they have struggled to achieve.
What of the complaints of “staleness?” “I’ve tried this form of exercise, found it effective, but I just can’t bring myself to do it regularly anymore.” This is also seen in individuals who grow weary of continuing to set and push towards ever increasing goals.
Is there an alternative approach to exercise that is sustainable? I believe that there is. But it requires de-emphasizing goals, measurements of how big, how much, or how many, and efforts to continually develop. De-emphasizing efforts to develop does not mean that development stops. It does mean that less psychological effort is expended in attempting to achieve goals, and burnout is less likely.
A good starting point may be a semi-stable routine that is not meant to continually progress. Rather it’s focus is to maintain the different parts of the body in good working condition. After a while working with such a routine it may seem right to add some more reps of a certain exercise, add a new exercise, or even drop one from the routine. It’s ok to vary such a routine, or even to decide to drop days and take a rest. What should be avoided is a goal-oriented attempt to increase reps, increase speed, lift more, etc. A routine such as I describe takes less psychological energy than the traditional goal-oriented approach many people take. It is also much less prone to the cycles of – exercise intently and get the body in shape – then drop everything and let the body go to pot.
I won’t presume to tell anyone how to set up such a routine, as I believe the appropriate routine is highly individual. However, I think anyone who tries can find a workable approach for himself by focusing on what it takes to get his body feeling good. This routine will change as the body develops even in the absence of specific goals.
For instance, an obese person might begin with a routine of just walking slowly around the block. Over the months, as health begins to improve, that person might be inspired to add another component to his exercise. A very fit individual might experience illness, an accident, or decline due to aging, and decide to modify his routine in the other direction, dropping some exercises, and reducing the intensity of others. He can do this without the psychological pain of an individual who has worked hard in a goal-oriented manner to induce hypertrophy that will promptly disappear as soon as he begins to slack off.
In the end, we will all return to the dust. All of our hard-won physical gains will be taken away. For many of us, it makes sense to design our exercise programs to enhance our experience of the various facets of life here on earth, to help us learn what we have to learn here, and to facilitate spiritual development.
Lifestyles Vs. Goals
My e-mail box is crammed with notes telling me how the author’s goal setting methods will pave my path to riches and success. Many of the workout schedules we talk about here emphasize goals. “Can I do 500 pushups in one day? I’ll make it a goal and work towards it.”
No doubt setting goals and working towards them can be effective. But are there any drawbacks? Consider an imaginary person that sets and achieves successively harder physical culture goals. The goals keep getting harder and harder. Achieving them takes more and more energy, effort, and attention. Eventually the person gets to the point where other aspects of life become more important and gives up his physical culture pursuits and devotes his attention to other goals. How many of us know of gifted athletes who, as time passed, turned their attentions to other pursuits and let their bodies go to pot? While they were setting physical goals and achieving them they were great examples of the benefits of exercise, but they were unable to integrate the benefits into their lives in a sustainable manner.
There are other activities in our lives that don’t tend to be goal oriented. Recreational dancing is one that comes to mind. I am a terrible dancer, but I notice that those that do love the activity do not in general approach it in a goal oriented manner. They do not ask themselves “What is the objective of this dance?” Rather, they seem to enjoy the activity for its own sake. In most activities you can observe both goal oriented and lifestyle oriented practitioners. For example, when hiking you may meet some people ambling along, enjoying the hike for what it is, and others straining mightily to put in 35 miles before the sun goes down.
Much of physical culture discussion seems to be goal oriented. However, many Yoga and Qi Gong practitioners have implied something other than a strict goal oriented approach to their practices.
Everyone has a lifestyle, and almost everyone has goals. It’s not really a matter of choosing one or the other, but of what kind of a balance between them we should have. I think our society in general is out of balance towards the goal-setting end of the scale.
Maybe it’s time for the dancers of physical culture, the yogis and the Taoist recluses, to come out of their caves and their closets. There are advantages to playing with physical culture without pushing yourself hard towards a goal. It energizes you and makes you feel good. You needn’t focus on it to the extent that it displaces other worthwhile activities in your life. Every once in a while you get a pleasant surprise as something that was formerly beyond your capacity is suddenly discovered to be doable, and perhaps even easy.
Everyone finds their own balance. There may be some very fit, goal-oriented practitioners who stop by this page. But I will bet there is a far greater number of out-of-shape, or elderly, or depressed individuals who may come to take a peek. I hope they will be able to understand that it is ok to play with this stuff, to have as much or as little fun as they like, and still reap very satisfying benefits from the practice.
Burnout
I find myself setting goals, pushing myself, and getting a great rush when I accomplish one. However, sometimes I also find myself pushing too hard and wearing myself down. Sometimes I lie in bed feeling a little sick, wanting to get up and workout but thinking that if I do then I am going to crash myself into a full fledged illness. On these days I am usually disappointed if I don't workout, and either crash or hurt myself if I do workout.
One thing that helps me avoid burnout is a sustainable base routine that does not change, and then additional stuff added on top per my feelings of the day. Tiger moves, 5 Tibetans, Tai Chi form, Yoga routine, are all examples of a sustainable routine that can form a base. The basic routine doesn't have to improve. Reps don't increase, sets don't increase, it just serves as a base for the rest of the day's activities.
It is important to consider how to avoid burnout. I see glaring examples of burnout in our community Judo class. Sometime back an older guy joined up, to get in shape. The first (pretty easy) class wiped him out and made him sore. He came up to me a couple of days later, still stiff from the first workout, and said "I'm really out of shape! Do you have any extra exercises I can do at home to help me get in shape faster." I told him that his body was already being challenged and that he should concentrate on taking it easy until he adapted to the regular workouts. He lasted one or two more classes before dropping out of the program.
Burnout is often linked to a strong goal orientation. Unfortunately, if the focus on the goal is so intense that bodily systems are overloaded, the effort can't be sustained and the goal is not met. Perhaps someone who tried less hard would achieve better results.
On top of this base routine other activities or routines can build. I am discovering the pyramid concept (or alternatively a ramp, upwards or downwards) is quite useful in this. Different exercises can be used from day to day, sometimes two or more at the same time in the same pyramid. The size of the pyramid can be changed as growth (or decline) occurs. When first starting the pyramid can be very small, and then slowly built to the size where the person's energy or perceived benefit is maximized. It needs to be periodically reevaluated for changes in ability. Sometimes a person just has a bad day and can't do what they could the day before.
There is a variety of good exercise information on the web. The links below will provide you with some of that good information.
Follow links and print what interests you. A small 3-ring binder will hold pages and keep your current routines in a manner that is easily referred to during exercise.
Animations of John Peterson and Wendie Pett demonstrating
- Furey (Hindu) Push-up
- Furey (Hindu) Squat
- Superman Wheel Roll-out
- Tiger Bend Push-up
- Wall Walk
- Rocca Push-up
John McSweeny's Tiger Moves - These are self resistance exercises where the muscles and their antagonists are both contracted powerfully during the motion.- These items are from the website of Bronze Bow Publishing - Sells exercise books including Peterson's "Pushing Yourself to Power."
The Golden Age of Iron Men - Physical Culture Museum - This site is a treasure house of old physical culture materials. Many of the classic books are here. There are several courses comparable to the Atlas course. For instance the Hercules course. All for free. You can spend weeks reading the material on this site.
The 5 Tibetans - Supposedly a form of Tibetan yoga. Good exercises even if you don't buy the stories or the new-age lingo surrounding them.
The 8 Brocades (Ba Duan Jin) - Old Chinese Qi Gong exercises. These exist in several forms, and there are various stories as to their origin. It is known that they have been around for a long time. Here are listed several variations. Pick one. . Site 1, Site 2, Site 3, Site 4, Site 5,
The Muscle/Tendon Change Classic - Old Chinese Qi Gong exercises, supposedly brought to the Shaolin temple by Da Mo.
Zen and the Art of Self Resistance page. Self-resistance exercises for every part of the body, well described and illustrated.
Exercises from "Yoga for Men Only" Not Yoga as most of us know it. This old book contains some useful exercises.
Arm Grabs - from Steve Hamp's website. I also use this variation. This is a movement inspired by Steve Hamp's Arm Grabs. It is quite different from the arm grabs though. Done with full tension as are the arm grabs.
a. start with fists chambered at hips
b. extend arms straight downwards
c. raise straightened arms in front of you to shoulder height
d. bend elbows to flex biceps
e. rotate elbows outward until they point to sides
f. open hands and cock wrists
g. push straight to front with fingers pointed towards ceiling
h. close fists while rotating palms upward
i. return to start position with fists chambered at hips
Some basic falls: