Chi Flow and Weight Lifting

[AlwaysTraining]

I learned the other day that certain weight lifting exercises actually impeed the flow of chi. Is this accurate? If so, what movements are they and why?

 

[green meanie]

I learned the other day that certain weight lifting exercises actually impeed the flow of chi. Is this accurate? If so, what movements are they and why?

I've never heard of it. And although I'm not opposed to the concept of chi, until we have a way to scientifically prove it, and an accurate way to monitor it, how can anyone really know whether something is improving or preventing the flow of it?

My two cents...

 

[AlwaysTraining]

Meanie,

You make an excellent point. However, I believe I've heard of scientific evidence supporting the existence of chi. Unfortunately, what that evidence is escapes me at the time. I'll look around and see what I can find. The scientific evidence of chi would be an excellent thread to start, though.

 

[tshadowchaser]

I have heard that excessive muscle growth dose impeed the chi flow for some reason. Could be that the muscle gets so big that it somehow disrupts the meridian or alters its course.

 

[mantis]

contact this person:
http://mindbodylab.bio.uci.edu/
or read the white papers he has on his site.

 

[Flying Crane]

I believe that those who are chi proponents hold that it is muscle tension that impedes chi flow. The act of lifting weights causes excessive contraction and tension of the muscles, and prevents chi flow. Since muscle tone is a muscle in a constant state of semi-contraction, chi disruption would not be limited to the time actually spent lifting weights, nor to only those who lift a lot and over develop muscles, but also those who lift moderately to achieve a toned and "cut" physique.

There are probably exceptions, and techniques that allow you to lift to some degree and minimize the negative effects on chi, but I wouldn't know the specifics.

 

[Shirt Ripper]

Since muscle tone is a muscle in a constant state of semi-contraction...

What? So when a muscle is developed beyond basal levels it has a constant state of contraction?

The "cut" look is obtained through lowering the superficial fatty tissue around developed muscle tissue and throughout the body thereby exposing said tissue and striations and the like.

 

[Flying Crane]

What? So when a muscle is developed beyond basal levels it has a constant state of contraction?

The "cut" look is obtained through lowering the superficial fatty tissue around developed muscle tissue and throughout the body thereby exposing said tissue and striations and the like.

working off fatty tissue makes the "cut" look more pronounced, but muscle tone is muscle that is in a constant state of semi-contraction. You can still have muscle tone under a large layer of fat, but that muscle is still semi-contracted.

 

[AlwaysTraining]

I'm by no means an expert on this topic, but, I was told by a master I spoke to that it is primarily the movements themselves that impede the flow of chi. However, he did comment that large muscle had the same effect, but he didn't say anything about tonality. I did some research on scientific evidence of the existence of chi and support of chinese. This is what I found:

http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.asp?ID=1087

 

[Flying Crane]

However, he did comment that large muscle had the same effect, but he didn't say anything about tonality.

You are probably right as we all have a certain level of muscle tone, otherwise we would flop around like rubber chickens. I think if toned muscles are overdone to the point where it is actually causing tension in the body, this is where it would impede chi flow in a similar manner that overdeveloped muscles would.

 

[Shirt Ripper]

You can still have muscle tone under a large layer of fat, but that muscle is still semi-contracted.

You can have muscle development under a layer of fat. The term "tone" refers to the aestetic quality of developed muscle; being able to see a muscles shape and even it's striations. It is not any type of technical term regarding any specific physiological process. When a muscle contracts, by design, it pulls at it's insertion point in order to produce gross movement about that joint (decreasing the joint angle) and in the process hardens and sort of "scrunchies" producing a tightening effect revealing more "definition" within that particular muscle. This is the effect of flexing, but to say because one can see muscle definition or "tone" simply because that persons voluntary muscles are semi-contracted is a strange line of thought...unless of course their flexing said muscle.

 

[Flying Crane]

You can have muscle development under a layer of fat. The term "tone" refers to the aestetic quality of developed muscle; being able to see a muscles shape and even it's striations. It is not any type of technical term regarding any specific physiological process. When a muscle contracts, by design, it pulls at it's insertion point in order to produce gross movement about that joint (decreasing the joint angle) and in the process hardens and sort of "scrunchies" producing a tightening effect revealing more "definition" within that particular muscle. This is the effect of flexing, but to say because one can see muscle definition or "tone" simply because that persons voluntary muscles are semi-contracted is a strange line of thought...unless of course their flexing said muscle.

"definition" is what you can see, "tone" is the state of semi-contraction.