Something else that comes to mind on the subject of fitness training is the idea that moderate exercise on a regular basis is much better over the long term than sporadic bouts of higher intensity exercise.
By this I mean that doing 10 push-ups a day is probably far healthier and beneficial than doing 70 push-ups once a week. Or walking 20 minutes a day is better than 2 hours on a treadmill once a week. I guess the possible variations are endless. The lower intensity training also reduces the risk of injury, so fewer injuries means that there are far fewer involuntary, injury-induced training breaks.
The key to regular/daily exercise is to find something that you really enjoy doing. After years of hit or miss (trying different activities), I discovered that I really enjoy working on Taiqi/ILC forms in the morning. It's relaxing and a nice, meditative way to start the day. Depending on my mood, I can work on fast or slow forms, or focus on a particular aspect of a form like noticing where the hip rolls are, or feeling the absorb and project. It slowly gets my body revved up for the day, so that by the time I am finished with the forms, I'm in the mood for more strenous exercise like push-ups and pull-ups.
The 21 Form is part of my morning routine, and I hope to include the Butterfly Form sometime this year.
How often do you guys work on your forms?
Peter
|