Tai Chi, Fitness & eccentric exercises
Eccentric exercises tell us that running down a hill or walking down a flight of stairs is more beneficial than going up. How does eccentric exercise work and how does any of this help us in our practice our Tai Chi?
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FITNESS, HEALTH & TAI CHI
Back in the late 80s I started to teach Tai Chi. That same year I earned my certificate to teach BAWLA (weight-training) and took exams for the nationally recognised RSA Exercise to Music certificate. These qualifications enabled me to work in multi-gyms, organise and run classes for circuit training, step-classes, aerobics and stretch-classes.
My Tai Chi students were confounded. Surely, they asked, there is a contradiction in teaching both Tai Chi and aerobic fitness classes? I laughed. “They are complementary,” I said. “Think of the interaction of yin and yang. A world in which one of these disappeared, would not be a world I would want to live in.” I’m not sure they understood, and to be honest, I’m not sure I understood either. It sounded good and the sort of thing that is expected from a Tai chi teacher, but … it wasn’t until much later that I learned about the symbiotic nature of Tai Chi and fitness.
I learned, for example, how to increase the BPM (Beats Per Minute) of a music track in order to control the pace of a students exercise program, bringing their heart rate up and holding it there for a set period, before bringing it back down again slowly using the BPM of another song. Teaching fitness classes means you have to understand joint and muscle safety, breathing techniques, body alignment, timing, rhythm, cadence, mirroring and showing only what is safe to show a beginners class (I failed my first exam attempt for displaying too advanced techniques)
These skills I brought into my Tai Chi classes and in return, I took back the softness, sense of flow and transition, focus, balance, grounding, coordination and peripheral awareness into the fitness classes. Each class, it appeared to me, related to the other in a supplementary and supportive way.
That was from the 1980s to the 1990s. Now, my fitness needs have changed and I am less interested in aerobic fitness, muscular strength or stamina. What interests me these days is ligament and tendon strength, breath and movement coordination, good balance in everyday activities, going slow and the wonders of eccentric exercises.
Fitness, Tai Chi and Exercise
Read the follow-up article by the teapotmonk on how Smart watches are helping us keep to our fitness programs
WHY DO SLOW EXERCISE?
Going slow has little to do with age, and more to do with focus. Slow exercises are done with full mindful attention. Taking time to note each stage of each technique in order to maximise benefit and avoid injuries that can be caused by too rapid repetitions. Instead of aiming for numbers, you aim for effort and move at a snails pace until you feel you cannot continue. Then you stop. It’s rather simple. Slow exercise is an intrinsic part of Tai Chi. It is in our DNA.
WHAT IS ECCENTRIC EXERCISE?
The Eccentric phase of an exercise is that part which focuses on lengthening the muscle under resistance. This means in a squatting exercise for example, it is the siting motion, rather than the rising motion that provides the eccentric phase. Similarly, in a Push-up exercise, it is the lowering down, rather than the “pushing up” that constitutes the eccentric exercise. It is referred to eccentric as it extends the muscle, whilst the concentric part is where the muscle shortens (eg, bicep curl, push-up, sit-up and the rise in a squat).
Teapotmonk showing eccentric slow, down-ward phase of the push-up exercise
So what happens when you focus on the eccentric part of the exercise rather than the concentric part? Well, everything happens and it happens with far greater benefits.
ECCENTRIC EXERCISE CASE STUDY
In one case study, mentioned in the links below this article, participants were asked to either walk up or down stairs in a 10 story building. Group A chose to walk up and take the lift down, whilst Group B chose to take the lift up but walk down the stairs.
At the end of the trial, and to many peoples surprise, Group B (those got the lift up and then walked down) were found to have developed greater fitness. Not only that, but they had burnt more calories post-exercise (throughout the recovery period), had a better resting heart rate, better blood-fat levels, better bone density, better balance and muscle function and overall better strength than the group that chose to walk up the stairs.
Surely it is harder to go up than come down? Well, not necessarily. The reason has to do with the the number of micro muscle-tears after concentric and eccentric exercises and way the body repairs itself in this period. The process of rebuilding muscle as stronger muscle tissue is greater in eccentric exercises, than concentric exercise.
TAI CHI SLOW WORKOUTS WITH ECCENTRIC EXERCISE
As number of repetitions are not so relevant, eccentric exercises can often performed much slower than concentric ones. Not so much on the staircase or when running down a hill, but certainly when exercising on the floor. The lowering phase in a push-up or sit-up is more focused and done with a mindful approach compared to the often jerky and uncontrolled repetitions aimed at when heaving yourself back-up, when heaving up weights or when aiming for goals that are based on numbers of repetitions. Now, combine this slow pace with greater focus and extension - for example in the sinking moves of Tai Chi such as Golden Rooster, Squatting Single Whip or Separate left and right foot, and you build a safe, mindful but extremely effective workout. This is the process I worked on teaching the Cheng Man-ch'ing 37 step course that is built around the idea of “sinking.”
Many of the moves in Tai Chi are focused on slow, sinking shifts of body weight. even when we rise up, we are sinking down at the same time.
This can even be extended in Tai Chi Sword form practice. Using the sword as an additional weight only increases the benefit and length of the eccentric phase of the movement. Again, it must be reiterated that these should all be done slowly and with focused awareness, rather than fast or explosive movements.
A COMPLIMENTARY APPROACH TO FITNESS
In early 2022 I began to introduce a new Tai Chi workout program as part of the Ninja membership over at 21st century tai chi. The idea was to combine insights from the health and fitness world and bring those over to Tai Chi but not as part of learning a Tai Chi form. Instead they would be supplementary - even living outside the normal Tai Chi training curriculum. These short 10 minute sessions would not rely on training in a specific style, nor belonging to a specific Tai Chi tradition or school. Instead they would focus on fundamental skills of strength, balance, coordination, breath and use all the information and knowledge from all resources. These would be workouts that could be practised safely, at all levels for all ages. They are included in the Ninja plan, mentioned above or can be taken as a separate course. Read more about the workouts here.
A final word of caution, Eccentric exercise place more stress on the muscle groups than concentric, resulting in longer periods of rehabilitation. Bear this in mind if you have injuries or particularly vulnerable muscles. You may want to check first with a fitness professional or GP before.
What you could do today…
Try walking down stairs more often.
Keen on jogging? Try jogging downhill rather than up
More on this subject.
More fitness and Health related articles: Smart Watches and Health
More resources on Teaching Tai Chi
Listen to podcast on Eccentric exercise: Just One Thing by Dr. Michael Mosley
