Health and Fitness

In last week's post I wrote about the 3 essential ingredients, here I show how to make these ingredients work for you.  Strength People sometimes think if you want to make your shin and feet strong you need to kick hard things all the time but this is  wrong. If you want to make your leg hard then the first thing you need to do is have good stamina, if you don’t have stamina it’s not possible for your leg to be strong as you won’t have energy. It’s like a car without petrol, it simply can’t move, you won’t be able to lift your leg up or kick therefore you have lost everything. This is the reason why stamina is so important. After you have gained stamina you then work on your flexibility and then you can work on your speed and power and then you can start on the conditioning training for your leg. Iron Leg The best way to warm up is to do the Si Bi Quan form from my Workout One DVD . This form consists of two ingredients: stamp and punch, the more power you can use with the st...

I've had many enquiries from people who haven't done any fitness or martial art's training for many years and have asked me how they can use the Shaolin Workout DVDs to get back into shape. This month I share with you a programme based on Shaolin Workout Volume 1 . If you're in okay shape or you want to move up a volume then you can use the same principles for Volume 2 and 3. Please note, that these are guidelines only and you shouldn't undertake a new workout regime without checking with your doctor first.  The Shaolin Workout - A physical and spiritual overhaul The Shaolin Workout is designed for the martial artist but it can also be used as an exciting fitness regime. The beauty of Shaolin Kung Fu is that it carries us through each phase of our life, boosting our metabolism, helping our heart and increasing our flexibility and coordination. Welcome To The Class The DVD is designed exactly the same as the beginner's class so it's perfectly normal if you st...

The world of Western traditional physical exercise is beginning to catch up with what  martial artists have known for thousands of years. Fitness is not just about burning calories and sweating. It’s about being healthy from the inside out and using breath and movement as a way to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves.  Research is revealing that this mind-body fitness not only keeps us healthy but also greatly helps to banish stress and is aids longevity. Planting the seed As martial artists, we trust that our final goal of conquering ourselves will be reached effortlessly. The goal is the seed. Through being in the moment and turning up for our martial art’s training sessions we carefully nurture that seed. When we are ready this seed becomes the goal we planted all of those years ago without us having to tinker with it or turn our thoughts to it. It’s almost like something we put away in a drawer and forgot about.  But training is not possible without some basic lev...

1) Stretch am and pm In the morning you will find that your muscles are stiff so it's important not to push too much but take the time to tune into your body. Breathe into your stretch. Stretching in the morning is harder than in the evening but its one of the best ways to increase flexibility. 2) Know the difference between a warm up and stretching My early morning sessions at the Shaolin Temple always began with a quick warm up before we went for our mountain run. Although some stretching was involved it was not the intensive stretching that we did later on but more of a quick check to make sure our joints were working properly. 3) Always stretch after your workout For martial artists this is the optimum time to increase your flexibility. Your joints and muscles are warm, which means you can go further with your stretch and it also helps to decrease the build up of lactic acid in your muscles. Not stretching out after a workout can lead to a feeling of stiffness the next day. 4) ...