In The Question of Strength Training In Internal Martial Arts Part 1, we looked at the use of resistance training to build physical strength and prevent loss of muscle and strength that is associated with aging. We also saw that there is disagreement not only on how these kinds of exercises should be performed and how often. In relation to sarcopenia clinicians and trainers look at a person’s grip strength, leg strength, walking speed, balance and ability to sit and rise repeatedly from a chair as ways of assessing body strength and biological age.
These measurements are interesting in light of the fact that for more than two millennia Chinese physicians and Qi Gong Masters have touted the importance of maintaining health and promoting longevity by daily exercises that involve, hand and leg strength, balance, going from squatting to standing an standing ,limb and spine flexibility, as well as deep breathing. So how do Qi gong and Internal Arts match up with this?
Studies on Qi Gong & Internal Martial Arts in Relation to Strength
The following meta-anayalsis of six different studies on the Eight Brocade Qi Gong [1] investigated the effects of practicing Eight Brocade Qi Gong on different health outcomes. Quality of life, sleep quality, blood pressure (systolic and diastolic), heart rate, and various components of physical health such as physical balance, leg strength, flexibility, and handgrip strength were examined. As mentioned above, it has recently been recognized that Balance, grip strength, leg strength and flexibility can be used as markers of biological aging. According to a report published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, people who failed a 10-second balance test of standing on one foot were nearly twice as likely to die in the next 10 years,.[2]
The aggregated meta-analysis results in eight categories listed below showed that Eight Brocade Qi Gong is beneficial for quality of life. Interestingly, the benefits of Eight Brocade Qi Gong on quality of life were more evident in older adults and individuals with chronic conditions. The researchers thought this might be due to an already lower functional capacity. Therefore this population more clearly showed benefits from practicing Qi Gong.
- Sleep
Eight Brocade Qi Gong was effective in improving sleep quality.
- Balance
Eight Brocade Qi Gong had positive effects on balance in older adults and those with Parkinson’s Disease. Beneficial effects of Eight Brocade Qi Gong on physical balance can be observed with training programs including at least four sessions/week of 30–60 minutes of practice.
- Handgrip Strength
Eight Brocade Qi Gong was found to be very helpful in improving Handgrip Strength. a training regimen of as low as four sessions/week of 30–60 minutes was is already effective for increasing handgrip strength.
- Leg Power
Leg strength and power was measured through a long jump test. The effects of Eight Brocade Qi Gong on the score of the long jump test were significant.
- Trunk Flexibility
Eight Brocade Qi Gong can significantly enhance trunk flexibility.
- Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure
Favorable results in attenuating systolic and systolic blood pressure were observed for young adults, adults, and older adults who performed Eight Brocade Qi Gong.
- Cardiopulmonary Endurance
The systematic review also included a meta-analysis on the effects of the Eight Brocade Qi Gong practice on a walking test aimed at assessing endurance. The results indicated that Eight Brocade Qi Gong improved cardiopulmonary function (e.g., vital capacity).
- Quality of Life
The aggregated results from this systematic review show that Eight Brocade Qi Gong practice is beneficial for quality of life.
In another study on the Eight Brocade Exercises & osteoporosis researchers found that just performing a modified version of the eighth section of the Eight Brocade Exercises (Shaking the Body Prevents the 100 Diseases) exercise was most effective for alleviating the chronic pain, increasing the left femoral neck and lumbar Bone Mineral Density (BMD), and postural balance, which are associated with increased bone fragility and higher risk of fracture. Researchers also postulated that the eighth section of Eight-section Brocade, which they call the “tiptoe posture”, may stimulate the immune system and enhance the power of osteogenesis due the perpendicular stress resulting from the body gravity. The vibration created by the Eighth Exercise was also thought to be a factor.[3]
Similar studies on Tai Ji Quan indicate that regular practice of Tai Ji Quan, although it is slow and seemingly gentle, addresses the key components of fitness — muscle strength, flexibility, balance, and even to some degree, aerobic conditioning.
- Tai Ji can improve both lower-body strength and upper-body strength. When practiced regularly, tai chi can be comparable to resistance training and brisk walking.
- Although you aren’t working with weights or resistance bands, the unsupported arm exercise involved in tai chi strengthens the upper body.
- Tai chi strengthens both the lower and upper extremities and also the core muscles of the back and abdomen.
- Tai chi can boost upper- and lower-body flexibility.
- Tai chi improves balance and proprioception[4]
Another study on Tai Ji Quan discovered that:
The rectus femoris, semitendinosus, anterior tibialis, and gastrocnemius muscles of the patients in the Tai Chi group showed faster responses than those of the patients in the control group after 12 weeks of intervention.
Researchers also found that: long-term Tai Chi exercise can frequently stimulate joint proprioceptors, promote and consolidate the process of proprioceptive transmission, and strengthen the neuromuscular response ability, and when the body is disturbed by the outside world, it can quickly perceive changes in body space position and maintain balance. Because Tai Chi, participants always maintain a squatting position with flexed hips and bent knees with their own body weight, providing the resistance to keep the lower limb muscles in a state similar to a constant isometric muscle action. This improves the central nervous system excitation time, which is conducive to neuromuscular response ability.[5]
A study in Beijing showed that regular practice of Ba Gua Zhang can help density of the bone substance and thicken the bones, thus strengthening their resistance to breaks, bends, compressions and twists. Ba Gua Zhang exercises can also help enlarge limb circumferences and build muscular strength,[6] To read this study click HERE
Only the Beijing Ba Gua study looked at long-term practitioners, while many studies on Tai Ji Quan and Qi gong are short terms studies with untrained senior citizens, who are only taught the simplest movements. The search for shot-term quick results is a failure of many studies and the antithesis of understanding the benefits of real internal training. Researchers tend to shy away from long-term studies that are more complex because of funding issues, lack of immediate measurable results and the presence of other factors that cannot be controlled.
Another failing of research and one of the things that researchers don’t like are results that they can’t easily measure or tabulate, and information popping up that they are not specifically searching for. Many of the exercises and training methods of internal martial arts are almost unquantifiable by the standards of Western medicine, and scientific studies. For example, proprioception – the ability to sense the position of one’s body in space – is said to declines with age. Internal martial arts help train this sense, on many levels.
Recent research into fascia, has challenged many of the traditional approaches to strength training. Fascia is the elastic intramuscular connective tissue, that forms a continuous network of which includes tendons, periosteum, aponeurotic fasciae, ligaments and joint capsules. This network interlinks with various structures throughout the body’s musculoskeletal system and contributes to the elastic tissue response of the muscle. The extra-cellular matrix plays an important role in the structural characteristics of the skeletal muscle, by providing a three-dimensional scaffolding matrix for muscle fibers.
In younger people fascia has an elastic movement quality, exhibiting a two-directional lattice arrangement a bit like a woman’s stocking. However as we age we often lose this elastic springiness and the fiber arrangement becomes more haphazard and multi-directional fiber arrangement. This seems to be related both to lack of movement and to dysfunctional movement patterns. The fibers lose their elasticity and no longer glide against one another, so there is tendency for fibers to stick to each other, even matting togetherto form tissue adhesions.[7]
Fascia, Elasticity & Internal Martial Arts
Recent research into the body’s fascial system has not only punctuated its importance, but led to many theories about fascial fitness and methods of fascial training. Specific training is thought to enhance the fascial elasticity essential to systemic resilience. An influential article on fascial training by Schleip and Müller[8] states that, the intention of the proposed fascia oriented training is to influence the matrix renewal via specific training activities which may, after 6-24 months, result in a more injury resistant and resilient ‘silk-like body suit’ which is not only strong but also allows for a smoothly gliding joint mobility over wide angular ranges. These ideas are clearly about more than just lifting weights and are very much in line with internal training and internal exercises like Muscle-Tendon Change and Marrow Washing Nei Gong practice for centuries by Chinese Martial Arts and Qi Gong practitioners.
Schleip and Müller propose that principles of fascial-oriented training should employ elastic recoil, preparatory counter-movement, slow and dynamic stretching, rehydration practices and proprioceptive refinement. Elastic recoil and preparatory counter-movements are part and parcel of internal martial arts training and many Qi Gong exercises. Another important aspect of fascial training and internal martial arts training is the recruitment of long chains of muscle, tendon, bone, and connective tissue running from head to foot, rather than isolated exercises that work only locally.
Proprioceptive refinement is also mentioned by Thomas Myers, author of Anatomy Trains, who adds that part of fascial training involves “feeling” the skin and tissues move.[9] This increases kinesthetic sense and proprioception. This idea ties in very closely with Chinese ideas about learning to sense the subtle internal Qi and sensing minute changes and movements within the body.
Internal martial arts training, creates changes in body’s exterior (skin, sinews and muscles) by sensing deeply inside the body in order to promote the exterior sinews and muscles. Internal training begins with the internal Qi, and focuses on deep relaxation, in which muscular tension is removed from the equation, thereby allowing Qi to penetrate deeply into the fascia and sinews. The practitioner uses Mind-Intention, breath, and specific postures and movements to infuse the fascia and connective tissues with Qi. This is the opposite of doing cardio and weight training exercises, where the focus is on developing the external musculature.
There is no doubt that Internal martial arts develop leg and body strength, but by focusing on long flexible muscle development and elastic strength, like a tree branch that is bent and released to whip outward or a slingshot stretched and released to shoot a pellet.
Xing Yi, Tai Ji and Ba Gua practitioners are focusing on sensing internally, stillness, and softness, because from softness and relaxation firm, hard strength can gradually be developed. Robert Smith’s teacher, Paul Kuo feels that internal training initially relaxation and softness from which later springs true hardness.[10] Kuo’s statement is echoed in the text of the Nei Gong Zhen Chuan (roughly the “Authentic Classic of Nei Gong”): Firmness that comes from yielding (softness), is true firmness. Speed that comes from slowness is true speed. Its mystery can not be understood through the external form.[11]
Setting up oppositional forces in the body that cancel each other out so that the muscles are potentiated but relaxed, is common to Zhan Zhuang standing exercises and various postures in Xing Yi and Ba Gua Zhang. This has many effects on the strength and power musculature of the body that have not been researched or catalogued. However some more scientifically minded teachers of internal arts have attempted to explain possible mechanisms.
Ba Gua Master Zhao Da Yuan feels that the element that makes Ba Gua’s circle walking practice “internal” is the link between mind and body that is forged during the circle walk practice. Zhao and other Ba Gua practitioners believe that engaging the mind-intention with the body movements neuro-muscularly reprograms the body to work more efficiently by firing the right muscles at the right moment. This not only reduces inefficiency, but also optimizes the strength fluidity of the body.
Zhao explains that when the average person contracts a muscle, 45 to 50 percent of the muscle fibers in that muscle “fire.” A trained athlete, or a person who repetitively works a set of muscles performing a certain task, may contract about 70 percent of the muscle fiber in a given muscle for a given purpose. His theory is that if the practitioner holds a static upper body posture with focused concentration for an extended period of time, as in the circle walk practice, he or she will be able to develop the ability to get more muscle fibers to contract at the same time for the same purpose. Holding a static posture for an extended period of time, or moving very slowly as in Tai Ji Quan, a more complete physical development occurs than in exercises where the body moves rapidly. Secondary muscles are conditioned and the body learns to act in an integrated and unified fashion.[12]
Another scientific perspective on the importance of relaxed movement is as follows:
The slow-motion and deliberative Fang Song (Relaxing Loosening) methodology works to rein in the dominant muscle actions, and allows the inner muscles to fire more so that the internal and axial movements can better align and balance in the actions. This induces more optimal muscle activations at higher levels, which leads to more coherent bioenergy. The higher activation levels of the muscles are often experienced as a surge of heat in practice, registered as qi. The body learns to associate the elevated qi energy as a biomarker of better balance and alignment of muscle actions. This association in time grows the Qi as a more defining marker to regulate motion of inner balance.[13]
Disciples of the legendary Xing Yi practitioner and founder of Yi Quan, Wang Xiang Zhai, explain the importance of stillness as follows:
With practice, practitioner of ZZ [Zhan Zhuang] will not feel any premise of suffocation/oxygen debt rather a surplus of oxygen. His breathing will be deeper and slower. ZZ can be considered as promoting oxygenation metabolism (in opposition with suffocation/oxygen debt process generated by moving exercises).
Non-moving exercise requires immobility from limbs: no bending, extension or displacement from them, then all is in the internal contraction of muscle fibers.
For example:
The thigh has three sets of strong muscles: the hamstring muscles in the back, the quadriceps muscles in the front, and the adductor muscles on the inside. The quadriceps and hamstring muscle sets work together to straighten (extend) and bend (flex) the leg. The adductor muscles pull the legs together.
This means, first, that the nerves and muscles develop the memory to accelerate instantly to the contraction point of the isometric exercise, and secondly, the fast twitch muscle fibers are conditioned to maximize the speed of the muscle contraction. By strengthening the fast twitch muscle fibers, you have increased the speed at which the muscles contract or move. When this application is applied to your thigh flexor and extensor muscles, for example, the result is an explosive increase in your running/kicking speed and power! To verify this just hold a very low ZZ and feel with your hands the tremors in your thighs you are generating after a certain period of standing: there is a high frequency of contraction, much higher then in any sport you may use them.
The same principle holds true for increasing the speed and power of any muscles that are critical to quickness and power in any sport specific activity.
Wang Xiangzhai summarized this principle in his famous saying:
“Large moves are not as good as small moves,
small moves are not as good as stillnesss,
non-moving activation is stillness in moving,
moving in stillness, (generating) endless movements.”[14]
Vibration and Muscle Strength
Earlier in this post it was mentioned that researchers found that one of the Eight Brocade Exercises -standing the toes and dropping the bodyweight to create a vibration vertically through the body may strengthen bones. In the passages above Yi Quan practitioner Yu Yong Nian mentions the importance of the sense of inner vibration. This vibration can be very subtle or more visible with spontaneous rippling movements passing through the spine and back or the natural trembling action of a horse shaking off a fly. In Yi Jin Jing exercises and other Qi Gong sets, one is instructed to sense the subtle vibrations that naturally pass through the body.\ during the movements.
Interestingly, Whole Body Vibration (WBV) and its effect on muscle strength e the subject of much recent research. Although there are different types of Whole Body Vibration, most studies have been conducted with participants standing on a vibrating plate. Advocates say that as little as 15 minutes a day of whole-body vibration three times a week may aid weight loss, burn fat, improve flexibility, enhance blood flow, reduce muscle soreness after exercise, build strength and decrease the stress hormone cortisol.
Some research shows that whole-body vibration, when performed correctly and under medical supervision when needed, can:
- Reduce back pain
- Improve strength and balance in older adults
- Reduce bone loss
Although such comparisons across meta-analyses should be done with caution, it is apparent that vibration exercise can result in similar or greater strength improvements compared with conventional resistance training. [15]
Other studies showed that load-carrying during the vibration training and exercises performed before or during the vibration training improved muscle strength and physical performance, and that increased in muscle activity and gravitational load due to vibration can also change hormone concentrations. These studies also suggest that the beneficial effects of WBV increase with frequency, with the caveat that an optimal frequency has yet to be established.[16]
In yet another study Whole Body Vibration markedly increased lower limb muscle strength and significantly improved physical performance in terms of lower limb muscle performance, dynamic balance, and walking endurance. These findings suggest that WBVT may be an alternative treatment for older adults who want to increase their physical capacity and muscle strength.[17]
Internal Martial Arts & Dynamic Resistance Training
For anyone who is still worried that regular practice of internal arts does not protect muscle mass and strength as one ages, the internal arts do offer some direct “resistance training” in the use of weapons. Weapons work requires endless repetitions of basic movements with an object in your hands. For example, extending a spear or sword outward and using your body to control the tip of the weapon. It is not a question only of weight – heavier weapons are not necessarily better. If the weapon is too heavy one uses the muscles improperly and only tension is created – the antithesis of relaxed and pliable power. The spear in particular – and also to some degree weapons like straight sword and staff, or even the cane – have an inherent flexibility and elasticity that we “borrow” in order to develop an elastic power potential in the body.
Weapons work is a kind of dynamic resistance training that develops the grip, wrist and arm strength and whole body power dynamics in a natural way. Ba Gua Zhang in particularly uses a large broadsword that challenges the body to maintain proper whole-body alignments without muscular tension. Other weapons like the rooster claw knives, which weigh several pounds each and are extended away from the body, also challenge the internal body connections while simultaneously strengthening the body in a variety of ways – some obvious, other more subtle.
Additionally weapons work teaches one to extend intention and spirit outward and challenges balance, coordination, and proprioception all of which further develop the neuromuscular system. One of my teachers said it is like you are dancing and the weapon is your dance partner.
Other types of dynamic “resistance” training common to internal martial arts involve testing martial postures against pressure from an opponent (partner), pushing hands exercises, practicing throws and locks, defending against grabs and holds and other martial applications with a partner. Although in these types of training one seeks to minimize the use of external strength, nevertheless the body is learning to work with external resistance this develops a very particular kind of strength internally. This “refined” strength is not simply a product the strength of the muscles, but rather a result of melding physical attributes with application of the Mind-Intention. Then even when one practices alone, one is, in effect, practicing against a perceived resistance as though an opponent is present. This kind of strength is very difficult to measure and categorize.
[1] “A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Baduanjin Qigong for Health Benefits: Randomized Controlled Trials.” Liye Zou and Jeffer Eidi et als Hindawi Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (Volume 2017, Article ID 4548706, 17 pages) http://dx.doi.org1155/2017/10. /4548706
[2] “Successful 10-second one-legged stance performance predicts survival in middle-aged and older individuals.” Araujo CG, de Souza e Silva CG, Laukkanen JA, et al British Journal of Sports Medicine 2022;56:975-980.
[3] Liu BX, Chen SP, Li YD, Wang J, Zhang B, Lin Y, Guan JH, Cai YF, Liang Z, Zheng F. The Effect of the Modified Eighth Section of Eight-Section Brocade on Osteoporosis in Postmenopausal Women: A Prospective Randomized Trial. Medicine (Baltimore). 2015 Jun;94(25):e991.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000000991.PMID: 26107684; PMCID: PMC4504582.
[4] Harvard Medical School, Harvard Health Publishing – Staying Healthy. “The Health benefits of tai chi, This gentle form of exercise can help maintain strength, flexibility, and balance, and could be the perfect activity for the rest of your life.” May 24, 2022. (https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-health-benefits-of-tai-chi)
[5] Huang D, Ke X, Jiang C, Song W, Feng J, Zhou H, Zhang R, Zhang A, Lan F. Effects of 12 weeks of Tai Chi on neuromuscular responses and postural control in elderly patients with sarcopenia: a randomized controlled trial. Front Neurol. 2023 Apr 28;14:1167957. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1167957. PMID: 37188307; PMCID: PMC10176447.
[6] A Medical and Physiological Study of the Health-Giving Effects of Ba Gua Zhang Practice By Kang Ge Wu Beijing Physical Culture Institute
[7] Schleip, and Müller, D.G. Training Principles for Fascial Connective Tissues: Scientific Foundation and Suggested Practical Applications. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies (2012) http://dx.doi.org/j.jbmt.2012.06.007
[8] Ibid.
[9] Myers, Thomas, Fascial Fitness: Training in the Neuromyofascial Web IDEA Fitness Journal, Volume 8, Number 4 April 2011
[10] Pa Kua: Chinese Boxing for Fitness and Self-Defense. Robert W. Smith (Tokyo, New York, San Francisco: Kodansha International Ltd., 1967) p. 121.
[11] Nei Gong: The Authentic Classic – A Translation of the Nei Gong Zhen Chuan, Tom Bisio, Huang Guo Qi and Joashua Paynter (trans). (Denver: Outskirts Press, 2011) p. 75.
[12] “Liang Chen-P’u and his Pa Kua Chang” Pa Kua Chang Journal (Vol 3, No. 3 March/April) p.6-7.
[13] “A Scientific Perspective of Neijin (Internal Strength)” C.P. Ong* (International Journal of Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, Volume 5 Issue 3 – 2017) https://medcraveonline.com/IJCAM/IJCAM-05-00155.php
[14] Zhan zhuang and the Search of Wu. Yu Yong Nian (copyright © 2006 china Martial Arts Ltd) p. 68-9
[15] Marín, Pedro & Rhea, Matthew. (2010). Effects of Vibration Training on Muscle Strength: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of strength and conditioning research/National Strength & Conditioning Association. 24. 548-56. 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181c09d22
[16] Al Masud, Abdullah, Chwan-Li Shen, and Ming-Chien Chyu. 2022. “On the Optimal Whole-Body Vibration Protocol for Muscle Strength” Biomechanics 2, no. 4: 547-561. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomechanics2040043
[17] Tan, Xiaohuan & Jiang, Guiping & Lei, Zhang & Wang, Dandan & Wu, Xueping. (2023). Effects of Whole-Body Vibration Training on Lower Limb Muscle Strength and Physical Performance Among Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation. 104. 10.1016/j.apmr.2023.04.002.
