Rami's Blog

Like the Yin-Yang, Eastern Martial Arts and Western medicine are two halves of a whole. My mission is to preserve the ancient mind-body tools and pass them on to you.

 

Mind-Body Workout #1: Explosive Speed

We're trying something new here at the blog, because a lot of people have been asking for workouts to do when they can't meet me in person or want to try mixing it up after doing the routines in my books, dvds, and courses. So for you guys who like variety in your mind-body health and fitness routines, I'll be posting a short workout plan once a month based on the exercises I have posted on the blog.

Feel free to choose the workout that's perfect for you, and stick to it, or switch routines every month to keep your mind and body sharp.

Routine #1

This first routine is for the weekend warriors and athletes who want that extra edge in their field. It builds muscle and increases strength, all with the goal of honing your speed and reflexes.

Do this routine four days a week, and make sure you get a good amount of sleep. If you want, you can augment this routine with a meditation exercise and some jogging on the off days to help you recuperate and build cardiovascular endurance.

Mind-Body Workout #1: Explosive Speed

Four days a week, do each of these five exercises:

1 Squats x 2 sets
First set: 30 reps with legs a little wider than shoulder width apart.
Second set: 30 reps with legs together (feet touching or less than 6in apart).

2 Weighted Forearm Rolls x 3 sets at a fast pace
First set: 3 rolls (up and down).
Second set: 5 rolls (up and down).
Third set: 3 rolls (up and down).
   
3 Reaction Training with a Partner: 2 sets each, building speed gradually as you practice.
First and Third sets: Your partner tries to touch you.
Second and Fourth sets: You try to touch your partner.
   
4 Squeeze the Orange x 4 sets of 10 reps
First set: arms in neutral position.
Second set: arms straight out to the sides.
Third set: arms held in front.
Fourth set: arms straight up.
   
5 Pick up the Coins x 5 sets with 10 coins, alternate hands (as fast as possible!)

Finally, on every other off day,
go for a jog for 20 minutes, and then do
3 minutes of Buddhist Breath, followed by
3 minutes of Taoist breath to build abdominal control and lung capacity.

Good luck!

How to Speed Up your Reaction Time

This week's Tai Chi Tuesday is for the martial arts practitioners out there who want to learn how to increase their reaction speed, particularly in their arms. The exercise I show you in the video below is a great technique to practice with a partner for developing better reaction speed and accuracy. Good luck!

Sitting is Hurting your Hips

I saw a great article from www.artofmanliness.com posted on Twitter today (by @ImproveMove) that showed some great stretches for correcting the damage that sitting for long periods of time can do to your hips. I highly recommend giving the page a visit and incorporating those stretches into your routine.

I have touched on the issue of our sedentary lifestyle before, specifically, how it can affect our spine and back health. Obviously, a stiff or painful back will put anyone out of commission for a while, and that's why I spoke about it first. However, tight and painful hips will also do a number on our overall health. They can affect our digestive and reproductive health, and if you are an athlete, I'd argue that your hips are the most important part of your body.

Like I said in my vlog on Tuesday, the difference between a white belt and a black belt in martial arts is where the power of their attacks originates. In the case of the white belt, they are punching and kicking with only their limbs. In the case of the black belt, they are striking with their whole body, and the force of the ground pushing up against them, and turning that all into much more powerful attack.

There are two reasons as to why the hips are so important to athletic movement. The first, is that our hips are our biggest joint, and also the center of gravity in our body. But in the eastern tradition, just above the hips (two inches below the navel) is our bodies greatest energy reservoir, the Lower Energy Center. When we move energy from within our body outward, such as when we are playing sports, that is where it comes from.If you have tight hips, your energy in not going to flow as well as it should.

So stretch those hips! On my site, you can find numerous stretches for your hips labeled under Hips, and the Legs and Abdomen tags (because all those muscles connect to the hips, so any stretch for them is also a hip stretch).

Happy stretching!