How To Avoid Hitting A Martial Arts Plateau

Martial Artists are no different from other athletes and if you're not careful you can easily hit a plateau. Plateaus must be avoided because it means your martial arts skill and fitness levels aren't improving. Here's The Shaolin Temple's Five Steps to avoid hitting a plateau.

1) Change Your Martial Arts Routine

Our bodies are efficient machines which adapt to whatever we throw at it including our workout. When you first start to train you'll make gains in your training but after a few months these gains will level off because your body has learnt to adapt. To avoid hitting a plateau you need to change your martial arts workout every couple of weeks.  Combining  my Workout, Bootcamp and newly released Circuit Training DVDs will give your body the constant change  it needs so it never reaches a plateau.

2) Do High Intensity Circuit Training

If you're fit and you can run 5k without any problem then you're ready to do circuit training. Though not suitable for everyone, this is the best way to torch fat, build lean muscle and boost your metabolism. Fighting Fit is a saying which we all know means optimal fitness. Fighters need to combine circuit training with cardio runs and if you're serious about your martial arts, alongside training with my DVDs you also need to run.

3) Mind Body Connection

Shaolin is all about the mind body connection. It's the way that Shaolin Monks understand Zen. You may have no desire to understand Zen but do you have desire to be more focused? Centered? At peace with yourself? If you're following Shaolin correctly then this is what you'll gain.

4) Make A Plan

It's not enough to put the time in, you need  a plan and a destination. After you've done your martial art's workout , take a pen and write down how you did. Tracking your progress can help  keep you motivated. Plan ahead as to what DVDs  you'll be working out to on what days. Give your training the respect it deserves.

5) Train the Yin as well as the Yang

Rest is an important factor in our martial arts so you don't burn out. As well as taking one or two days of a week from your training, you also need to do Qigong to regenerate your body from the inside out. And it's important to get a good nights sleep. Research is showing just how important sleep is for the body to regenerate itself.  If you find it hard to sleep then do some of the movement from Qigong Volume 2 before you go to bed at night.

The beauty of Shaolin is that we can shape it around our fitness level, energy levels and lifestyle by constantly adapting the workouts. Listen to your body and work with it.

For more information on Shifu's DVDs please click here. 

My journey with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)

My journey with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a long way. When I was a teenager, about 14 or 15, I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). This is not something that made me change my habits and my lifestyle at the time. Finally, I was still a teenager. I was more interested in boys than in the days of my health care.

Of course, my bad days, when I just felt sluggish, my body ached, and I was very moody. I just wrote it to the "girl" and as much sleep as I could. I still did everything as usual ... in high school, talked with friends, and talk on the phone constantly (which drove my parents crazy).

But, I realized that I was older (and had more children), I was always tired, I'm always in pain, and my "bad day" is far from the number of my "good day." However, I did not do anything, except to catch off guard with my child if I could go, so let their children go to bed early when I wake up, and as late as possible, hoping for missed "catching up" to sleep and rest well . I thought I was completely amazed and overwhelmed because I have three children under the age of three years, I've worked, and I went to school full time.

Then, about 6 months after my last daughter I have with dizziness, and was later diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and then about 6 months after that I was cancer of the uterus (only a year after I was diagnosed with cervical cancer) diagnosis. It was time. It was time to start to really take care of myself. If someone has CFS them much more susceptible to other infections and diseases because their immune system is not working quite right, it is harder for your body to fight with everything that happens in it, and open the door for other diseases and illnesses in which they want to anchor.

I decided to lose weight, start eating healthy and give me some time, "I" (if I could get to the bathroom or bedroom and back again young children behind me and knocked on the door to get my attention.) My "I" started later and later into the evening, leaving less time for sleep. But I'm working more, and I did eat healthy, so I started to feel a little better. I threw a ton of weight in a few months, and I was very pleased with the results that I've seen.

Since there is no cure for CFS, doctors decided my mask on drugs, just about my symptoms. They put me on Antivert for my vertigo. I think it may have taken two doses before I threw the bottle. I can not work on this drug, so I'll take it. I will fight with vertigo. Then they sent me to a neurologist for MS, where they rode 24CC drain cerebrospinal fluid from the spinal column, and then immediately sent me home. I had a spinal migraine for at least a week - and that's no joke! Then they wanted to take me to the boat for my medication MS. Thanks, but no thanks. If I can not work, then I do not take it. They made me a round of something-or-other to cancer. It was a once in-a-lifetime thing.

I worked on a regular basis (as regularly as the mother of five children, but can I have it sometimes), eating healthy (I have no red meat is almost 8 years old), with my vitamins and (TRY) less busy (it's not too well disguised). But, I have a commitment that I was a healthy person in general. More services and charitable activities. Stuff like that. Prayer had a lot to do with my recovery process as well.

Since then I have tested without cancer and my MS symptoms are rare these days. But CFS remains at the forefront of everything I do. I know that if I have a "big" day (that is, all day long meeting at work or if I move or make a big project in my house) I need at least a "down time" in the day to plan, where I do nothing but relax and fall asleep. If I do not, I will be absolutely useless to everyone, including me, the next day. I really need to listen to your body to make sure I do not overdo my activities. Some days I feel absolutely great, energetic and motivated to do anything, motivated, stay for another 30 minutes in the gym. On other days, and usually for no apparent reason, I'm just exhausted, unmotivated, and it takes everything I've just started the day with a bed. For me, I have to keep a positive attitude and remember that I am doing everything to go to work, clothes for my children. It really helps me every day.

Once I was with all the complaints I made a vow to myself that the best diagnosis quality of life for their children to do anything. That's why I get up every day and decides to push me through the "good" until the next day to come.

Never Give Up - The 3 Stages Of Zen

It's not necessary to be a Buddhist to practice Shaolin. But it is necessary to understand why you practice. Martial Arts is not a sport but an art, and like all art, it changes your internal makeup. If it's not working the mind as hard as the body then your training need to be adjusted.

Martial Arts is not for the feint hearted because it's not an easy skill to master. I started studying when I was thirteen years old and I'm still a beginner. But one thing I understand is that our training goes through three vital stages. They are similar to traffic lights: red, amber, green. But the green is when we are stationery and can sit peacefully with ourselves because we know ourself.

The Three Stages Of Zen Training In Martial Arts

1st Stage: Jian Chi - Never Give Up

You need willpower, belief and knowledge of your goal so you don't give up. Having a goal means we know which direction our training is going and we have something to work towards. This helps us to Never Give up.

2nd Stage: Dong Jing - Balance

This is a special word for martial arts which is difficult to translate. Dong means to move, Jing means to be still. When your martial arts comes to the second stage, it's very important that you don't lose your balance. It is like the two wings of a bird. You need to do Qi Gong and Kung Fu but not only that, when you do Kung Fu you need to have stillness in your movement.

3rd Stage: Ch'an / Zen

The Chinese writing says “Ch’an”, which is the highest of the martial arts. Martial Arts training is there to help you understand yourself, the result is to know yourself and be yourself. This is the final stage of your training. Sometimes it can be tough to accept who you are but in order to find peace with yourself you need to do this.

I designed these T-shirts which I've trailed for myself for three months before making them available on my website. Made from bamboo cotton, they are exceptionally soft and perfect to train. I hope they will inspire you and act as a daily reminder, helping you to train with the correct attitude of mind as well as body.  For more info or to buy click here.

formed abdominal muscles quickly

Sixpack Abdominal does not come just like that. But that does not mean you have to do hundreds of crunches every day that you get a sixpack stomach immediately. Not enough with regular practice, you also need to implement the lifestyle and habits that will support the creation of your sixpack stomach. 

4 The following habits are good habits that will help you have a sixpack stomach craving more quickly.
 Start Your Morning With Water. Drink water after you wake up at least 2 glasses of water. A recent study found that drinking water after waking up can increase your metabolism by 24% for the next 90 minutes. Moreover, muscle cells grow faster when they are well hydrated. Consumption of water every day is recommended to help shape your sixpack stomach.
 
Combining Protein and Carbs Although carbohydrates can be stored so fat that can cover your abdominal muscles, your body needs carbohydrates remain as an energy source. When combined with protein, carbohydrates can help build muscle, especially if you combine both before and after exercise. More muscle the more fat is lost.

Healthy Lunch Avoid fast food and soft drinks. This food will only make you grow fat and inhibits the formation of your sixpack stomach. For a healthier menu you can try some of the following menu:

 

An apple and cheese for your morning snack.

Eat complex carbohydrates, such as whole wheat bread, wheat pasta, oatmeal, brown rice. These foods contain more fiber and may delay your hunger longer. And is equipped with high-protein foods such as chicken, tuna, beans or processed soybeans.
     

You can add a protein shake into your afternoon snack.Lunch with a healthy menu every day will make you much more full and satisfied. In addition, you also get the nutrients your body enough to move. 
Sleep Enough. Apply enough sleep habits to get your sixpack abdominal. The body needs 7-8 hours of sleep for the phase formation and muscle recovery. The study mentions, if you lack sleep for 3 days in a row can cause your muscle cells become resistant to the hormone insulin. This causes the accumulation of fat around your stomach with slow metabolism, increases appetite and decreases the amount of calories burned.With a slight change to healthier habits, you can get a sixpack abdominal more quickly and optimally. So, immediately apply a healthy lifestyle today!

True Freedom: You Already Have Everything You Need

Martial Arts is a way of being in life. It's very difficult in the beginning to make your practice into a habit and even when you've been doing it for many years, there can still be a struggle. But this is good because it shows your practice is constantly challenging you. The key to rising to the challenge is to make a strong commitment to your martial arts practice from the very beginning. This commitment automatically makes you practice, and any thoughts that go against your practice can be more easily dismissed.

In order to gain something you have to give up something. For example, you can't eat chocolate cake every day and lose weight. It's true that a martial artist does not have as much "freedom" as a non-martial artist because so much of your time is taken up with the practice. But what exactly is freedom?

Martial Arts helps us to be. If you can just be then you don't have so much desire for external things. If you can be, the Buddha says, all of your good qualities are already there. You don't need to try to do something to make yourself happy because your happiness will manifest by itself. This to me, is true freedom.

Shifu Yan Lei is a 34th generation fighting disciple form The Shaolin Temple in China, he offers a graded path in Qigong and Kung Fu:
http://www.shifuyanlei.co.uk/dvd_latest_release.html

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Just Do It - How To Achieve Your Dream

When I was seven years old, my mother asked me if I had dream? I said, "Yes, I want to become a martial artist." Then she asked me, "Do you know which is the highest part of your body?" I said, "My head and my hair." My mum said, "No, it's your hands." She told me, "Your mind make your dream happen but your mind cannot make your dream come true, only your hands can do that. This means, you can't just think, you need to do."

 Life is about doing, not thinking. Action not words.

I'm a martial artist. A martial artist doesn't just teach people, he also trains. If you only teach and never train then you never learn new things and you can't grow as a teacher. I want my students to make a decision: know what you want to do, make a strong plan and challenge yourself to make your body healthier and healthier. 

Take action today. 

Shifu Yan Lei teaches a graded path of Shaolin Kung Fu & Qigong. For more details of how you can learn in your home click here

Get Out Of Your Head - The Mindful Way

Researchers are finding out that mindfulness has been shown to increase happiness. Originally a Buddhist term, the word mindfulness  is now becoming as ubiquitous as the word Zen. But what exactly is it? Going to the gym and running on the running machine while watching TV is not being mindful. Going through a Qigong or Kung Fu form while concentrating on the breath and the movement is. I’m not judging the person on the running machine. It’s okay to be mindless every now and again, but if our goal is to be happy then factoring in more sessions of mindfulness and less sessions of mindlessness will help us to achieve this. 

A student came to me the other day and said that she’d been meditating for 20 minutes every morning but she didn’t feel any different. For true transformation to occur, we need to integrate mindfulness into our day to day life. The Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh, advises us to use a ringing phone or a red traffic light as a tool to remind us to come back to ourselves and breath three times. What are we doing with our time now? Are we happy? If not, why not? Willpower is like the groceries we buy at the supermarket, it runs out. This is why we need to integrate our practice into our daily life so it’s no longer about willpower, it is a habit to us and this habit then becomes a way of life.

For true transformation to occur we need to get out of our heads. What I mean by this is we need to give our mind a break and ground ourselves in our body. Since coming to the UK, I have seen many people on a Friday night going to a pub and drinking lots of beer and wine. My students have told me that they are getting out of their heads. In China we don’t have this culture, so at first I couldn’t understand why people stand up all evening in a crowded room and drink a lot and don’t eat anything. But now I understand. These people feel stress and this is the only way they know to get away from their stress. But their way is mindless rather than mindful and it will only give them temporary relief and a headache in the morning. A Qigong or Kung Fu Workout is a mindful and positive way to deal with stress. 

Our body is a miniature universe and our Qi is the inexhaustible energy of the universe which underpins our existence. It’s always there for us, just as a waterfall is always flowing regardless of whether we are there to look at it or not. Going through a Qigong or Kung Fu form helps us to be mindful. It shifts our energy and focus from our small mind with its endless circle of thoughts, plans and worries to our universal mind. It stimulate brain chemicals in our mind that are linked to happiness. If our mind and body are in harmony then peace naturally occurs without us having to work at it. Tapping into the universal mind gives us a happiness that no one can take away from us. Happiness is our most natural state of being. We deserve it.

Meditation Aids help us to live happily in the present moment.