Tai Chi, a unique fitness exercise derived from the traditional health-preserving methods of “Daoyin” and “Breathing”, not only carries a profound cultural heritage, but also contains rich health wisdom. It advocates “guiding qi with the mind and moving the body with qi”, cleverly integrates the mind-regulating method of Qigong Nei Xinggong, realizes the close combination of consciousness, breathing and movement, and constitutes an internal and external unified internal power boxing exercise system of “training the mind, training the qi, and training the body”. Its movement process follows the law of “starting with the mind, then moving internally, and then moving externally”, showing the unique charm of boxing with both hardness and softness, fast and slow, and accumulation and change, and taking internal strength as the control, forming a unique martial arts style.

As a sport, Tai Chi’s health-preserving function is particularly significant. Its secret lies in giving appropriate and appropriate stimulation to various tissues and organs through “one movement without movement” physical activities, thereby stimulating and promoting a series of positive adaptive changes in the body’s physiological, biochemical and morphological structures, so that the physique can be continuously strengthened and developed. However, unscientific exercise methods may weaken the fitness effect of Tai Chi and even have adverse effects on middle-aged and elderly people.

In order to conduct Tai Chi fitness exercises scientifically and rationally, we hereby propose the following “exercise prescriptions”:

Preventive health exercise prescriptions

1 , Hire professional teachers for guidance

Most ordinary Tai Chi fitness people have not undergone systematic exercise training, have poor physical foundation, lack the necessary coordination ability, and are prone to technical alienation, resulting in deformed movements. If they are not corrected in a standardized manner for a long time, they will form incorrect stereotyped technical movements, which are easy to cause sports injuries. In order to ensure the scientific and effective conduct of fitness activities, it is recommended that professional teachers be invited to provide systematic guidance.

2， Master the correct learning and practice methods

Most Tai Chi fitness people practice with teachers over and over again, lacking the practice links of basic movements and basic skills. The correct way to practice is to first learn basic movements, such as the practice of peng, liu, ji, and an, and then practice on the move in combination with footwork after mastering them.

At the same time, basic skills should be practiced, such as stepping forward, stepping back, and moving the center of gravity. After the footwork can move smoothly, individual techniques can be practiced in combination with upper limb movements. This can not only gradually strengthen leg strength, but also enable practitioners to “economize” skills and “standardize” techniques as soon as possible. Those who are familiar with technical movements can practice them in sections, combinations, and sets. After each practice, there should be a certain amount of rest time, and the rest time can be reduced appropriately when the condition is good. The arrangement of each fitness activity should be “loose at both ends and tight in the middle”, that is, the amount of exercise in the preparation and ending stages is relatively small, and the amount of exercise can be increased in the middle of the practice.

3 ，Choose a scientific fitness time

Many people like to do morning exercises. In fact, the fitness effect is not good at this time, and sometimes it will affect health. Research by sanitation experts shows that air pollution is more serious in the morning, evening and night, because when the ground temperature is lower than the high-altitude temperature, an “inversion layer” is formed in the air and is not easy to spread. More importantly, the physiological function of the human body is relatively low in the early morning, and the functions of various organs of the human body are still in a suppressed state, especially the viscosity of the muscles is very large, so sports injuries are prone to occur. The best time for fitness is around 4 pm, when the sky is high and the air is fresh, and the human body is at its peak. It is scientific and healthy for middle-aged and elderly people to do fitness activities at this time.

4， Reasonable arrangement of exercise volume

The amount of exercise varies from person to person. For enthusiasts who have a good grasp of Tai Chi, they can appropriately reduce the number of exercises and focus on high-quality movements; beginners should not blindly pursue the number of exercises, but should continuously improve the quality of technical movements. The fitness years of the practitioner are also a crucial factor. The longer the fitness time, the stronger the athletic ability and the better the overall physical fitness. The amount of exercise can be larger during practice; middle-aged and elderly people with a shorter fitness years should carefully arrange the amount of exercise. The general principle is that there is no fatigue on the second day.

Disease treatment exercise prescription

1， Moderate exercise intensity regulation

By understanding the maximum heart rate, it can effectively help practitioners determine the appropriate intensity of exercise in a more ideal, scientific and accurate manner. Generally speaking, the exercise heart rate between 60% and 85% of the maximum heart rate is used as the appropriate heart rate during exercise. At this moment, the practitioner will feel a little strenuous.

2， Pay attention to preparation and finishing activities

If the individual’s muscles have poor stretchability, low elasticity, strong viscosity, and poor overall coordination ability, in order to avoid injuries during exercise, appropriate warm-up exercises must be done. Because warm-up exercises can increase body temperature, thereby enhancing the stretchability of muscles and ligaments, increasing the flexibility of limbs, reducing muscle viscosity, and reducing internal resistance. Whole-body stretching exercises before exercise are particularly important for those with sports injuries. Finishing activities can effectively eliminate lactic acid accumulation, so as to eliminate fatigue. Finishing activities should start with shaking and patting the calves, and then relax the thighs to promote venous blood return. People with leg injuries should pay special attention to massaging the legs and knee joints, and the technique is heavy first and then light. For those with leg injuries, walking easily and naturally after finishing activities is one of the signs of its effect.

3 ，Appropriate exercise frequency

Research shows that the most appropriate exercise frequency is 3 to 4 times a week. Especially for middle-aged and elderly people with existing leg injuries, practicing Tai Chi once every other day is the best exercise frequency. The frequency of exercise should be adjusted according to the season, age, and physical condition. The adjusted frequency of exercise should be based on the reference standard of rarely feeling insufficient exercise or accumulated fatigue.

4 ，Standardized technical movement practice

Incorrect posture will inevitably affect the coordinated use of strength, causing continuous tension in the muscles that should not be used, resulting in local muscle strain and excessive load on the joints. For example, excessive depth of knee bending and squatting is one of the factors that directly cause knee strain.

Therefore, the primary task of the practitioner is to constantly correct the wrong posture, “practice in front of the mirror”, and use Tai Chi technical movement videos, CDs, etc. to discover and standardize the posture. Those with leg injuries can practice high posture and high posture, and try to avoid injury to the legs caused by the posture. The destruction of movement continuity is also one of the irregular technical movements that often occur in practice. The continuous movements are divided, causing unnecessary pauses, which makes the leg muscles continue to tense.

Therefore, mastering technical movements, practicing them in combination and section by section, and constantly improving the proficiency and standardization of technical movements are the key to effectively solving the problem. It is not appropriate to focus on the whole set of exercises.

To sum up, when doing Tai Chi fitness exercises, everyone must follow scientific and reasonable principles, strengthen prevention and health awareness, and treat sports injuries according to the basic principles of exercise prescriptions combined with personal reality. Only in this way can the health level of exercisers be effectively and continuously improved.