Tai Cheng - Day 1

Today was day one of Tai Cheng. I have really been looking forward to this! After I finally got past some obstacles, I did a round of Insanity from April to June. That was a fabulous experience, and I plan to do it again. However, there's nothing like moving your body through space at top speed and doing explosive work to highlight your movement shortcomings. I'm all about correct form, so I'm looking forward to what Tai Cheng can do for me. This seems like the perfect thing to do during the Ultimate Reset, which starts tomorrow.



Energy Assessment There is a very revealing energy assessment for Day 1 and Day 90. I had to answer sometimes and always to too many. Boo!

Function Test The first physical thing Dr. Cheng has you do is a functional test. It's in your book, and he also reviews it on video. He smartly recommends that you have someone do this with you, because it's hard to score your own form. There are 7 moves with a very specific scoring system. I had an issue on the very first move!  One of the things I like already is his discussion on pain and discomfort during these movements, and you score yourself accordingly. My tough spots: right knee, low back, tight right shoulder/lat, tight hamstrings. I consider myself to be fairly strong, somewhat flexible and have good form. I scored a 9 out of a possible 20. I have work to do!!

Master Scroll Tai Cheng provides a DVD that takes you through things like breathing and a break down of each move. I went through the entire DVD. It's amazing how holding static postures and doing movement with fluid control is more challenging than it looks! On the very first move I felt a little tweak in my knee that has been bothering me. I made all the adjustments Dr. Cheng instructed, and it completely corrected it - I felt no other discomfort during the rest of the moves.

Day 1 The first training took me through a Neural Reboot and the first Tai Chi move. The reboot includes very controlled and precise key body movements through space, as well as foam rolling. LOVE it. This was my first exposure to Tai Chi. For someone who is used to intense workouts, psyching myself up, pushing hard, etc, this is a complete change. I'm ready for this. It made me realize how bad I need it. It will take a lot of discipline and mindfulness for me to grasp this fully.

My overall take is that I already have tremendous respect for Dr. Cheng, I very much need this progrram, it's perfect as I go through the reset, and it confirmed my need for improved movement patterns before adding external weight and explosiveness.