For Heart Rate, Tai Chi Comparable to Brisk Walk

Tai chi practice may be a comparable conditioning alternative for adults who cannot tolerate the stresses of a brisk walk. Scientists found that heart rate variability was approximately the same for people who walked on a treadmill and for those who performed six-posture tai chi, according to a small study presented at the American Academy of Family Physicians 2007 Annual Scientific Assembly in October. 

Researchers at Catholic University of Korea studied 24 healthy subjects ages 24-35 years old. Participants either walked on a treadmill at 6-kilometer-per-hour pace or practiced six-posture tai chi for 20 minutes with a 5-minute rest. Investigators recorded mean heart rate data for all subjects. Heart rate was only slightly higher in walkers than it was in tai chi practitioners. 

Source: IDEA Fitness Journal, March 2008, page 78