At first glance, yoga and weight training can seem like polar opposite forms of exercise. Yoga brings visions of calm peacefulness, while weight training often brings visions of athletes struggling to bench those extra 10 pounds on the weight bench.
The truth is, though, that both yoga and weight training focus largely on the same thing: improving muscle strength. Here are some ways you can combine yoga exercises and weight training to get the maximum benefit for your muscles and for your overall health.
Do the Right Type of Yoga for Your Muscles
If your goal is to use yoga to focus on muscle-building, consider trying a power yoga class. Power yoga classes are usually quite intense, with a focus on strength training exercises. Doing a power yoga class will kill two birds with one stone when it comes to your workout routine as it incorporates extra strength training into your yoga routine.
Combine Regular Strength Training with Restorative Yoga
Another way to combine yoga and weight training is to include a restorative yoga session into your workout routine, alternating the restorative, less intense yoga class with your weight training workouts. Doing restorative yoga will aid your muscles as they recover from your weight training workouts.
Alternate Taking a Power Yoga Class with a Restorative Yoga Class
Just because you like weight training doesn’t mean you have to choose one type of yoga class over the other. It’s fine to alternate your restorative, lighter yoga classes with power yoga classes and sill include weight training in your workouts. Just be sure to tailor your weight training workouts that occur on power yoga days in a way that avoids overworking the muscles predominantly used during your power yoga sessions.
Other Tips for Combining Yoga and Weight Training
- Be sure to incorporate rest days into your workout schedule. Rest days are vital for healing muscles and renewing strength, helping to ward off muscle injury and fatigue
- Drink adequate amounts of water before, during and after workouts
- Incorporate 5 to 10 minutes of stretching time before and after yoga and weight training workouts
- Listen to your body. If it’s telling you you’re doing too much, lighten up on the workouts
Should I Do My Yoga and Strength Training Workouts Together?
A popular fitness trend these days in fitness centers is to incorporate weight training directly into your yoga routine by doing certain poses with weights in hand. Many weight training experts caution against doing this type of yoga and recommend keeping weight training exercises separate from yoga exercises. Although yoga is a workout, its primary goal is to create a healthy, strong body and a calm mind. Therefore, it’s recommended by training experts to keep your yoga routines and weight training routines separate, even though it’s perfectly fine to do both types of routines on the same day.
Both yoga and weight training can add valuable benefits to your overall health. Consider using both forms of exercise in your workout routine and do something different for your health.
Source: http://kregweiss.ca/2012/06/20/how-to-combine-yoga-and-weight-training/
This Site Was Inspired By An Interest in Protecting the Environment
We had the privilege and joy of learning from Dr. Charlie Stine who instilled a love for the natural world through incredible field trips with the Johns Hopkins Odyssey Certificate program in Environmental Studies. At the time, the program was endorsed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Sadly, after Dr. Stine retired, the program was phased out. We hope that we honor his legacy by shining a bright light on environmental issues and sharing good news about the success of various conservation programs when possible.