Yoga + Weights?

[kkg8r]

A friend keeps telling me that yoga isn't good enough strength training and that I should supplement it with weight training. I feel like I spend a lot of my yoga practice lifting my own body weight (planks, lunges, etc.). Do you think she has a point? Just curious.

[jeffphillips21]

I think it depends on what body type you want. I think plyometrics and yoga are a great combination, will keep you lean but give you a little more strength and endurance. You're right though, yoga does give you good strength training, especially when supporting your own body weight, it just depends on how much strength you want vs. impact on your joints, etc. I think adding a light weight-training program as a supplement could help, just keep it light with high reps at first to avoid injury.

Hope that helps!

[Dreamliner]

Well, since you don't have to do yoga to stay supple, why should you have to lift weights to get strong ? Indeed, why do either ?

That was only halfway tongue-in-cheek.

[LeafUF]

I think everyone should lift some weight. The benefits are great and hard to duplicate elsewhere. Not at my computer or else I would add links for you. Do yourself a favor and go check out girls gone strong. Lots of good info from a group of female trainers. Jen Sinkler is ny favorite.

[Dreamliner]

Some forms of Yoga, Ashtanga comes to mind, features some fairly taxing poses which, I should think would get you possibly stronger than the gal who's reading the riot act to you.

In fact, it is my strong suspicion that certain gymnastics strength movements were adapted from something like Ashtanga Yoga. One movement is basically an isometric pushup. Another is basically a moving, plyometric pushup. Another is like a tuck planche. Another like an isometric one-legged squat, etc.

Basically, the only thing missing are pulling movements.

[LeafUF]

So in looking for the articles supporting weight training and reasons why you should be doing it on top of yoga I found this quote.

Using one’s own body weight in exercise such as yoga and Pilates, has shown to prompt muscular remodeling almost as readily as has working with weight machines.

Its from a Forbes article and I can not find the study they say it comes from but that would be a good positive argument in your favor.

I am still in favor of switching things up and doing something different one day a week like a kettlebell class or something adding weight other than body weight exercises.

[Dreamliner]

I'd have questions about this study. Most people who use 'weight machines' don't work out very hard.

[UFNut]

Originally Posted by Dreamliner

I'd have questions about this study. Most people who use 'weight machines' don't work out very hard.

Or they can't workout because they hurt themselves doing improper and unnatural motions with too much weight.

[kkg8r]

Thanks everyone. I guess I just have been going with what I enjoy. I really did like the Body Pump classes at my last gym. Maybe I'll look for something like that. Definitely going to check out that site, Leaf. Thanks!

[Dreamliner]

Seems to me that more men should be doing something like yoga, whereas more women should be doing something like lifting weights. Men are already strong and could stand to work on mobility, whereas women are already flexible and could stand to work on their strength.

Funny, I trained a couple of women, about a year ago, a mother and daughter. Going in they agreed that they both needed to get stronger. So, while supervising their strength movements, I'd turn aside for a second ... and they'd both be on their backs stretching.

What are you going to do ?

[kkg8r]

I agree my husband comes with me sometimes - I slum it and go to the beginner class he really needs to work on flexibility. Having said that, I also need to work on hamstring and shoulder flexibility. I do like showing him up on side planks and whatnot

As for women, we have just always been ingrained to stretch and many are scared of weights. I like being strong, but sometimes I can get a bit intimidated at the gym even though I know my way around pretty well.

[Dreamliner]

Originally Posted by kkg8r

I agree my husband comes with me sometimes - I slum it and go to the beginner class he really needs to work on flexibility. Having said that, I also need to work on hamstring and shoulder flexibility. I do like showing him up on side planks and whatnot

As for women, we have just always been ingrained to stretch and many are scared of weights. I like being strong, but sometimes I can get a bit intimidated at the gym even though I know my way around pretty well.

Seriously, you really don't have to lift weights to get stronger. Do you do your yoga at home or do you go to a class ?

[LeafUF]

The one problem with bodyweight exercise is progression. When you strength train you will adapt to whatever you are doing and have to progress in some way to continue challenging yourself. This is just easier to do with weights than it is with your body since you are most likely either staying the same or reducing weight. The following article has some ideas on how to achieve that with bodyweight. Could be adapted to yoga im sure.

http://www.streetdirectory.com/trave..._solution.html

Also, I agree with Dream, guys would do well to try more yoga and I need to find ways to work in more stretching and body weight training myself.

[Dreamliner]

Leaf, interesting article. The reason I typically prescribe bodyweight exercises, for my clients, is certainly not because I believe they are superior to weights, but simply because they are convenient. And I typically put them on what I call a 25:50 template.

They do a push, a pull and usually a squat. They perform unhurried circuits until they amass 25 reps of each exercise, to start. Every week, they add another five reps. Eventually, they're getting 50 reps per exercise. Then it's either maintenance or we progress the exercises and start back with 25.

This is very much in line with the gist of your article, escalating density.

[LeafUF]

Yeah, if you are dealing with clients outside of a gym, the easiest thing is probably to prescribe exercises that dont require any investment. Just time and a plan. And it sounds like the plan you are giving has a logical progression system built in to make the activities consistently more challenging.

I may be a barbell junkie but I know not everyone has the desire to throw around iron like I do. I have been considering reading the book You Are Your Own Gym. Not so much for myself but so I can learn more about body weight and provide better suggestions to those interested in that type of training.

[Dreamliner]

I know this sounds funny, coming from something of a bodyweight exercise enthusiast, but bodyweight exercise is becoming a bit of a cultish fad. It's almost become a point of pride to pointedly avoid weights in order to show how strong and muscular you can become without weights.

And it's especially amusing when I read things like "bodyweight exercises are easier on the joints." Uh, not if you seriously progress them, as I have. I rather suspect I've hurt myself more doing bodyweight exercises than with weights. Part of that may be because I suppose I respect the weights more.

In any case, pullups and one-armed pushups killed my elbows. And free handstands killed my wrists.

[LeafUF]

http://greatist.com/fitness/men-wome...les-gym-video/

Please people go watch the video

[Dreamliner]

Hehe, watched that yesterday.

[kkg8r]

Originally Posted by Dreamliner

Seriously, you really don't have to lift weights to get stronger. Do you do your yoga at home or do you go to a class ?

I go to classes. I try to do yoga at home, but I'm not as motivated. I will do a few flows then quit or won't push myself to hold poses longer.

The reason I am thinking of weights is that I think it may help me with harder inversions. I've got the crow (and side crow) down, but want to be able to go from crow to chaturanga (half tricep push-up) and up to handstand. I think that's going to be easier if I use weights.

Perhaps I'll do a little tour around my gym tomorrow.

Great video BTW.

[Dreamliner]

Originally Posted by kkg8r

I go to classes. I try to do yoga at home, but I'm not as motivated. I will do a few flows then quit or won't push myself to hold poses longer.

The reason I am thinking of weights is that I think it may help me with harder inversions. I've got the crow (and side crow) down, but want to be able to go from crow to chaturanga (half tricep push-up) and up to handstand. I think that's going to be easier if I use weights.

Perhaps I'll do a little tour around my gym tomorrow.

Great video BTW.

You could try the weights route. And don't be self-conscious. Nobody's looking at you and laughing when you lift. But even if they were, provided you stick with the weights for awhile, they wouldn't be laughing very long.

That said, I'm assuming that there are progressions, for the Chaturanga, that would get you there faster. I had a goal of doing one-arm pushups. And it was suggested to me that weights would get me there faster. But I didn't want to wait that long. So, I just did the standard progressions and got them in about four weeks.

Edit: in googling around it seems like there are different versions for Chaturanga. To save your elbows, I'd opt for the version that has your forearms perpendicular to floor. This necessitates moving your hands towards your hips.

This is the way I taught a female client of mine to do pushups.