Questions on Yoga as replacement for weights?

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  • yoginimary
    yoginimary Posts: 6,783 Member
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    Sure, if that's what you're going for. Even as a yoga enthusiast, I would have to agree on that yoga does not usually involve "pulling" type training. You asked about core - which it can do, if you focused on that.

    Because I've been asked this question before, I went to get strength tested at the University of Texas Kinesiology department. I do not lift weights. I do cardio and yoga. I was in the 98th percentile in leg and ab strength and 66 percentile on the bench press - so I don't really see the point of adding weights to my fitness routine.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,898 Member
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    amyrebeccah wrote: »
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    Chieflrg wrote: »
    Cherimoose wrote: »

    - Yoga has a lack of pulling exercises, since there is nothing to pull.

    That is subjective to what kind of yoga. There are resistance bands and straps that can be used for pulling and/or stretching of arms and legs.

    My thought exactly.

    I've taken dozens of different types of yoga class and have instructors in my family. I love yoga. But using a band to enable stretches of arms and legs (which is how I've often seen bands used in yoga) does nothing to work pulling muscles in the way cherimoose is talking about. Adding resistance bands and strength pulling exercises is a variation on yoga, not classic yoga. So if you want to tell the OP that a complete strength workout will come from yoga, I would just add that qualifier.

    I'd argue that classic* yoga is not what you'd want for bodyweight exercises anyway, but styles that were influenced by the British colonial times, such as Ashtanga vinyasa and Power type styles.

    * Patanjali, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Upanishads, etc.

    http://www.yogajournal.com/article/philosophy/yoga-s-greater-truth/

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