Is Yoga "Enough" to Strength Train?

unicornassassin

A gym member and I were wondering if yoga was enough... enough what? Well in my case, I was wondering if yoga was enough strength training, or if I also needed to mix in some weights or Body Pump class or something.

So, I think I got my answer.

In the last two weeks I decreased my body fat by 2.3% and my BMI only decreased by .1.

So I'm thinking this is a pretty good sign that yoga is helping me build some pretty good muscle. FYI I do 7 hours of yoga a week.

Thoughts? Similar or different experiences? Opinions? Diatribes about how this is totally impossible and my measurements are wrong and whatnot and yoga is for losers???

Dave198lbs

yoga is wonderful for body and mind but I wouldnt consider it strength training at least not in the sense of weight training. You will get stronger and more flexible with yoga.

namaste

Hayesgang

I guess it depends on what you are looking for.

I do yoga 3-4x per week (3-hot power yoga and 1-restorative) - That's my only workout and I have gained muscle (or so I like to think) and my BF is19% per calipers - doing BodPod tomorrow, so we'll see :bigsmile:



EDIT: I go to a yoga studio, not a gym so the instructors at the gym may not be as specialized or knowledgeable about the practice

abitzan

Yoga is great if it is supplemented with strength training. there is an amazing program out there called piyo that combines yoga and pilates at a higher music pace. If you are a accustomed to the slower flor of yoga this may be a jolt to your system but it is a great class to try.

btw I am a yoga instructor, practice 5 days a week and i still supplement strength training in because it helps with more intense postures.

om shanti

unicornassassin

Hmm. Good food for thought! Thank you all

Azdak

All exercise training effects are activity specific. Yoga, like any other type of training, will have specific effects according to the physical stressors placed on the body by the movements and poses. Your body will adapt to those movements just enough to meet the demands of the activity and no more.

The question of whether it is "enough" cannot have one general answer.

thelovelyLIZ

I think yoga is great for building strength, but I don't know that it will build it as quickly as weights might. I did notice though, that when I had been doing yoga about twice a week for about six months, my arms looked much better than they do now. Not to mention there are some yoga moves that require an obscene amount of strength and muscle control (scorpion anyone?)

tiffany171720052005

Yoga is great. It helps to build my core. I recently tried couples yoga with my bf which motivated me even more and spiced things up a bit.

daphnemoon

I love Body Pump! I never ever thought I'd be into weight training but it is now my favourite class. You won't bulk up but it will tone nicely and I also burn around 400 cals in an hour so it does get your heart rate up as well. Having said that, I also do body balance (a fusion of yoga, pilates and t'ai chi) three times a week and this complements the strength training in pump nicely. So I'd say that if your timetable allows, do a mix of both, then along with some cardio you will have all bases covered. Good luck!

baldchocnsexy

No.

Just_Dot

I've gotten, in the past year plus a couple of months, incredibly strong from *just* doing yoga 3-5 times a week. It really depends on what type of yoga you are doing. Frankly, holding chaturanga for a minute (to me) is harder than doing 50 pushups! I just started (after about a 12 year hiatus) lifting again, but that's because I wanted wicked muscles...I do yoga on my off days and it still can kick my *kitten*.

tigersword

I just want to point out that youou did not put on muscle mass in 2 weeks doing yoga, especially if you're eating at a calorie deficit. Yoga is fantastic for many reasons, muscle building isn't really one of them.

Water retention would be much more likely, and in accurate body fat measurements is the most likely explanation for your change.

As for yoga being enough, there's no way to answer that. What's enough for one won't be enough for another. It certainly wouldn't be enough for me.

unicornassassin

I've gotten, in the past year plus a couple of months, incredibly strong from *just* doing yoga 3-5 times a week. It really depends on what type of yoga you are doing. Frankly, holding chaturanga for a minute (to me) is harder than doing 50 pushups! I just started (after about a 12 year hiatus) lifting again, but that's because I wanted wicked muscles...I do yoga on my off days and it still can kick my *kitten*.

I agree about holding chaturanga being pretty challenging! It's really fun seeing myself gain ability to hold poses longer and with better form.

unicornassassin

I love Body Pump! I never ever thought I'd be into weight training but it is now my favourite class. You won't bulk up but it will tone nicely and I also burn around 400 cals in an hour so it does get your heart rate up as well. Having said that, I also do body balance (a fusion of yoga, pilates and t'ai chi) three times a week and this complements the strength training in pump nicely. So I'd say that if your timetable allows, do a mix of both, then along with some cardio you will have all bases covered. Good luck!

I do also do an hour of cardio a day.

You do have me rethinking Body Pump... I did really enjoy the challenge of it. Hmmm, I'll have to think about that. Thanks

ladykate7

Wether its enough depends on what level of fitness you are starting at. I think of yoga as body weight exercises, and consider it a sort of strength training. Once your body can handle holding itself and moving through positions though then you're not getting any additional strength from it and it's time to move onto more agressive strength training (ie- new moves and/or heavier weights.)

Personally, when I am strength training in the traditional sense (with dumbbells & classic body weight exercises) I can't do yoga on my recovery days because yoga's too hard on the muslces that are trying to recover.

JamesBurkes

It all depends on your definition of "strength".

Benching 300lbs?

Being able to move a washing machine out of your house, on your own?

Winning an arm wrestling match?

Doing 20 pull ups?

Being able to go from plank to handstand in one move?

For most of those, yoga won't make you "strong." But it can certainly get you strong in the sense of the last of the above, or holding a one legged squat or any number of other poses that an untrained person couldn't do.

If I could only do one exercise at all it would be yoga (or okay, maybe swimming). But luckily we don't have to make that choice.