Yoga *IS* strength training.

Options
124678

Replies

  • simplygreat83
    simplygreat83 Posts: 3 Member
    Options
    LOL @ this comment :)
  • vtachycardia
    vtachycardia Posts: 374
    Options
    Obviously, by the comments, a very touchy subject. I do think that yoga is a great workout. I've tried yoga and it is very difficult. My problem with calling it strength training is that the resistance is not being increased. Most people will either remain the same weight or lose weight. You may have better muscle endurance, but you're not really getting that much stronger. It should be listed as cardio.
    But you can increase resistance by changing the pose. Many people start out in yoga unable to do the actual poses, and make modifications. As their strength improves, they can get closer to the pose as it's intended to be done. They can also move to one-armed and one-legged poses, which take lot of strength. And they can do things to change the leverage, for example, if balancing on their arms, they can change their leg position to move their center of gravity to make it harder.

    Very similar to gymnastics. You can get pretty strong with just your body weight for resistance, with the right program.
    At a certain point, yes, the strength training benefit will plateau. But it could be a long while for most people.

    Very similar to gymnastics?! A SERIOUS STRETCH! People whose main physical activity is gymnastics and those whose main physical activity is yoga could not have less similar physiques.

    If you believe your statement in reply to someone who has taken the time to patiently present a very true and valid point then you will be able to provide lots of pictorial evidence to support your opinion on physiques. Then look at pictures of the strongest men in the world and realise their physical look is not that of a bodysculturist.

    Fact, most weight lifters lack condition and functional ability. Exercise should embrace all activity to create a complete package.
  • ixap
    ixap Posts: 675 Member
    Options
    If you are in any kind of shape at all you should be able to do at LEAST one solid push up, unless you are extremely heavy and have really long arms or something odd like that. I've never NOT been able to do a push up. I can't do a ton now in one set, but push ups are typically including in general physical fitness tests. There's a reason for that, if you are fit, you should be able to do push-ups.
    OK, if someone can do ONE solid pushup and then fail, then working up to a set of 5 would be strength training for that person.

    You look to be someone who lifts heavy weights and is in EXCELLENT shape, not just decent shape -- and you say you can't do a ton in one set. So I maintain that this is indeed a challenging exercise.

    I think the pushups required in most general fitness tests are NOT the ones where you have have to touch your chest to the group. In yoga, you do full range pushups.
  • mathjulz
    mathjulz Posts: 5,514 Member
    Options
    I had to giggle just a bit at everyone who is saying yoga is just for relaxation, or that it isn't "strength training." I've seen big, buff guys who do insane weights try yoga and fall into a huge puddle of fail. It may not work you the same way as lifting weights, but it does build muscle (and you can get VERY sore from it!)
  • Polly758
    Polly758 Posts: 623 Member
    Options
    Wierd. I thought yoga was a spiritual practice.
  • perdie7
    perdie7 Posts: 278 Member
    Options
    last week, when I was 5 weeks post surgery, so I hadn't lifted for 5 weeks, and had only returned to cardio the week before.
    I did 16 pushup, wearing a military weighted jacket...wonder how many that I could have done if I wasn't post surgery
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Options
    WTF... why are we so hung up on pushups???

    It's like any other movement - if you are trained for it, you can do them. I'm not especially strong, but I can do 50 pushups straight. Why? Because I've been doing pushups since my phys ed tests in grade school... not because I'm some bulk of a man.

    Push-ups are easy for people who do them a lot (or similar push movements). They are hard for people who don't. Can we move on now?
  • IronPlayground
    IronPlayground Posts: 1,594 Member
    Options
    I had to giggle just a bit at everyone who is saying yoga is just for relaxation, or that it isn't "strength training." I've seen big, buff guys who do insane weights try yoga and fall into a huge puddle of fail. It may not work you the same way as lifting weights, but it does build muscle (and you can get VERY sore from it!)

    Increasing strength and building muscle are two different things. I would be surprised if many people who do yoga only for their workouts would be eating at a caloric level to build muscle. It could happen, but would be a very small percentage.
  • ErinBeth7
    ErinBeth7 Posts: 1,625 Member
    Options
    So why is it included only in the cardiovascular section of exercise? Here are just a few of the strengthening things we do every time we practice yoga:
    -push ups
    -arm balances
    -one-legged balances
    -sit-up/crunch poses, like boat pose
    -hand stands, for crying out loud

    How do I get yoga included in the strength training list?

    You can add it to your strength training manually and it will be there from then on when you enter your work outs in. Just hit the "Add Exercise" button.
    Yep. Quite easy.
  • charliebrooke08
    charliebrooke08 Posts: 82
    Options
    Obviously, by the comments, a very touchy subject. I do think that yoga is a great workout. I've tried yoga and it is very difficult. My problem with calling it strength training is that the resistance is not being increased. Most people will either remain the same weight or lose weight. You may have better muscle endurance, but you're not really getting that much stronger. It should be listed as cardio.
    But you can increase resistance by changing the pose. Many people start out in yoga unable to do the actual poses, and make modifications. As their strength improves, they can get closer to the pose as it's intended to be done. They can also move to one-armed and one-legged poses, which take lot of strength. And they can do things to change the leverage, for example, if balancing on their arms, they can change their leg position to move their center of gravity to make it harder.

    Very similar to gymnastics. You can get pretty strong with just your body weight for resistance, with the right program.
    At a certain point, yes, the strength training benefit will plateau. But it could be a long while for most people.

    Very similar to gymnastics?! A SERIOUS STRETCH! People whose main physical activity is gymnastics and those whose main physical activity is yoga could not have less similar physiques.

    If you believe your statement in reply to someone who has taken the time to patiently present a very true and valid point then you will be able to provide lots of pictorial evidence to support your opinion on physiques. Then look at pictures of the strongest men in the world and realise their physical look is not that of a bodysculturist.

    Fact, most weight lifters lack condition and functional ability. Exercise should embrace all activity to create a complete package.

    Not sure how that relates to my comment about the absurdity of comparing yoga to gymnastics . . .
  • ixap
    ixap Posts: 675 Member
    Options
    Not sure how that relates to my comment about the absurdity of comparing yoga to gymnastics . . .
    I was just giving an example of another discipline that uses a lot of bodyweight movements that require tons of strength.
  • Ely82010
    Ely82010 Posts: 1,998 Member
    Options
    Wierd. I thought yoga was a spiritual practice.

    It is! It takes a lot of "spirit" to practice yoga....
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
    Options
    Strength training is included in the "cardio" section so that you can add in your exercise calories. The "Strength Training" section is simply for tracking specific workouts.
  • charliebrooke08
    charliebrooke08 Posts: 82
    Options
    If you are in any kind of shape at all you should be able to do at LEAST one solid push up, unless you are extremely heavy and have really long arms or something odd like that. I've never NOT been able to do a push up. I can't do a ton now in one set, but push ups are typically including in general physical fitness tests. There's a reason for that, if you are fit, you should be able to do push-ups.
    OK, if someone can do ONE solid pushup and then fail, then working up to a set of 5 would be strength training for that person.

    You look to be someone who lifts heavy weights and is in EXCELLENT shape, not just decent shape -- and you say you can't do a ton in one set. So I maintain that this is indeed a challenging exercise.

    I think the pushups required in most general fitness tests are NOT the ones where you have have to touch your chest to the group. In yoga, you do full range pushups.

    Yea I can't do a ton because it's primarily a chest exercise and as a female chest is particularlly challenging. i.e. why I can only bench 90lbs for 5 reps but can squat 170lbs for 5 reps at 112lb bodyweight.

    Good for yoga peeps doing push ups, didn't say it wasn't challenging. I just believe if you believe yourself to be fit you should be able to do them. The fact that some people in some yoga classes do push ups hardly makes yoga strength training.

    And I don't believe push ups to be very important in increasing a person's over-all strength, another reason I can't do a ton. I don't do them. Building up my chest isn't important to me and there are much, much better ways to train my biceps, triceps, traps, and other muscles used in stabilizing a push up. If you can do one push up and increase your reps you are primarily building muscle endurance not strength. Example (try not to over analyze and pick apart the numbers, that's not the point of the example, hopefully you'll understand) Doing 100 push-ups isn't equal to doing 25 push-ups with a weight vest on or a person sitting on your back.
  • jwhit31
    jwhit31 Posts: 450 Member
    Options
    Really?!?! I only ask because I did 60 this morning. Maybe I'm just a freak. :laugh:


    ......and that was after benching 115lbs, 5x5
  • ixap
    ixap Posts: 675 Member
    Options
    WTF... why are we so hung up on pushups???
    here are some other yoga moves that require a fair amount of strength...
    crane pose
    wheel pose
    eight-angle pose
    peacock pose
    firefly pose
    one-legged squat with leg extended
    I'm not especially strong, but I can do 50 pushups straight.
    You look pretty strong. Looking at your arms I think it's fair of me to assume that you are stronger than the average female casual exerciser.
  • terrisjr
    terrisjr Posts: 4
    Options
    lol :laugh:
  • ixap
    ixap Posts: 675 Member
    Options

    Yea I can't do a ton because it's primarily a chest exercise and as a female chest is particularlly challenging. i.e. why I can only bench 90lbs for 5 reps but can squat 170lbs for 5 reps at 112lb bodyweight.
    Okay, what?! You are saying that some moves are harder for most women than men, in general? Isn't that what I said that made you guys all jump down my throat for being "sexist?"
    That is ALL I was saying. This is a move that is challenging for many women from a strength perspective, and as such could be legitimately considered a strength exercise for many.
  • charliebrooke08
    charliebrooke08 Posts: 82
    Options
    Really?!?! I only ask because I did 60 this morning. Maybe I'm just a freak. :laugh:


    ......and that was after benching 115lbs, 5x5

    You must do a lot of yoga :)
  • ixap
    ixap Posts: 675 Member
    Options
    Really?!?! I only ask because I did 60 this morning. Maybe I'm just a freak. :laugh:
    did you touch your chest to the floor, like in yoga pushups, or did you go only partway like most people?

Categories