Yoga in place of weight lifting

LadyQueefsalot

Hey-yo!

I had the bad, bad joints and running & elliptical machines aggravated them, so I took up a hot yoga/Bikram yoga practice about a year ago. I lost some weight, not much, maybe 15-20 lbs, but I got waaay stronger. Anyways, I just finished up the first week of couch to 5K program and am continuing my yoga practice as well, and I've heard that yoga was a lot like weight training/lifting. Beign that you're supposed to do a mix of cardio and weights for optimum fitness, I was wondering- is this whole "yoga is like weight lifting" thing true?

auzziecawth66

I wouldn't compare it to weight lifting but I would say that it is def a form of body weight training. I noticed significant strength gains after doing it regularly as well.

lindseymaepatz

I do the same. I do cardio 3-4 times a week and 2 yoga classes a week. I didn't care for bikram because I was so sweaty I couldn't hold a pose, so I've just done vinyasa flow classes.

I think yoga and standard weight training are similar, but can also vary in key areas. For example, yoga will never give you bulk muscles... but that's why I do it. I love the long, lean muscles you get. Plus it's also great to stretch out your muscles that you tighten so much while running/doing cardio, so it's a bit like killing 2 birds with 1 stone.

lhergenr

i wouldn't replace my weight lifting with yoga, but i like to do both. i believe asthanga yoga is the best kind for strength training by the way.

lizziebeth1028

I love Yoga! And for me, at my age (54), the power forms of yoga that are similar to body weight exercises are challenging and require strength and endurance and give my body a great work out. Any one who practices yoga at a studio will tell you a good session is made up of planks, chaturangas, chair poses (squats), warrior 3's ect ect....all excellent body weight exercises. And yoga along with some cardio is a great all around program.....BUT....I also lift weights using compound moves and a weight that will challenge me. Some people may get excellent results just practicing yoga and doing cardio. Other people may be looking to gain muscle mass and need a weight lifting program. It all boils down to what your goals are.

gingerveg

LOVE yoga! I also do hot yoga and it definitely helps me build strength and balance. The bikram sequence really focusses on legs/lower body more than other types. I happen to love this because my legs are strong so there is no pose I cannot get into/stay in. I tend to shy away from upper body workouts because I'm just not strong there. So I try to incorporate weight lifting 1-2x in my weekly workouts for this exact reason (I also incorporate a tough ab workout in once or twice a week). So if you are doing bikram I think your legs are covered but I suggest including some free weights to cover your upper body. I don't know about you, but yoga keeps me long and lean no matter how much I lift.

GiddyupTim

I happen to do both with some frequency, and I gotta say, with confidence, that I am pretty lousy at both of them.
That said, I am familiar.
Good scientific research evidence shows that you can build strength with isometric exercise. An example of an isometric exercise would be like holding a warrior pose, or a plank position, or a downward dog -- anything where you have the muscle engaged but are not moving.
I believe I am stronger than I otherwise would be from doing yoga.
However, in my opinion, yoga and weight training are really not the same.
Yoga does not burn very many calories, even when you do an hour of ashtanga, or power, yoga. It is not a good way to lose weight, because it calms and relaxes, and so does not ramp up your metabolism.
Also, while isometric exercise can build strength, one does not usually hold a yoga pose long enough to seriously tax a muscle in the average yoga class or routine. To seriously build strength with isometrics, you need to hold the pressure for a minute or longer. The average pose is going to be less than 30 seconds.
You might get stronger, but not a lot stronger.
Weight lifting, on the other hand, can help you get much stronger. You can stretch yourself beyond your limits, by continually increasing the weight you use, which makes your body adapt, and sprout new neuron connections and grow new muscle fibers. Moreover, a session of weight training ramps up your metabolism for about 24 hours afterwards, which burns extra calories.
Yoga builds balance and coordination, and the stretching is indispensable, for me at least. But it does not stress your body's potential the same way that weight training does.
Course, maybe it does in a different way. There are yogis with extreme flexibility. You never see that in a weight lifter.

Yogi_Carl

Part of the meaning of the word Yo-ga is to aim to exist in the middle of all extremes - as we say, moderation in all things.

Weightlifting is always going to excel in extreme strength gains. Long distance running is always going to be best for training for the marathon. Yoga will never achieve the extreme strengths of a weightlifter, but I would argue - who except a weightlifter needs those strength gains?

Yoga is designed to build strength, both isometrically and also in moving form as in flowing slowly from posture to the next, we train our bodies to build strength, from the first posture to the final postue and every degree of movement in between. An experienced yogi or yogini will be able to hold a Plank posture two, four, six inches off the floor and full lock; clearly evidence of strength which is much more than an untrained person.

What Yoga also provides though, in addition to a relatively modest gain in strength compared to weightlifting, is flexibility which is so often lacking in weight lifters, balance, core strength and health of internal organs and so much more.

I would say if you need extreme strength gains then concentrate on lifting heavy, but if you want the benefits of a much wider spectrum of gains then at least incorporate yoga into your weekly training regime or go for it and do yoga and have it all but in a more moderated way.

GiddyupTim

I thought the literal meaning of the Sanskrit word was "to unite" or "to join"?
But, I digress, OP. I am sorry.

JesterMFP

I think yoga and standard weight training are similar, but can also vary in key areas. For example, yoga will never give you bulk muscles... but that's why I do it. I love the long, lean muscles you get. Plus it's also great to stretch out your muscles that you tighten so much while running/doing cardio, so it's a bit like killing 2 birds with 1 stone.

The whole "long lean muscles" thing is a marketing gimmick. Once you have stopped growing, your muscles are a fixed length.

Yogi_Carl

Yes - the Sanskrit is "to unite" or "to join". In my reply I was suggesting that the word could mean to pull all extremes into the middle or to sit in a place of balance between all extremes - so as to unite or join.

So in context to the OP's question - I see weightlifting as extremely good for strength gains, but lacking in flexibility whereas Yoga offers gains in both but in a more balanced measure, which is what most people are really looking for; not extreme strength at the expense of flexibility or maybe endurance.

Yogi_Carl

I think yoga and standard weight training are similar, but can also vary in key areas. For example, yoga will never give you bulk muscles... but that's why I do it. I love the long, lean muscles you get. Plus it's also great to stretch out your muscles that you tighten so much while running/doing cardio, so it's a bit like killing 2 birds with 1 stone.

The whole "long lean muscles" thing is a marketing gimmick. Once you have stopped growing, your muscles are a fixed length.

I have seen enough long, lean people who train specifically for that goal to know it is not a gimmick. Once you have stopped growing, your muscles are a fixed length you are right, but there is much you can do to affect their profile along the entire length.

GiddyupTim

Hey, at least we are bumping this thread along . . .

cwolfman13

I would think it would greatly depend upon your goals. While you can gain strength and fitness through yoga, and it is very good for balance...and from what I've seen, can do a nice job of toning...but you can't match the strength or muscle growth you get from lifting weights with yoga.

Yogi_Carl

I would think it would greatly depend upon your goals. While you can gain strength and fitness through yoga, and it is very good for balance...and from what I've seen, can do a nice job of toning...but you can't match the strength or muscle growth you get from lifting weights with yoga.

agreed - but do most people who are trying to lose weight and improve their overall fitness and well-being need the extreme strength gains of lifting weights at the expense of everything else?

I would argue that the average person wanting to lose some weight while gaining some muscular strength, flexibility, core strength and improve their physique would be better doing a routine of bodyweight exercises and yoga - but I confess that is where my own passions lie.

The best fitness regime is the one the person is going to love doing and look forward to each session - then it becomes a program for life.

yoginimary

Also, while isometric exercise can build strength, one does not usually hold a yoga pose long enough to seriously tax a muscle in the average yoga class or routine. To seriously build strength with isometrics, you need to hold the pressure for a minute or longer. The average pose is going to be less than 30 seconds.

Just as an aside, I held the following poses today for a minute or longer:
Triangle, revolved triangle, side angle, revolved side angle, warriors 1, 2, & 3, half moon, some standing forward bends, headstand, shoulderstand, handstand, locust, bow, camel. :happy:

paijing

I love yoga, but it does <b>not</b> have the same effect on your body as weight lifting. Yoga is great for balance, flexibility, and some strength. Weight lifting is great for really building up your muscles. They're great complements.

However, neither exercise builds "long & lean" muscles. <b>Nothing</b> builds "long & lean" muscles because your muscles are attached to your bones. What kind of exercise could ever lengthen your muscles? Is it the same kind that could lengthen your bones? Let's throw this myth out the window along with "spot reduction" and "toning up with 5lb dumbbells." If you want to look good, then what you're really working towards is larger muscles and a leaner body.

etoiles_argentees

Iyengar keeps you in the pose longer. All yoga is good.

Yogi_Carl

@ paijing - it's great we can all post our opinions and observations on a free forum for all to read and make our own observations and plan our way forward. My observations are what they are but it's good to read yours.

@ Etoiles_argentees - great pics

DavPul

Yoga is yoga, lifting is lifting. You don't have to do either "in place" of the other because both are optional. If yoga is your preference, do it and don't trouble yourself to tell the lifting community that it's a substitute for something else. It's what you enjoy doing so do it.

jimmmer

However, neither exercise builds "long & lean" muscles. <b>Nothing</b> builds "long & lean" muscles because your muscles are attached to your bones. What kind of exercise could ever lengthen your muscles? Is it the same kind that could lengthen your bones? Let's throw this myth out the window along with "spot reduction" and "toning up with 5lb dumbbells." If you want to look good, then what you're really working towards is larger muscles and a leaner body.

Ha ha!

So true......

jimmmer

Yoga and weightlifting are not interchangeable. They can be complimentary.

Yoga, as in the ancient pursuit is a spiritual discipline that can have a physical component. There are types of yoga that have no physical component at all. They look a lot like the Anglo-American tradition of Logic..... or even the ancient Greek Socratic dialogues. The goal of the pursuit is to bring atman and Atman together - I think it literally means "to yoke". This can have (but doesn't need according to some traditions) a physical component. You'll notice the similarity of Yoke to Yoga due to Sanskrit belonging to the Indo-european group of languages.

In the West we've managed to pluck the physical aspect of one type of yoga out of context. I can claim with some confidence that the majority of people who go to a weekly class at their local box gym are not trying to Yoke themselves to Atman........

At the end of the day, if you think they are interchangeable, then you probably have mis-understood both pursuits......

Yogi_Carl

@ Jimmmer - Well put - I agree, and a timely reminder thanks.

@ paijing - actually, your physique goes before you. You obviously know what you are talking about, so I stand down (no sarcasm here - I mean my words)

Shock_Wave

Iyengar keeps you in the pose longer. All yoga is good.

OMG ............ YOGA BABES!!

Yogi_Carl

@ shock_wave :yawn:

LadyQueefsalot

Thanks for the feedback (and opinions). I have no desire to get even a little bit bulky- I have a feeling that once I've slimmed down, I'm large framed and muscular enough that my tone will look like bulk- but doing planks, down-dogs, etc. really make my muscles shake and feel fatigued, the way they'd feel after I did X-amount of dumbell reps. the only difference is, with yoga, I get less bored.

However, I know I'm not going to get the same effect from doing tree pose that I would from a 250- lb deadlift. I was strictly speaking strength training.

PurrfumeGIrl

I've done yoga for several years now. I recently changed up my routine to include more cardio. So MWF I do Cardio/Strength Training w/Weights. On TTh I do Yoga. The cardio and strength training are perfect for my weight loss needs and to help define muscle. I'm starting to see definition in muscles that I didn't have with yoga. I need both.