Yoga

randilea · March 2011

I have been thinking over the past weekend where I went wrong over the past couple of months. I was so motivated and active until about January and then the workouts pretty much stopped and the weight started to come back on. I figured out that I wasn't seeing the results I wanted and began to feel defeated. One of my major problems is strength training. Lifting weights is to boring for me and takes too much time to clean off the machines before I use them and then clean them off when I am done....I am a get in and out kinda gal! I thought about trying yoga but I have questions so on to the point of my post....

From what I can tell yoga is not a high calorie burning exercise so my thought is that it is more meant for toning. Is that right? Also can I use this instead of the weights? What are everyone's thoughts about yoga (how do you incorporate it into your program, results, etc).

Thanks for the help....I need all I can get!!

SaraTonin · March 2011

Yoga IS a lot like strength training, but you won't build big muscles so much as tone, obviously, since you're only lifting the weight of yourself and not dumbbells.

You might look into vinyasa yoga, and a lot of yoga routines are great for burning calories. Personally I do use yoga just for toning, and I ADORE it. Obviously, if you see I'm trying to become an instructor, lol.

But it's great - it's like giving yourself a massage every day, except you get healthier from it. I just feel emotionally, physically, all-around stronger. It's given me a lot of arm strength too. SO WONDERFUL!

Spitfirex007 · March 2011

First let me say this... I use to think the idea of doing yoga was stupid and pointless. I am going for weight lose and muscle gain. But my buddy gave me this link. So I thought I've give it another try. I sweated more during yoga then a lot of my other workout's.

http://www.m.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/the-health-benefits-of-yoga

Hope this helps!

vzepol · March 2011

I think it depends on the class and the amount of effort you put into it. I take a power/vinyasa class 3 times a week. I am a big guy, and I will burn 500 calories in a one hour class. I feel like I also get the strength training in as well. In one hour I will get 25-30 pushups in plus what ever else the instructor will through in.
Hope this helps.

LindsayChick · March 2011

I find it hard to get motivated to lift weights on my own too. Instead, I've been going to a Body Pump class at the gym where you do constant reps, working muscles head to toe, led by an instructor to upbeat music! It's really fun and totally kicks your butt!

bethyfoofoo · March 2011

I take yoga a couple of times a week in addition to turbo kickboxing. Yoga is more of a stretching, balance and flexibility exercise for me. If you want something more geared toward what you described then you should maybe try a class that uses weights like Bodypump or similar class. It sounds like you have a gym membership, so you should talk to an employee about the classes. Hope this helps.

namaste62 · March 2011

Depends on what type you do.

I have been practicing for over 30 years - from traditional Bikram (hot) yoga to vinyasa (a sweaty breathing paced practice) to Iyengar, which is about alignment and form.

Any of the former two WILL burn cals - in fact, I often burn more than I do at spinning in a typical vinyasa or bikram practice. Really.

The best part is that yoga does not stress your joints as much as strength training. Now, that being said, at my age it is important to consider some kind of strength training in addition to my regular practice so I started yoga with weights about a year ago and saw phenomenal changes in my whole body - strength-wise and appearance.

The best thing about yoga vs. weight lifting is that it builds long, lean muscles and helps your body develop integrated strength. Rather than a focus on one part of your body, yoga uses several at once and, after all, pushing up from chaturanga or doing handstands does involve supporting your own body weight!

I say give it a try. Am personally averse to gyms of any/all types...hate them but for a pool (I love to swim, too.) Give me a yoga studio and a long sweaty practice anyday and I recommend a HRM to help you see if it is working aka cardio benefits. But remember, in yoga the concept is different than Western view: you do not get your heartrate up by "working out" but rather by developing the strength from within your body, cultivating attention and being in alignment (which, believe me, takes alot of musculoskeletal work!) and builds health as a kind of overall wellness.

Good luck!

namaste62

Imthatg1rl · March 2011

I do yoga daily and have for about two years, you definitely build strength with it. Yoga also relaxes your body and mind.. I find it a lot of fun, and it is a challenge. I have just started to attempt arm balances, which require a lot of core strength.
I do at least 20 minutes in the morning and at night. I do pilates as well.
Other cardio and strength training are recommend by most.

stinago · March 2011

Yoga is great because it increases your flexibility (stretches muscles in ways that are unique, releases the lactic acid build up as well), strength, and endurance (in every kind of yoga. Power Yoga is more geared towards strength, BUT all forms have benefits of toning and shaping). Other benefits include, stress release, deeper breathing (good for circulation), and some studies find it can affect our overall happiness and mood (probably a result of all the stress release and deep breathing).

If you're looking to get really toned, mix up Yoga and Pilates or Power Yoga. You probably want to mix up the routine for a well rounded strength training. Plain yoga alone, though you'll notice results within weeks, might not have as dramatic of an effect as some people would expect. However, after a few weeks of consistency (2 or 3 times per week) you will notice more toned muscles, better balance, flexibility, and more strength.

I, personally, love using it in my workout routine, but I wont rely on it alone. TRY IT!!!! see what works for you!

callipygianchronicle · March 2011

I am a mad yoga fanatic, so I will try and give you an objective answer. Yes, yoga has excellent physical benefits. Regular practice will give you increased flexibility, toned muscles, and improved strength. But, there are also many internal benefits due to the way your internal organs are compressed and released throughout the practice. While I have done a couple of BodyPump classes, my 3-4 times a week yoga practice is 100% responsible for my improved strength and reshaped body. There is a strong spiritual and meditative component to yoga, that can be hard for many to wrap their heads around. However, it is possible to bend and perfect poses without doing any of the "deeper” work.

Here is a list of 77 surprising benefits of yoga, that you might enjoy reading through:

http://www.nursingdegree.net/blog/24/77-surprising-health-benefits-of-yoga/

pkpzp228 · March 2011

Depends on what type you do.

I have been practicing for over 30 years - from traditional Bikram (hot) yoga to vinyasa (a sweaty breathing paced practice) to Iyengar, which is about alignment and form.

Any of the former two WILL burn cals - in fact, I often burn more than I do at spinning in a typical vinyasa or bikram practice. Really.

The best part is that yoga does not stress your joints as much as strength training. Now, that being said, at my age it is important to consider some kind of strength training in addition to my regular practice so I started yoga with weights about a year ago and saw phenomenal changes in my whole body - strength-wise and appearance.

The best thing about yoga vs. weight lifting is that it builds long, lean muscles and helps your body develop integrated strength. Rather than a focus on one part of your body, yoga uses several at once and, after all, pushing up from chaturanga or doing handstands does involve supporting your own body weight!

I say give it a try. Am personally averse to gyms of any/all types...hate them but for a pool (I love to swim, too.) Give me a yoga studio and a long sweaty practice anyday and I recommend a HRM to help you see if it is working aka cardio benefits. But remember, in yoga the concept is different than Western view: you do not get your heartrate up by "working out" but rather by developing the strength from within your body, cultivating attention and being in alignment (which, believe me, takes alot of musculoskeletal work!) and builds health as a kind of overall wellness.

Good luck!

namaste62

well said, I'll reiterate that yoga can be an extremely rigorous and effective workout. Depends completely on the class/style of your practice as well the depth and edge that choose to take it to. By that I mean, given any yoga class (especially one tailored to beginners, in more advanced classes you don't have to worry about it being difficult) you can always choose to take more advanced postures, focus on cleaner more fluid transitions, if you want more of cardiovascular workout you can achieve that with your breathing alone, etc, etc. Yoga can change your life in every aspect from your abs to you spirituality.

namaste

randilea · March 2011

Thanks for all the great info everyone...I am super excited to start now!!!!

FrodoB · March 2011

My wife dragged me to yoga class for the first time a couple years ago. I've been practicing since then, some classes but mostly from DVDs so I'm not like an expert or anything. However, I find yoga hugely beneficial, for the reasons everyone mentioned. I'm doing P90X right now, and P90X includes a yoga day, so I'm doing that, plus I do a 30 minute power yoga practice prior each P90X cardio routine. At that point I'm warm, I'm flexible, any left over soreness from the day before is gone, and I'm ready to go.

That said, yoga isn't really a "workout" the way we usually think of workouts. People scream bloody murder about the P90X yoga and many people skip it because it is boring. I think that is because in yoga you don't really work on a specific exercise that is suppose to firm up your abs or or get your heart rate in a zone or whatever and people think they need to be focused on doing something specific for their fitness. One I learned to be in the moment and focus solely on what I was doing, then yoga stopped being boring and an hour yoga practice flies by like it was nothing. Sounds corny, but true. I mention that simply because it sounds like you were looking for strength training--and yoga will do that--but strength is only one part of the whole thing. I still recommend it, just be aware that if it isn't what you expect at first, it is well worth sticking with it until you how yoga works for you.

Namaste

zeeeb · March 2011

i think beginners yoga, isn't as much of a workout as when you have been doing it for a long time. when i was a beginner, i didn't understand the bloke who used to come to my class and be dripping with sweat all over the floor, and now i've been doing it for a few years, i can also sweat my guts out in a yoga class.

but it takes a long time to get there where you know how to work it that hard without pulling muscles and ending up at the chiro.

i used to use it as a stretching class which was great when i was going to the gym 5 times a week, i could afford to have a yoga session in there as a stretch / recovery / meditation type change in my routine. then once i was a bit more confident and competent, it actually works well as a good workout.

people that are hardcore yoga masters will spend alot longer than 30 seconds or a minute in one pose, and it is actually amazing for strength and balance, core strength, abs, legs etc... try the warrior poses for 5 minutes, i bet you can't hold it nice and deep without a lot of shaking.

Ezwoldo · March 2011

I like to do a Yoga class once a fortnight as it works well with all my other training/Racing program and i will say that it helps with my recovery along with core stability

Yoga

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