Does yoga fall under strength training?

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  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    Just because something is difficult does not make it strength training.

    sorry. it's just not the case- yes you can ABSOLUTELY get stronger doing it- but it's not a progressive program.

    And you have to understand yoga has in and of itself changed- hatha yoga never was about getting to a harder pose- or moving in and out of a harder pose. It's restorative.

    LOL Rodney yee's power yoga- hard- it's definitely going to help get you strong in certain ways-( it will kick my booty)- but it's not a strength program and isn't the core intent of yoga. It serves a purpose.

    That's like when people ask me if bellydancing is a good workout- it's a difficult question to answer- because while yes it CAN be a workout- it's not my workout and I never consider it a work out.
  • reisbaron
    reisbaron Posts: 30 Member
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    CassidyScaglione wrote: »
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Yoga is not strength training.
    y4a0mdxr7azw.jpeg

    Lol. Right.

    This requires strength. It is not strength training. Yoga is not strength training. It is very beneficial, however, for those who do strength training. They are not one in the same though. I've done both for over a decade, and they are in fact different things.
  • robininfl
    robininfl Posts: 1,137 Member
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    For me (coming from a background of skinny-fitness earned through aerobics, jazzercise and stuff, good aerobic capacity and healthy-for-female 20% bodyfat) yoga has absolutely been strength training. Before yoga I could not do pushups or pullups, and was shocked the other day when I tried a pull-up and could do one so smooth and easy. Impressed the boyfriend too. It's added almost 10 pounds of muscle to my body too, 2" in each leg, bigger arms, bigger butt, waist same size. This is after 2 years of average 3-4x/week, classes varying in difficulty, some easier, some challenging.

    It's not progressive in terms of weight, it's bodyweight exercise, not weightlifting - you won't ever lift more than you weigh, but personally I don't feel like I need to lift more than I weigh, and yoga does build muscle and strength so I classify it, and other bodyweight strength exercises, as strength training.
  • hopeandtheabsurd
    hopeandtheabsurd Posts: 265 Member
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    Strength training helped my yoga and got me to poses I'd never been able to reach by only doing yoga. Yoga is good for me in so many ways, but as a strength builder it is not very efficient.
  • Mydailytrack
    Mydailytrack Posts: 39 Member
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    Robininfl - you answered my question! Thanks much. Since I do zumba & walking, I was wondering if yoga can give me my quota of strength training (right, body weight & not the free weights).
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    JoRocka wrote: »
    Just because something is difficult does not make it strength training.

    sorry. it's just not the case- yes you can ABSOLUTELY get stronger doing it- but it's not a progressive program.

    And you have to understand yoga has in and of itself changed- hatha yoga never was about getting to a harder pose- or moving in and out of a harder pose. It's restorative.

    LOL Rodney yee's power yoga- hard- it's definitely going to help get you strong in certain ways-( it will kick my booty)- but it's not a strength program and isn't the core intent of yoga. It serves a purpose.

    That's like when people ask me if bellydancing is a good workout- it's a difficult question to answer- because while yes it CAN be a workout- it's not my workout and I never consider it a work out.

    Why does strength training have to be progressive in order to be strength training? And what does progressive mean when it is not lifting?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Mydailytrack wrote: »
    Robininfl - you answered my question! Thanks much. Since I do zumba & walking, I was wondering if yoga can give me my quota of strength training (right, body weight & not the free weights).

    There is an element of resistance involved with yoga, and yoga does require strength and certainly you will gain some strength doing yoga, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it strength training. Strength training is done for the purpose of gaining strength...the purpose of yoga isn't to gain strength and thus I would hesitate to call it strength training. Cycling has given me strength gains as well...especially doing hills...but I wouldn't call it strength training.

    All that said, yoga is a very beneficial exercise...my yoga has benefited from my strength training outside of yoga and my strength training has benefited from me doing yoga with increased mobility and balance. As I said before, there's an element of resistance, so it would probably be sufficient in helping to preserve lean mass while you're dieting but it will not garner the same results as strength training.

  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    edited February 2016
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    aggelikik wrote: »
    JoRocka wrote: »
    Just because something is difficult does not make it strength training.

    sorry. it's just not the case- yes you can ABSOLUTELY get stronger doing it- but it's not a progressive program.

    And you have to understand yoga has in and of itself changed- hatha yoga never was about getting to a harder pose- or moving in and out of a harder pose. It's restorative.

    LOL Rodney yee's power yoga- hard- it's definitely going to help get you strong in certain ways-( it will kick my booty)- but it's not a strength program and isn't the core intent of yoga. It serves a purpose.

    That's like when people ask me if bellydancing is a good workout- it's a difficult question to answer- because while yes it CAN be a workout- it's not my workout and I never consider it a work out.

    Why does strength training have to be progressive in order to be strength training? And what does progressive mean when it is not lifting?

    I presume because it must be progressive in order for you to get stronger. That would be the difference between strength training and doing some other work during which you also can get strong to me.

    For the former, getting stronger is the primary goal and focus. For the latter, it is a side benefit.

    ETA: It'd be like me calling equestrian work strength training. Did I get ridiculously strong doing it (particularly in my legs and back)? Yes. But that wasn't the point. Neither was improving my overall balance though I certainly did, riding for hours bareback and spending time doing various tricks on horseback.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    I would agree traditional yoga is not progressive, though some of us do a progressive routine version of yoga. There are ways to add weight to it.
    Just as there are ways to make hanging leg raises progressive the same can be done with pikes which take way more strength to do.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    robininfl wrote: »
    For me (coming from a background of skinny-fitness earned through aerobics, jazzercise and stuff, good aerobic capacity and healthy-for-female 20% bodyfat) yoga has absolutely been strength training. Before yoga I could not do pushups or pullups, and was shocked the other day when I tried a pull-up and could do one so smooth and easy. Impressed the boyfriend too. It's added almost 10 pounds of muscle to my body too, 2" in each leg, bigger arms, bigger butt, waist same size. This is after 2 years of average 3-4x/week, classes varying in difficulty, some easier, some challenging.

    It's not progressive in terms of weight, it's bodyweight exercise, not weightlifting - you won't ever lift more than you weigh, but personally I don't feel like I need to lift more than I weigh, and yoga does build muscle and strength so I classify it, and other bodyweight strength exercises, as strength training.

    Yoga rocks! Good for you!

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