Is yoga considered strength training?
Enjcg5
Posts: 389 Member
I love the weight loss yoga DVD by bob harper. I feel confident because I can actually do it and definitley sweat after I'm done. Is it stretching or strength?
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it's both. I know that dvd.
some yoga is more about flexibility and some is more strength and some is more cardio. i think that dvd focuses more on strength and cardio.0 -
This depends on your starting point.
For me, starting at lean and aerobically fit but not strong, YES yoga worked as strength training. Oh yeah. Bodyweight exercises are strength training for me, I am much stronger now after a couple of years of yoga, have more muscle mass (gained weight) and can do pushups, pullups, things I couldn't do before. I lift, some, but my goals aren't to be able to pull up a lot of weight, my goals are to be able to do things with my body.
For my man, starting at strong but not flexible, yoga does not build more muscle for him. It helps his mobility and is slightly aerobic. He is taking a step down in weight when he does bodyweight exercises, understand? It can't make him more strong as he already can lift more than himself.
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Not most. Although Vinyasa yoga is not bad. It's great for balance and flexibility. In any case, eventually you have to progress past body weight to keep advancing.1
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Depends on the type of yoga. I'm not familiar with the DVD you are referring, so I am not commenting on that specific program.
The two most common types of yoga are Hatha and Vinyasa. Generally Hatha yoga is more stretching and meditation focused, while Vinyasa (sometimes called 'power' or 'flow' yoga) has more cardio because you are going through series of poses more quickly.
This site has a pretty good overview of different yoga styles: http://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/yoga-for-beginners-kundalini-yin-bikram/2 -
My start point was literally the gutter. Maybe thats why I feel the burn!This depends on your starting point.
For me, starting at lean and aerobically fit but not strong, YES yoga worked as strength training. Oh yeah. Bodyweight exercises are strength training for me, I am much stronger now after a couple of years of yoga, have more muscle mass (gained weight) and can do pushups, pullups, things I couldn't do before. I lift, some, but my goals aren't to be able to pull up a lot of weight, my goals are to be able to do things with my body.
For my man, starting at strong but not flexible, yoga does not build more muscle for him. It helps his mobility and is slightly aerobic. He is taking a step down in weight when he does bodyweight exercises, understand? It can't make him more strong as he already can lift more than himself.
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Body weight exercises are strength training, which is great to combat osteoporosis. But to build muscle, rather than bone, you need to lift weights.0
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Depends on the type of yoga. I'm not familiar with the DVD you are referring, so I am not commenting on that specific program.
The two most common types of yoga are Hatha and Vinyasa. Generally Hatha yoga is more stretching and meditation focused, while Vinyasa (sometimes called 'power' or 'flow' yoga) has more cardio because you are going through series of poses more quickly.
This site has a pretty good overview of different yoga styles: http://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/yoga-for-beginners-kundalini-yin-bikram/
Yoga where I live now means Vinyasa or Power yoga, the workout yoga. I remember being bored to tears as a young adult trying to do yoga (probably closer to the original form) as someone with a dance background. Sit in this pose, OK now stand in this pose, OK now do this pose...
Vinyasa is, I believe, what happened to yoga as it settled into the West. Music, movement. Breathe in as you MOVE in this way, breathe out as you hold, and so on. I was stunned to find that I could enjoy yoga classes now, but they are just a whole different thing. From a series of poses to adagio calisthenics with a soundtrack. It works better for my American attention span, and probably like a lot of people, my mind settles better when I am physically engaged or physically exhausted, so it's also better as meditation when it's got more physical effort.
Is anyone really doing Hatha Yoga anymore when they say they did "Yoga" as a workout?1 -
47Jacqueline wrote: »Not most. Although Vinyasa yoga is not bad. It's great for balance and flexibility. In any case, eventually you have to progress past body weight to keep advancing.
I agree about vinyasa. If you have a good class/teacher that's focused on strength it can be a great way to get stronger, improve balance and flexibility. I'm still sore from Tuesday's class.0 -
It can be in the initial phases, but strength training is progress, meaning the resistance increases. So say you can hold a pose longer than you can previously. That's MUSCULAR ENDURANCE and not strength.
So I would class it as RESISTANCE training more than strength training.
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It can be in the initial phases, but strength training is progress, meaning the resistance increases. So say you can hold a pose longer than you can previously. That's MUSCULAR ENDURANCE and not strength.
So I would class it as RESISTANCE training more than strength training.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
But, most poses come with 2-3 variations, and there's always a way to hold a pose *better*. I'm working UP through those successively more challenging variants. My instructor is still working UP through variants. You'd be surprised at how long a GOOD yoga class can be progressively more challenging, strength wise.1 -
Depends on the type of yoga. I'm not familiar with the DVD you are referring, so I am not commenting on that specific program.
The two most common types of yoga are Hatha and Vinyasa. Generally Hatha yoga is more stretching and meditation focused, while Vinyasa (sometimes called 'power' or 'flow' yoga) has more cardio because you are going through series of poses more quickly.
This site has a pretty good overview of different yoga styles: http://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/yoga-for-beginners-kundalini-yin-bikram/
Yoga where I live now means Vinyasa or Power yoga, the workout yoga. I remember being bored to tears as a young adult trying to do yoga (probably closer to the original form) as someone with a dance background. Sit in this pose, OK now stand in this pose, OK now do this pose...
Vinyasa is, I believe, what happened to yoga as it settled into the West. Music, movement. Breathe in as you MOVE in this way, breathe out as you hold, and so on. I was stunned to find that I could enjoy yoga classes now, but they are just a whole different thing. From a series of poses to adagio calisthenics with a soundtrack. It works better for my American attention span, and probably like a lot of people, my mind settles better when I am physically engaged or physically exhausted, so it's also better as meditation when it's got more physical effort.
Is anyone really doing Hatha Yoga anymore when they say they did "Yoga" as a workout?
A lot of people still do Hatha yoga. Yoga studios still offer many meditative and Hatha style classes. Gyms tend to only offer workout style yoga, which makes sense for the environment/audience.0 -
Depends on the type of yoga. I'm not familiar with the DVD you are referring, so I am not commenting on that specific program.
The two most common types of yoga are Hatha and Vinyasa. Generally Hatha yoga is more stretching and meditation focused, while Vinyasa (sometimes called 'power' or 'flow' yoga) has more cardio because you are going through series of poses more quickly.
This site has a pretty good overview of different yoga styles: http://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/yoga-for-beginners-kundalini-yin-bikram/
Yoga where I live now means Vinyasa or Power yoga, the workout yoga. I remember being bored to tears as a young adult trying to do yoga (probably closer to the original form) as someone with a dance background. Sit in this pose, OK now stand in this pose, OK now do this pose...
Vinyasa is, I believe, what happened to yoga as it settled into the West. Music, movement. Breathe in as you MOVE in this way, breathe out as you hold, and so on. I was stunned to find that I could enjoy yoga classes now, but they are just a whole different thing. From a series of poses to adagio calisthenics with a soundtrack. It works better for my American attention span, and probably like a lot of people, my mind settles better when I am physically engaged or physically exhausted, so it's also better as meditation when it's got more physical effort.
Is anyone really doing Hatha Yoga anymore when they say they did "Yoga" as a workout?
A lot of people still do Hatha yoga. Yoga studios still offer many meditative and Hatha style classes. Gyms tend to only offer workout style yoga, which makes sense for the environment/audience.
The studio I go to ranks classes as 0,1,2, or 3. There aren't any Hatha classes, there is one yin class, 24 vinyasa classes a week, most of those power classes, a couple of beginner flow classes. They are yoga, with the readings and focus on mindfulness, but I think over the years they find that what sells best is the classes that feel physically like they are a workout, and that people progress better when they do get that workout.
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My gym has mostly vinyasa and power, but the studio near my house has much more of a variety including yin, flow, and things called mindful and restorative yoga, that seem to be about stretching and stress release. Also some yoga for runners classes (which I've always meant to try if I can fit it into my schedule).0
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my studio offers many types of yoga with teachers that have different strength. we have yoga with essential oils even or my favorite-aerial yoga.
hatha is offered and vinysana and everything between1 -
Depends on what you mean by strength. There are those who can lift far more than their own bodyweight, but can't lift their own bodies. There are those who can do amazing bodyweight movements and yoga postures but can't lift much externally.2
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Does it have a strength benefit/component? Probably. Would I consider it strength training? No.1
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