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Cardio to supplement Yoga?

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yogibella
yogibella Posts: 321 Member
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I love sweating it out in my faster moving flow & power flow vinyasa classes and feel as though I get an excellent workout. Still, I think I should be adding regular cardio to my yoga practice. Just curious, if and what types of cardio or workouts do you do, in addition to your yoga practice?

I do yoga 3-5x/week and walk, dance, spin on occasion but hardly on a regular basis. Does anyone weight train?

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  • jlira01
    jlira01 Posts: 27 Member
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    I'm currently doing P90x, which is a 6 day workout. It has about 3 days with weights and 3 day cardio (1 of those YogaX) It's how I got started with Yoga. My goal is to practice Yoga 4-5 days a week and maintain the P90x program.
  • yoginimary
    yoginimary Posts: 6,784 Member
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    I walk and bike, but I don't weight train. I'm sore enough as it is :wink: Whether you need to weight train depends on how you practice. I frequently work until failure, doing long holds, so I don't feel the need to weight train.
  • yogibella
    yogibella Posts: 321 Member
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    ^true, I get my butt kicked in class but I've gotten so much stronger and have built some nice muscles in the process. Although I wish some of my arm balances were better--I have my 'on' and 'off' days when doing the crow pose--wondered if consistent weight training helped.

    I keep hearing about this P90X...I'll go check it out:)
  • toffee322
    toffee322 Posts: 186 Member
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    i do hot and power yoga regularly, i've been adding some elliptical (not much, just 25 mins/day, about 2 days a week), and i try to attend some fitness classes, like step, tabata, etc because being on the machine can be quite boring! i don't do weight, unless in some fitness classes. i think power yoga gives me enough workout on my muscles, plus i dont want to be super muscular!
  • nikirtehsuxlol
    nikirtehsuxlol Posts: 41 Member
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    I crossfit. But that can be expensive.

    When I was going to a gym, I mainly did the group fitness classes 3-5 times a week (cardio and a treadmill running class and a bootcamp - I had an awesome gym that offered classes beyond step). And then I would do yoga maybe 2 times a week. And I would definitely do weight training; my gym was such a social gym though ... it was hard to get a good workout.
  • yogibella
    yogibella Posts: 321 Member
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    I guess it is always good to mix it up! Since my goal is to lose the fat, I really should be upping my cardio.

    here's a good article on losing it: http://www.yogajournal.com/for_teachers/2727

    excerpt: "(Baron)Baptiste agrees that a strong vinyasa practice can accomplish weight loss, but cautions that yoga is only one part of the equation. "If you just look at yoga as cardio fitness to lose weight, it may or may not accomplish results," he says. "The desired result is to come into balance. Yoga is a wonderful way to strengthen the body. Placing healthy demands and healthy stress on the body sparks the metabolism since more muscle burns more calories." He recommends supplementing yoga with exercise that increases a person's heart rate such as walking, cross country skiing or cycling. "
  • rmwinters
    rmwinters Posts: 288 Member
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    To supplement yoga (and for weight loss) I do Pilates 2x week, Zumba 3x week and weights and eliptical 2x week.
  • yogibella
    yogibella Posts: 321 Member
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    GREAT article on whether Yoga qualifies as Cardio in this month's Yoga Journal:

    Pump It Up - by Andy Potts
    http://mydigimag.rrd.com/display_article.php?id=940544


    In essence, it comes down to the type of yoga practice you do, how intense it is, how long the period of intensity is, how frequently you practice and whether you're practicing in the range that puts you in a cardiac benefit.
  • scotrunner
    scotrunner Posts: 92
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    Hi there, I practice astanga vinyasa yoga a few times a week but I don't see it as real cardio. I've worn my HRM to a class and my heart rate barely reaches 100 and in a 60 minute class I burnt just over 100 calories. I run at least 3 times a week and that is enough cardio. I also strength train 1 or 2 times a week by going to a body pump class. I feel I've got a good mixture going and it's working for me. I'm getting much faster at running, my body fat is low and just last week I got my heels down to the floor in downward facing dog!
    I would suggest adding other types of exercise to your routine and not relying on yoga alone.
  • mandylooo
    mandylooo Posts: 456 Member
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    I practice 4 -5 times a week and go down the gym once a week where I'll do 20 mins of cardio, which is increasingly often HIIT, and some weights and abs. I worry that this isn't enough cardio, even though I'm not concerned about my weight at the moment.
  • mandylooo
    mandylooo Posts: 456 Member
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    I practice 4 -5 times a week and go down the gym once a week where I'll do 20 mins of cardio, which is increasingly often HIIT, and some weights and abs. I worry that this isn't enough cardio, even though I'm not concerned about my weight at the moment.

    Just to add to that, I think some of my confusion (as per the similar thread I started) comes the emphasis on MFP on "lifting heavy" as the only way to develop muscle, yet I do virtually no weights (once a week, but not every week) and am feeling content with this aspect of me at the moment.

    And one more thought, as I was discussing this with my teacher this week. She said she hit the point where she had to commit to yoga to progress, which for her meant giving up the running she enjoyed. She reached the point in her practice where other forms of exercise were counter productive.

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