Do you know why is it good to combine yoga with strength training? Although many will not think of it at first, but the combination of yoga and strength training is simply perfect. There are many powerful reasons why strength training and yoga practice are perfect match. Yoga provides perfect combination of flexibility, relaxation (stress management), and overall mental health improvements. Resistance training, on the other hand, has an impact on muscle building and strength development. Therefore, by joining these activities you will achieve a balance of your mind and body. These two components makes your training an ideal whole.
What are the benefits of practicing yoga?
Yoga is an excellent practice that helps reduce the harmful effects of stress, contributes to inner peace and emotional health. Breathing control ,which is an integral part of yoga, contributes to calming the pulse, heart pressure and mind control. But in addition to these mental benefits of yoga, yoga also has a number of physical benefits: it contributes to balance and flexibility, greater range of motion in the joints, and greater strength.
In addition, yoga has a protective effect on our spine, cartilage and joints, improves posture and bone health, improves circulation and strengthens immunity. Regular yoga practice increases the drainage of lymph, a fluid rich in immune cells. It helps our lymphatic system fight infections!
What are the benefits of strength training?
As its name suggests, strength training increases strength, but also encourages growth and maintenance of muscle mass. Because regular strength training creates pressure on the bones, it encourages the creation of higher bone density, and helps fight osteoporosis.
In addition, strength training helps regulate body weight because it stimulates an increase in metabolic rate, ie increases calorie consumption per day. By increasing muscle mass and strength, daily activities become easier, so strength training improves the quality of life
As muscle mass decreases with age (5% per year), with only 30 minutes of strength training a day, this trend slows down. As you can see, the benefits of weight training are countless.
How are yoga and strength training complementary activities?
These two activities complement each other perfectly: what one lacks, the other provides and vice versa. There are endless ways yoga can improve your weightlifting routine (and vice versa), but here are what we think are the four most important ways:
Flexibility and strength building
If you are doing strength training only, you will probably notice a lack of flexibility (reduced flexibility). Adding yoga to the training routine gives both an aspect of flexibility and an aspect of strength.
Improved breathing during strength training
Breathing techniques, control and management of breathing are aspects of training that are mastered in yoga. It is in strength training that proper breathing can contribute to performance, and consequently to results.
Muscle mass and endurance
Strength training contributes to increasing muscle mass, but yoga is a discipline that will improve muscle endurance and flexibility.
Yoga gives muscle tone and endurance through various poses & asanas and transitions, as well as maintaining the position for a longer period of time. In addition to improving your training, this will also improve your quality of life as daily activities will become much easier.
Lower risk of injury
As you know, strength training shortens and tightens muscle tissue. Yoga, on the other hand, encourages mobility and decompress tight areas of the body. Furthermore, yoga improves range of motion and contributes to improving posture. This will reduce the risk of back pain (especially if you sit for a long time). Also, the combination of yoga and strength training reduces the risk of pain associated with strength training and weight lifting.
Improved speed and power
Yoga will make some people lazy and will slow them down but strength training is here to help at that point. Explosive movements such as squats and plyometrics not only strengthen the core but also develop muscle fibers. This will improve control and give speed in movements.
Reduces muscle soreness
It’s no secret that muscle cells accumulate lactic acid from heavy weight training. While we all love a freezing cold ice bath, yoga can be quite beneficial to flushing out lactic acid in over-worked muscles. Yoga draws oxygen into muscles, helping them perform better and more efficiently.
Stress management
As mentioned earlier, yoga is a great tool to learn to deal with stress. At the same time, strength training contributes to the control of anger and aggression. The combination of these two types of training contributes to your inner peace, self-control and your emotional health.
Closing thoughts: A combination of yoga and strength training – a complete training of mind and body
If weightlifting is part of your life, this is for you. We are not trying to convert you to be a yogi; we just want you to think seriously about adding yoga to your fitness routine. As already explained above, having a weightlifting routine and a consistent yoga practice can have a profound effect on your physical fitness efforts. Why not use it to your advantage?
By combining these two types of training you will not only strengthen your muscles but also your muscular endurance. In addition to improving balance and flexibility, you will also notice an increase in speed and strength. Therefore, combine these two activities and seize all the benefits that those two activities in symbiosis bring to both your body and mind.
