Yoga for Strength Training

Yoga has been around for thousands of years, and it has evolved into a modern fitness practice. The ancient practice’s benefits are numerous, and one of them is strength training. Many fitness enthusiasts believe that yoga only helps with relaxation and flexibility, but it is more than that. Incorporating yoga into your strength training routine can help you improve your muscle tone and build lean muscle mass. This article will explore how yoga can help you build muscle in numerous ways.

Builds Strength Through Bodyweight Exercises

Yoga includes various bodyweight exercises that can help you build strength. Some of the poses are challenging, and they require a lot of effort to hold the pose. One example of a pose that can help build strength is the plank pose, which targets your core muscles, shoulders, and arms. Other poses such as Downward Dog, Chaturanga, and Warrior III also help in building upper body and lower body strength.

Improves Muscle Stability and Endurance

Yoga poses require you to hold the pose for an extended period, which helps to improve your muscle endurance and stability. When you hold a pose, you engage your muscles for a more extended time, building muscular endurance that enables you to perform better in your strength training exercises. Additionally, poses that require balance, such as Tree Pose, help to improve your core and leg stability, making you more stable during your strength training exercises.

Increases Flexibility

Yoga is known for its flexibility benefits, and this has significant benefits for your muscles. When your muscles are more flexible, you can move through a more extended range of motion, which is essential in building muscle. Stretching your muscles after strength training helps to prevent injury and improve recovery, enabling you to train harder and faster.

Reduces Stress and Promotes Recovery

Strength training can be tough on your muscles, and after a rigorous workout, your muscles need time to recover. Yoga is an excellent way to promote recovery because it helps to reduce stress levels, which can reduce cortisol levels that cause muscle breakdown. Practicing yoga after a strength training session also helps to stretch your muscles, increase circulation, and reduce soreness, enabling you to perform better in your next workout session.

Enhances Mind-Muscle Connection

Yoga incorporates a lot of mindfulness, which can lead to better mind-muscle connections. The mind-muscle connection is the conscious effort to engage the targeted muscle during an exercise, resulting in better muscle activation and growth. The ability to focus on specific muscles is essential in strength training, and practicing yoga can help improve this ability.

Certainly, yoga has many benefits, and incorporating it into your strength training routine can help you build lean muscle mass, improve muscle tone, and enhance your overall fitness journey. The various bodyweight exercises, improved stability and endurance, increased flexibility, stress reduction, and mind-muscle connection are the benefits of the ancient practice that makes it an excellent choice for strength training.

If you need help achieving your fitness goals, don't hesitate to reach out to one of our world-class trainers. They’ll help you see better results sooner, avoid injuries, lose fat and gain muscle, break through plateaus, set realistic goals, and establish lifelong exercise habits. They’ll also teach you proper form and technique, keep you accountable, and challenge you to do better.

If you’re looking for a higher level of performance with a personal trainer who is as invested in your success as you are, then Eclipse is the place for you. Let's get started.