Salut everybody and welcome to an exciting fitness blog! In this week’s post I’ll break down some of the benefits of combining yoga and strength training in your fitness routine. While each is valuable on their own, together they form a powerhouse that will keep you strong, mobile and fit for many years. 

With that being said, I’d like to say that ones fitness journey is not linear and there are things (life obligations, events, travel, moving, etc.) that may get in the way of you setting up your “perfect” fitness regime. This is completely normal and should be anticipated. You may experience periods where you favor a stretching/ yoga routine and visa versa with your strength training. Please, go easy on yourself and remember that all of this is a marathon and that consistency beats intensity every time :) 

In order to fully understand the benefits of combining the two, I’d like to first lay out what I consider positive about each.

Yoga:

• A consistent yoga practice goes far beyond performing the physical postures to include things like breath work, emphasizing the power of patience and increasing ones body awareness. In my own personal practice, I’ve learned that value lies in showing up consistently for yourself each day to do something good for your mind and body.

• It’s not goal oriented. This is perhaps one of the harder lessons to learn as it pertains to yoga as we often see the body contorted into crazy shapes and consider it the “yoga norm” to balance on one hand while sipping tea with the other. As I mentioned in the first point, there is much more to yoga than the physical asanas and the beauty of the practice lies in letting go of those kind of expectations. Show up for yourself, give the best you can each day and be kind to yourself. Progress, whether physical or mental, is not linear so patience here is key.

• Keeps the body mobile and flexible. Taking into consideration what was mentioned in the first two points, there are many physical benefits to a yoga practice. By setting aside time each day to stretch and gently move the body, we increase our mobility and are able to feel more free in our bodies- the way we did when we were children. Even as little as 10 minutes a day will do wonders for our bodies well into our later years.

Strength training:

• Keeps our metabolisms high. Resistance training, whether in the form of bodyweight exercises, weight training, TRX or swimming tests our endurance and fires up our metabolism. This means that exercising intensely just a few times a week can keep us trim and our hearts healthy.

• Shapes our bodies. One of the biggest advantages I see to strength training is that it allows you to sculpt your body in a precise way. If you’d like one area to get bigger, more sculpted/ defined or leaner, weights are your friend. Now, like all things, shaping your body through weight training takes consistency and patience. If you show up every day to train smart and intensely, I promise you will start to see changes in your physique. If you’re interested in seeing some of my favorite weighed exercises for different areas of the body let me know down below or on Instagram and I’ll get right to it :)

• Good for brain health: releases endorphins and strengthens memory. I’ve touched on these last three points in different blog posts here on my site but consistent resistance training whether daily or a few times a week has very positive effects on our mind. There have been studies showing the link between exercise and decreased risk of anxiety and depression. For a more in-depth look at the links between exercise and improved cognition, check out this Harvard Health Article.

Now that we know how each activity works for us, let’s take a closer look at why they compliment each other so well:

• In yoga it’s hard to incorporate pulling movements, difficult to build muscle, and not necessarily as intense (especially for heart health) as weight training.

• Strength training involves continuous contractions (shortening movements) which can lead to injury and stiff, immovable muscles. There is also a lack of a mindful component. It’s important to have a counterbalance to the intensity that accompanies a fitness routine.

• They also have a lot in common- discipline, consistency, and working through the pain to become stronger and more resilient.

Each activity provides the missing piece that the other lacks. Combining the two is quite simple as well. If you already workout, try adding in 10 minutes of stretching to the end. If you already practice yoga consistently, add in a few pushups, jump squats or burpees before your practice and consider it a warm-up. Any way that works for you is great. 

If you all would like to see examples of a resistance workout paired with a yoga flow that stretches into the area worked let me know down below and I’ll see what I can put together :) Could it be a new YouTube series in the works?

Thank you all so much for stopping by today and I hope that you were able to take something valuable away from this post. I’d be interested to know if this is something you already do or what your preferred way to workout is. Let me know down below :)

See you all here next Tuesday for a new blog!

Xoxo,

Alexandra