Yoga: Is It Strength Training or Not?
9 07 2008Well, I posed this question to you guys yesterday:
Is doing yoga a sufficient form of strength training?
Either you guys are very, very smart, or Im just inclined to think so because you guys agree with my opinion- but im going to have to go ahead and say no.
While it does take strength and muscle power to hold yourself in various poses, and fluidly transfer from one to the other, I do not believe the muscle is significantly overloaded to the point of fatigue.
Remember: when you do a set of weights, like a biceop curl, you want to do as many reps as it takes to your muscle to the point of exhaustion (you can’t do another with good form.)
However, this isn’t the main reason for the absolute truth my opinion.
Aside from building and sculpting killer muslce tone, strength training provides many other benefits, most important of which for women: increased bone denisty.
The only way to increase the density of your bones is apply stress to them, either in the form of impact or weight. When you think of bones, you want to think Form Follows Function.
This means that the more impact you apply, the stronger the bone will grow. Running strengthens your leg bones, and unless you can run on your hands***, you need to lift weights to increase the bone density in your upper half.
While I agree that yoga is a GREAT WORKOUT, Im sorry to say you have to lift weights, too. Lifting weights is my favorite thing to do in the world, but i guess a lot of people don’t like it.
To which I say, “too bad.”
***Which reminded me of the days when I used to be able to do this:
Today’s Grounded Fitness post: Distraction is….Uh….What Was i Talking About?
I saw a grown woman do that exact move in the gym the other day and I couldn’t stop staring. So impressed!
Wow, I can’t even do a handstand.
I didn’t get a chance to comment on the previous post – been busy dammit – but wanted to say that I totally agree with you and was going to write the same thing about yoga vs. weight training. Also with weight training you have the ability to train for true strength and not just endurance because you can use more weight than just body weight. For lower body, you use your body weight just to walk, so strength training is clearly going to take more than that to develop strength in the muscles. Being able to do body weight stuff for upper body is awesome, but at some point, some people want more than their body weight (eg. weighted pull-ups) to keep developing that strength. As usual, love the blog, agree with your point of view and ya, keep on rockin’!
Anytime anyone disagrees with me I always say “too bad” too. It makes us mature.
So, does this go for pilates as well? I know they are different practices…I’m just wondering.
I love pilates, but I don’t use it as a replacement for strength training….although I had one class from an incredibly annoying instructor who said ” I hate lifting weights, I never lift them, and look at my muscles.”
So whats up with that?
DAMN that girl must have the best muscles ever! Must add that to my list of fitness goals. And I very much agree with you especially about the bone density- its SO important.
Erin- what? what kind of adult does that in the gym? Showoff….
Genevieve- exactly. theres a huge difference between building muscle to produce force through its range of motion and to build it to just withhold in one position. and im glad your back! ive been busy, too, so no worries. incase you missed it http://www.groundedfitness.com launched, too. you should check it out.
cough *cough* shameless selfpromotion *cough* cough
chris- mature and right. always.
Allison- pilates is more aimed towards toning than yoga, so its better for definition, but still doesnt take the place of strength training. Id say its closer, but you can still only gain strength to the point of your body weight.
As for your dipshit instructor- you tone/define muscles through body weight exercises, but your bones and tendons wont strengthen without overload, and your muscles wont strengthen past the load your body weight puts on it.
Sagan- it doesnt hurt that she probably weighs about 25 pounds. and a lot of it has to do with balance- but still. ridiculous.
i remember for an ab drill we used to have to climb a rope, like the ones in PE when you were a kid, with out legs piked out in front of us. not only could you not use your feet to help you up, but they were sticking straight out perpendicular to the ground. and i used to like it. oh to be that young again: fearless and stupid.
I meant to comment yesterday too but the day escaped me so I’ll just throw it in here. It all depends on what your goals are. If you just want to tone up a bit then yoga alone is probably enough but if you want to really build muscle and change your body shape then you will probably need some heavy weights. Although yoga is good for so many reasons besides muscles! (But you know that – I read it over at G.F.!)
As for the gymnast girl, oh how I miss those days! The other day I tried a back roll to a handstand – something that used to be so easy – and was shocked at how poorly I did it (completely fell over too – was lovely). But I gotta say Sagan, a lot of it has to do with your muscle-to-mass ratio (kids have a very high one) and your center of gravity (also higher on kids) so that kind of move is easier to do pre-puberty:)
I guess i look at strength training as something that overloads the muscle to the point of failure- after all, thats the goal to build muscle, bone and tendon strength. i agree if youwant to tone yoga, and pilates, are enough. But they dont give ALL the benefits of strength training, therefore i feel they should be done in conjunction (junction, whats your function?)
ooo! back extensions! i have a signature move wherei would do a back extention and while i was in the handstand do a 1 1/2 pirhouette (wow, how in the hell do you spell that?) i wouldnt even attempt a back extension now. you are a brave, brave woman.
Wow! Intellectually I know I can’t do that even once BUT seeing that makes me want to try. Right here. In the office. Does it mean I’m ready to be a parent if, because I can’t do that, I decide to have a kid just so I can make her and put the evidence up on youtube for everyone to see?
Oh, wait. That’s not at all funny and brings up painful memories. Guess I’m just going to have to work harder on my own muscles, then…with weights (and mumbleyogamumble).
I couldn’t even do that when I was a kid. lol. Lord help me now!
If yoga is thought of as a workout, let alone strength training, then perhaps you’re not doing yoga? It’s a spiritual practice for aligning your mental, spiritual, and physical states…unfortunately most of us have been indoctrinated into the achievement game and only think we’re successful when we’ve attained something (a pose). Instead of Yoga maybe you could just call it what it really is…stretching.
Form follows function not just in the skeletal system but also the muscular and nervous systems too. A baby doesn’t build it’s muscles up in order to stand, it teaches itself (through the normal development process) the functionally simplest way (using the skeleton to bear all forces of gravity) to make the movement…muscle develops after the action through repetition and many variations on a theme.
I love pilates and hate yoga. I got a picture of my little boy/soon to be son today from China. yay. they have toddler yoga. That looks hysterical (in a good way!)
Kelly,
I sent you an email a few days ago and was wondering if you got it?
Also, I just got caught up on your recent posts and someone asked about protein powder and you gave a link. I was wondering how you choose that brand of powder. There are so many brands and some seem rather sketchy. I know you don’t really like them, but I would still like to know what to look for. Thanks!
Oh and that little girl is unbelievable! She is so strong.
tfh- its ok . i want to have kids so i can dress them up however i want. or make them say things im thinking because if isaid it it would be rude, but when a little kid says it- its adorable.
erik- very true. i didnt mean to dismiss yoga’s spiritual side, i just get asked a lot of yoga can replace strength training, so thats what i was exploring. muscles work more with muscle memory- Wolff’s law (the form follows function thing) only applies to bones. if you puch a muscle its not going to make it stronger- the fibers need to tear and the only way to do that is through overload and contraction, both eccentric and concentric. do you teach yoga? or where do you go? id like to experience it outside of the fitness realm.
kim- ha, good luck trying to keep a toddler’s attention span. congrats on the baby though! that has to be so exciting to be able to put a face to your new child.
amanda- i must have missed the follow up question. ill email you back tomorrow. right now im getting the stink eye from the Bf aboput being on the computer too long
I want to be able to do that! So so bad!
Erik–I think it’s perfectly okay to think of yoga as a workout. I know I began my practice with the sole goal of toning up my ass, but after a couple of years it (without my even trying, except for practicing regularly) totally changed ME. You can go into an asana class for a workout and still get the benefit of learning to calm and clear your mind. And besides, asana isn’t necessarily meant to be the spiritual practice, it’s intended to ready the body for spiritual practice. Just my two cents.
Oh, gymnastics conditioning… Yesterday I was doing v-ups at the gym (I recently re-introduced them into my workout routine. I can’t whip them out like I used to but they do work your abs!) and a woman next to me told me that the gym should hire me as a trainer. Haha, I don’t think so, but I am thinking about setting up an appointment with a trainer to change up my routine.
yup. your post confirmed what i thought but was trying to ignore. i’ve been doing yoga as my “strength training” but i really really need to get on working with weights. one day….
You could do THAT (talking about the video)? Wowza…
Totally in agreement about the yoga/strength-training thing.
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