Well, many of you all must’ve had a hard time deciding on whether to hit the gym or do yoga. Am I right?
You probably are not aware of the benefits of yoga for your body. You’re probably busy at the gym and have spent thousands of bucks on gym memberships with no apparent result. You just want to show off that you go to the gym. Just look at yourself has it helped your body in any sort of way? Come on mate don’t make a nuisance of yourself and do something productive. Why do you go to the gym? Are you passionate about the fitness of your body? Are you committed to achieving your fitness goal?
Well, if you are passionate and committed to fitness, you have finally landed at the right place.
To your surprise what if I tell you, Yoga is the perfect complement to a gym workout!
Yes, yoga is indeed the perfect companion for a gym workout, it adds to the benefits you derive from a gym workout. Do you want to have a perfectly shaped body? Have you ever imagined yourself with a pristinely shaped bikini body or with perfectly shaped 6 pack abs?
You’re probably exasperated by the fact that all these years of gym workouts haven’t given you the apparent result? Don’t worry go on reading this article we have a solution to all your problems.
Now, let’s discuss why yoga has been mentioned as the perfect complement for a gym workout.
Table of Contents
When should I do Yoga, before or after a workout?
Ideally, the answer to the question is, to do yoga after a workout session. It would be perfect to schedule yoga on a separate day from your workout but anyway let’s understand the reason behind post-workout yoga being the ideal option.
Why?
Practicing yoga before a workout may weaken your muscles and you would feel tired, therefore you will not be able to perform your workout at full capacity. We shall further discuss this in detail.
Why you should avoid yoga before a workout?
Perhaps I think you would need a detailed explanation as to why a pre-workout yoga session is not the right thing to do. Many studies have revealed that yoga involves excessive stretching exercises which are necessarily not helpful for your workout and weakens your body.
Excessive stretching during yoga can make your body tired and have an impact on your muscles, this in turn may concern you during the workout session and you would not be able to perform your workout efficiently.
Having said that there are two ways about pre-workout yoga. However, some yoga poses have been helpful before a workout session. Dynamic yoga poses are advised before a workout as you don’t have to hold the posture and you keep moving your body parts. Dynamic yoga stretches can be ideal for warm-up before a workout.
Why you should practice yoga post-exercise?
Yoga is best done after a workout. This is because you can stretch all your muscles that you worked on during the workout. Below I have listed down the benefits of yoga stretches post-workout.
Benefits of yoga stretch post-workout
1. Helps your muscles rejuvenate and heal after a workout
Does yoga help your muscles recuperate after a heavy workout? Yes, it does, after a workout yoga helps the muscles to heal by improving the blood flow to the muscles. Yoga also helps to quickly repair the damaged muscles during the workout as improved blood flow brings in essential nutrients and oxygen
2. Slows down your heartbeat
After a heavy workout your heartbeat rate increases. Therefore, you need to bring the heartbeat back to the normal resting rhythm.
Yoga plays a crucial role in stabilizing the heartbeat through deep and slow breathing practices. After repeatedly practicing deep and slow breathing exercises it leads to stabilizing the heartbeat and a drop in blood pressure.
3. Reduces cortisol and blood sugar level
Physical activities can increase the body’s cortisol level. This is a natural stress hormone produced in our body, increasing levels of hormones can also raise your blood pressure, leads to muscle weakness, and also increases the possibility of developing diabetes.
4. Your body is more flexible after a workout
According to the United Kingdom national health service, the ideal time to practice yoga stretches is when your muscles are warmed up and flexible. The best time when this happens is after exercising, especially when you don’t have the time to schedule a separate day for yoga stretches.
Now, let’s discuss the most crucial part of yoga, The Yoga poses.
Before we begin here is an app to guide you through practicing yoga in the right manner. Go check it out.
Pre-workout Yoga Poses
1. Mountain Pose (Tadasana)
This pose is all about balancing your body and is a good warm-up pose for a workout as it does not strain your body. It improves posture and flexes the thigh, knee, and ankles.
2. Crescent lunge
This pose builds the balance and stability of your body. It also opens up the chest, shoulders, and torso. This pose is an effective warm-up exercise for a leg day workout at the gym.
3. Warrior II Pose
This pose energizes the tired limbs, stretches your hips and shoulders, and also stimulates abdominal organs.
Post-workout Yoga Poses
This pose releases the strain from the spine, and opens the hips and shoulders, and elongates the hands, calves, and hamstrings.
1. Bridge pose
This pose stretches the shoulders and rejuvenates the legs. Few tips to keep in mind while practicing this pose are to make sure you exhale as you lift your hips, keep your hips parallel to your feet, and hold the pose for 30 seconds.
2. Cobra pose
Remember, in the end, to achieve anything in life it’s important to be committed and passionate about your goal. Just going to the gym won’t help your body, you should have the courage to work hard at the gym to achieve your fitness goals. As mentioned in the article yoga is the perfect complement for a workout, you won’t experience the benefits until you try it by yourself. Make an effort to practice yoga daily and you will soon see the difference in your body.
CHEERS!