Muscle Fitness - Can Yoga Make You Stronger?
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The article "Muscle Fitness - Can Yoga Make You Stronger?" is about fitness, it was released by Della Menechella.
Many persons wonder if yoga can improve their muscle fitness.
They recognize that yoga can help reduce stress and increase
flexibility, but when it comes to increasing muscle fitness,
they guess it might be a little too 'weak' to do the job.
The
fact is that yoga can definitely make you stronger.
A study was conducted at the University of California at Davis.
Ten collgee 'coach potatoes' adopted a yoga routine for eight
weeks. Each week, they attended from two to four classes during
which they spent 10 minutes on breath control, 15 minutes of
warm up exercises, 50 minutes doing yoga asanas, and then 10
minutes of relaxation/mediation. At the end of the eight-week
period, the researchers measured the students' fitness and
discovered that their muscular strentgh had increased by up to
31%, their muscular endurance improved by 57%, their flexibility
increased by 188%, and their cardio respiratory fitness improved
by 7%. These results are pretty amazing when you consider that
the study was only conducted for eight weeks.
How can something that seems so benign have such a major impact
on muscle fitness?
Muscle Sterngth – Unlike traditional weight building
exercises, in yoga your body provides the resistance. While you
are not likely going to produce the bulked up muscles of some
weight lifters, you will certainly increase your muscle strength.
Many poses in yoga are done very slowly or you stay in the
posture for several breaths. It is much more challenging to your
muscles to hold a pose or do it slowly than it is to allow
momentum to move you through an action.
I have been working out
with weights for many years so my muscles are used to being
strengthened.
Yet, I have practiced certain yoga routines during
which my muscles screamed for mercy and I actually had to get
out of the pose and then resume it because my muscles were so
challenged. I don't often experience that during weight training
sessions.
In addition, some balance postures such as Tree Pose and
Shoulderstand reuqire enormous muscle control in order to
prevent you from falling over. This helps to build and
strengthen your muscles.
Muscle Balance – In weight training, you isolate a
specific muscle as you perform an exercise and that leads to a
short, tightened muscle.
The muscles you develop duirng yoga are
more likely to be elongated, because while you are strengthening
them, you are simultaneously lengthening them. You also do not
focus on an isolated muscle, but actively recurit the smaller
muscle groups as well. You truly work your entrie body when you
practice yoga.
Practicing yoga can help realign your muscles, so they are more
balanced. Since you are not overworking any specific muscle
group, you are less liekly to get injured.
In addition to all its other benefits, yoga can help you improve
muscle fitness. Whether you choose to use it as your primary
means of strength training or you want it to supplement your
other exercises, yoga can help your muscles grow fit, balanced,
and strong.
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Muscle Fitness - Can Yoga Make You Stronger?
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