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Why Yoga? Reason 1: Your upper body will get stronger.
You will feel stronger and more defined without lifting weights. This is all due to yoga. Just working plank pose in a basic yoga sequence will provide an upper body and core workout. I'm not even talking about handstands, crow pose and all those poses that require a lot of strength (and concentration), which strong yogis can make look easy. They are hard.
Why Yoga? Reason 2: Your core will thank you.Sit-ups and crunches and all those other monotonous exercises only take you so far, as they become repetitive and your body becomes familiar with the movement - not to mention they're not really functional. I'm not saying that you won't get some sort of results doing these exercises. But yoga will help you use and develop your core in relation to your other muscles and body parts... Hello six-pack abs.
Why Yoga? Reason 3: You'll alleviate stress.Some blokes hold stress in, and don't necessarily deal with it in a healthy way. The result is often sleep deprivation, lack of focus, unreflective eating or hitting the booze. Go to a yoga class that's challenging and you'll be 100 percent focused on your pose and breath. Your stress will most likely be left at the door.
Why Yoga? Reason 4: It's a cheap date.Dinner and/or movie, or drinks can't compete with $20 yoga. You get a workout and your female companion will be happy. Gold!
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As a bloke who hates embarrassing myself in class, here's what I suggest:
First, take a look at some of the online beginner information out there so you know what you're in for. Just getting familiar with how they look will prove really helpful.
Second, ask around and find the right class for you. There's no one-size-fits all approach for yoga, and it might take a while to find your class or instructor. Just like love, you'll know when you "know." And when you "know," you'll be on your way.
Last, yoga is a marathon, not a sprint. I'm not doing handstands or anything fancy yet, and I don't know when I'll be ready for that challenge. What I do know is what's right for my body and I try to take my practice one class at a time.
Mitch Gibson is the Springday yoga expert and instructor at Yogabowl. To make 2012 your fittest, fastest & leanest year EVER join Springday for just $45 for 12 months.
9 Comments
As a trainer, I want to provide a few clarifications for posters here. 1. Stronger upper body. Plank upper body and core. The basic requirement to increase strength is the progression of each specific movement. It don't believe this occurs. A plank is a "core" strengthener. Not an upper body strengthener. Technically speaking, it increases endurance in the lower back; not strength. 2. Core - situp and crunches - repetitive. The body becomes familiar with the movement. Non functional - hello six pack. Sit-ups and crunches train movement. The function of the abdominals is NOT to generate movement but rather to resist movement. So it is correct to say that these movements are non functional. It is also correct to say that some people try to overload the movement by increasing volume - repetition - and that under this program the body adapts and becomes familiar. However it is NOT true to say that that is the only option or the correct option. As more volume over a certain level trains endurance rather than strength; which requires progressive increases of load. Defining what the core is. Core is not a scientific term, so there is no specific definition. Here is my definition however. It is the torso. The body incorporating the spine. How does this all relate to yoga being able to produce a six pack? Yoga CANNOT produce a six pack. A six pack requires fat loss to remove the fat covering the abdominals. That is diet. If you want to develop the abdominals (the abdominals are not the core. They are the fron't side of the core) to increase their size; that would require an isolation exercise that is progressively loaded to higher levels. Which is not what occurs in yoga. 3. and 4. No problem with these statements. All the best
2 RepliesThat's why guys don't "do" yoga, they don't have the mental capacity for it.... so in the end they give up because they have to lift their OWN weight!
ReplyVeritat, that is a foolish comment. Yoga has been practised on the sub-continent for several thousand years. It is a mental and physical journey that leads to good health, strength and happiness. I'm a distance runner and Yoga is a big part of my training routine.
2 Repliesyeah, nice split personality you got there averagebloke/yogaexpert.
ReplyYoga and climate change are a myth.
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