I’ve always been a cardio girl…

…walking

…running

…swimming

…biking

…treadmill

…elliptical

…spinning

…dancing on tables

I hated weights and would often skip strength training all together if I could get away with it. I hated being in the weight room with all those no neck guys dropping their giant barbells on the floor and huffing and puffing. The girls I often saw were dainty and checking out themselves in the mirror more than lifting anything.

I’ve been reading a lot lately about how we girls really do need to be lifting more weights. We don’t have to be grunting and huffing and dropping mega weighted barbells like the guys do and we’re not likely to get big and bulky while lifting our appropriate sized dumbells.

So… part of my 2012 challenges has been to add in more strength training to my workout routine. I’ve already done the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I will be doing another P90X program and right now I’m in the midst of 30 Days of Yoga.

I was curious to know if yoga would really be enough to get more toned and fit on it’s own. I’ve posed the question on twitter, facebook and to my friends. I ended up getting a lot of conflicting opinions and decided to head out and do some research myself. What I found out was pretty interesting…

Yoga and Flexibility

• In case you aren’t aware – yoga works by safely stretching your muscles. It helps to release lactic acids that have built up in your muscles causing stiffness, pain and fatigue. All this stretching increases the range of motion and lubrication in your joints. While your muscles are being stretched, yoga also stretches the soft tissues like tendons and ligaments. Combined this gives your body a better sense of ease and fluidity.

• In a very short time it is quite possible for someone to begin seeing the benefits of a regular yoga practice. In one study, 35% of people had improvement in their flexibility in just 8 weeks.

Yoga and Strength Training

• Yoga definitely counts as strength training because with every move, flow and pose you’re lifting, holding and moving your own body weight. This, in fact, is it’s own form of strength training.

• Many yogis prefer you focus on the practice itself rather than what yoga can do to your body, but looking at many frequent yoga practicers shows you that yoga can trim and shape your body in a great way. The only drawback is that it may take longer than with traditional weight training because you’re limited to only using your own body weight.

• The greatest benefit of yoga (in my opinion) is that it conditions your body to do movements that you’re already doing like walking, sitting, bending, gardening, etc.

• Yoga works and strengthens muscles in a very balanced way as opposed to isolated movements. What you do on one side of the body; you will always do on the other side as well. In those movements you’re using large and small muscles simultaneously.

Yoga and Mental Health

• Yoga teaches you to focus on your breathing while holding an asana (pose) and when moving from one pose to the next. This focus helps to keep you relaxed, calm and it dissolves any stress you may have been feeling. Using this type of breathing in your everyday life can be very beneficial as well.
• Surrendering to the moves as opposed to trying to force them will alleviate the tension you’ve been carrying around. When you leave your yoga session you should feel relaxed yet energized; calm yet strong.

Yoga is an ancient practice that helps create a sense of union in body, mind, and spirit. It brings us balance.

In the end what I realized is that yoga goes far beyond working my muscles and toning my body. It does all that, but it also tones and strengthens my mind as well. It allows me the time I need to focus on nothing other than my breathing, my body and the movements. This type of practice will help me to relax, destress and become more balanced in my life.

As far as strength training – I will continue my 30 Days of Yoga and then make sure to add one or two yoga sessions into my workout routine per week, but to get that more toned and cut look that I’m looking for I will have to include a few weight training sessions as well.

I guess that my workout routine will have to resemble my diet – everything in moderation; cardio, weights and yoga (preferably by myself!).

Sounds good to me… Do you yoga? Are you a cardio addict? What about weights? Tell me all your exercise secrets!!

Today I’m thankful for:

…my ability to get up and workout first thing in the morning

…gathering info from great social media sites

…my readers and their really amazing tips

…texting as an option to keep in touch with friends

…green tea and books in bed

~ Maria