Yoga and weightlifting

How does yoga benefit weight lifting?

One of the main ways yoga helps with lift weighting, is by helping to lessen the risk of injury. A regular yoga routine helps to stretch out your muscles after heavy workouts, meaning a lesser chance of muscle stiffness, DOMS, and hip mobility restriction. Before I met Gemma William, an amazing yoga teacher and friend of mine, my left shoulder used to ache very badly. It once stopped me from doing any shoulder or back workouts, but after learning some yoga poses and practicing them three to four times a week, gradually my shoulder started to regain mobility. Now, I can do a full body weight lifting workout without any issues!

Both yoga and weight lifting targets different parts of the body too, perfect for making sure your workout routine is comprehensive and completely benefiting you. Full-body compound lifts and explosive weight lifting helps to activate your fast-twitch muscle fibres – which help with rapid movements like running quickly for the bus, whilst slow and steady yoga helps to activate slow-twitch muscle fibres, helping you build endurance for long dog walks, runs or bike rides. By maintaining a balance between both of these types of muscle fibres, all of your everyday tasks will feel easier. 

Why is yoga so good for your mind and body?

Whilst of course lifting heavy weights helps you to gain muscle and strength, yoga is also a brilliant way to activate your muscles, and in turn create a toned physique. You may think of yoga as just being a stretching and breathing exercise, but it also includes body weight exercises that help to sculpt your muscles, all the while bringing more oxygen into your body to help you control your movements. After a few weeks of regular yoga sessions, you’ll find that you can perform normal tasks much more easily, including lifting, walking, and even sitting. It’s amazing for your posture too, both in everyday life, and whilst you’re by the weight rack. 

Let’s not forget the mental benefits you could enjoy when regularly practicing yoga. Yoga is an excellent form of meditation, aiding you in keeping calm and seeing the world from a healthier perspective. Being at one with your body and focusing on your breathing is something we could all benefit from, it’s a great way to feel more confident with yourself both inside and out. 

Finally, yoga is a wonderful way to aid your recovery if you’re regularly enduring heavy weight lifting workouts. Particular resting poses benefit your body as they help increase blood flow to the areas of the body you’ve worked and fatigued, which overall assists the muscles in healing and therefore getting stronger over time. 

A chat with yoga teacher Gemma William

There are so many reasons why yoga is so remarkable for the body. Not only is it a stellar accompaniment for weight lifting, it’s also an awesome way to be at one with yourself, and enjoy a healthy lifestyle. 

My friend Gemma William is the one who helped me gain flexibility, enjoy yoga, and therefore aid me in perfecting my workout routine. That’s why I’ve asked her to tell you all why she practices yoga, and why you should create a fitness regime that not only keeps you healthy, but makes you happy and excited to exercise, too. 

“What is your preferred exercise or spiritual practice? What do you enjoy doing to get your heart pumping and endorphins flowing? To stay motivated in what you are doing to be fit and healthy, you need to enjoy it! It has taken me years to find the balance of what I enjoy doing, when I need to rest and when I need to push myself. I’m now at a place where I know what is good for my body and I am not afraid to change things up when I feel it is time to. And now I am at this place I have so much more energy and enjoy my yoga practice and workouts so much more!

In the media and on the internet today there is endless information and advice on what you should be doing to stay in shape. But we are all individual and unique and I think we have to find our own path. You may just love Pilates, you may just love running, or you may just love cycling, but for me I like to mix it up and it has taken me a lot of trial and error to come to this conclusion. There was a time when I was expecting myself to do a strong yoga practice every morning and train five times a week at the gym, and work a full time job. I never really managed this, and at the end of each week I felt very ran down, and spent the weekend recovering.

I love weight training, high intensity circuits, Ashtanga Yoga, Vinyasa hot flow, Acro yoga and Yin yoga. I also love running and cycling. So I incorporate most of these things into my week, and I love it! It is up to you to find out what works for you and when you do it to fit most conveniently into your daily life. If yoga every morning at 5am doesn’t really work with your body rhythms or High Intensity Interval Training five times a week doesn’t appeal to you, then don’t feel you have to do it! Find your own rhythms, do the things you love, and rest when your body tells you to.

Your life is yours to enjoy! Your exercise routine and yoga practice should complement your lifestyle, increase your energy levels and vitality, and reduce stress! If you feel you are over doing it, maybe it’s time to take a step back and revaluate your goals and the reasons why you are doing what you are doing. If you are not doing enough, maybe it’s time to up your game and find something you enjoy so you will keep it up.

Love what you do! Create time for the things you love! Respect your body rhythms to maintain your healthy energy!”

- Gemma William

Relieving tension from weight lifting with hip-opening yoga poses

There are so many reasons why I’m loving practicing yoga regularly – the main one being the improvement I’ve seen with my compound lifts, including squats and deadlifts. 

Perfect squats and deadlifts are impossible without good hip mobility, and certain yoga poses really help to maximise your performance when executing these particular movements. Hip muscle imbalances can become detrimental when it comes to improving and increasing your barbell weights, and yoga is an amazing way to ensure that your body is fit to lift heavy. 

There are many hip issues that can sadly become a disadvantage for weight-lifters. If your hips are stiff or unstable, you’ll find it hard to lift with proper form and without pain in your joints, therefore decreasing your athletic performance and putting a stop to you gradually increasing your weights. One of the main worries is Lumbo-Pelvic Hip Complex Dysfunction (LPHCD), which is when the motor control in your lumbar spine, pelvis, hips and sacroiliac joints is lost, causing your body to tighten and stopping you from performing your compound lifts correctly. 

Below are a few of my favourite yoga poses for opening up the hips, mobilising all the joints, and helping you to perfect your deadlifts and squats: