Finding the ideal combination of Yoga, Endurance- and Strength training.

Yoga, endurance, and strength training complement each other perfectly and prepare the body and mind excellently for the other sport.

We all know that all physical activity is good in itself. If someone who has not done any exercise so far, starts running or joins a gym to do strength training or attends a yoga class this is all great news! But when you are ready to get involved in more intensive and optimized training you should focus on the most effective combination.

Merely intensifying the endurance training or increasing the weight in strength training is unfortunately not enough to achieve the positive effects on the body, mind, and nervous system. The human organism needs various forms of stimulation not to stagnate. In addition, a one-sided training that is increased to the maximum will likely lead to physical imbalances.

The ideal is to get the best out of each workout and find a suitable combination of Yoga, Endurance and Strength Training for yourself that you also love doing. Otherwise, you will not last long.

Regular endurance training such as jogging is essential for a healthy cardiovascular system.

However, without the appropriate running technique, which is characterized by good stability and coordination, both the back and the knees are exposed to heavy bounding. This can either be compensated for by a targeted Yoga praxis or a corresponding strength training, which in turn makes endurance training even more health-promoting.

Strength training is the best way to prevent age-related muscle breakdown or build up muscles

that provide an essential support and cushioning function. However, weight training can also lead to imbalances. In addition to the excessive tension that sometimes arises, posture can also be affected. Here, maximum work is done on the large muscle groups and above all on the surface muscles, which often results in problems in the back or a lack of coordination and mobility. Regular Yoga practice can counterbalance this very well.

Yoga makes athletes better in their respective sport because it improves flexibility, balance, and core muscles.

It will lead to an improved form, efficiency, and strength. Doing Yoga is a great way for athletes to take the time to stretch and rejuvenate.

In contrast, those who only practice very passive, relaxing Yoga should not believe that this will help their endurance and strength. It either requires a more strenuous form of Yoga or, even better, special endurance and strength training. Real endurance training in the sense of long-term endurance with a corresponding change in oxygen uptake is done much better through training like running or cycling. Anyone who always practices the same Yoga sequences (such as in Ashtanga or Bikram) runs the same risk of creating imbalances. For example, back problems are likely to arise if back bends are performed too intensively. The rotator cuff is also often affected by excessive chaturangas. Here, targeted muscle training can help.

Unfortunately, Yoga when practiced exclusively for fitness purposes, loses a large part of its meaning and effect. It also does not offer the cardiovascular benefits of a full exercise program, such as running or cycling.

Yoga asanas and movement optimize the functioning of the body: Yoga exercises with targeted breathing stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system more strongly and bring a different hormone and neurotransmitter profile into the bloodstream than other forms of training. As a result, a clearer, calmer state of mind can be achieved. Cardio- or resistance-based strength training, in turn, is needed to engage the sympathetic system in a healthy way, to send another chemical cocktail through our body, and thus to alleviate stress-related reactions. This alternating stimulation of Yin and Yang improves the functioning of the body. Due to the stronger balancing effect and the more robust neurophysiological operation, the meditation process is better supported.

The ultimate is to create a plan that combines these three training methods in accordance with the respective fitness and health status.

Optimum from all 3 training methods: Endurance, Strength & Yoga

• A running session or other endurance training 2-3 times a week with a training-effective time (60-90% of maximum heart rate) of approx. 75-100 minutes.

• Strength training 2-3 times a week with an emphasis on multi-joint, complex exercises, with one or a maximum of two sets and with a high number of repetitions (around 20).

• 2-3 times Yoga per week with a Yin Yoga session with the aim of slowly stretching and relaxing the entire active and passive musculoskeletal system, as well as a more dynamic Yinyasa Yoga session, in which complex and high coordinative movements are practiced.

Ideally, these 6-9 sessions are designed in such a way that they are evenly distributed over the week and only a strenuous unit is combined with a regenerative unit on a day.

———–

In the long run, however, this will be exceedingly difficult to keep up. It is therefore important to find less time-consuming versions that still contain the best possible mix of all three. In the upcoming blogs I will share lighter training plans for healthy and moderately trained fitness and health athletes., In this blog post it is all about Yoga & Endurance training.