Ever notice how a runner can have amazingly toned legs but reveal a muffin-top middle? Or a yoga enthusiast can be wondrously flexible but still appear to be overweight? How about a gym rat who can’t balance for very long on one foot or even sit cross-legged?
Everyone who knows me knows I am passionate about yoga. But did you ever wonder why I continue to teach strength training and talk about the need for cardio? The reason is that fitness isn’t just about one type of exercise. Each form of exercise offers its own unique benefits, making no single form of exercise or fitness discipline a one-size-fits-all proposition.
In a Wall Street Journal article published several years ago titled, Is Yoga Just Posing as a Good Workout?, writer Nancy Keates asks, “So who is right? Almost every study on yoga and fitness agrees that the practice has a significant positive impact on muscular strength, endurance and flexibility. But most find doing only yoga — without mixing in some traditional aerobic workouts — doesn’t exercise the heart enough. That’s a growing concern, with more than 14 million Americans practicing yoga and Tai Chi now, up from six million in 2000, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association.”
My eighteen years of experience in fitness tells me that “being all you can be” with fitness includes a combination of cardiovascular exercise (pushing your heart rate to 60% to 90% of its maximum for 20 to 60 minutes at a time), high intensity interval training (a specialized form of training that involves short periods of maximum intensity exercise separated by longer intervals of low-to-moderate intensity exercise) and yoga (a system of posing, balancing and stretching the body practiced as part of a discipline to promote control of the body and mind in order to become toned, achieve and maintain good balance, and work all the muscles of the body, including the heart.)
Those trying to maintain a fitness regimen should keep in mind that doing the same form of exercise over and over again can lead to “overuse” injuries. Here are some reasons to mix it up when it comes to achieving fitness goals. Cross-training:
(1) Reduces exercise boredom
(2) Allows you to be flexible about your training needs and plans (…if the pool is closed, you can go for a run instead).
(3) Produces a higher level of all-around conditioning
(4) Conditions the entire body, not just specific muscle groups
(5) Works some muscles while others rest, promoting the reduction of body fat content.
For more information on how to create a comprehensive fitness routine that addresses flexibility, cardiac health and builds muscle, or for a schedule of classes, feel free to give me a call at 916-715-8377 or follow my posts on my Facebook page.
