Are you struggling to choose between doing your yoga routine or your gym workout?
While both these practices are really great for your physical and mental health, will it be too much for your body to do them on the same day or is it better to split them on different days?
The short answer:
Yes, you can do yoga and gym on the same day but make sure that you do yoga after your gym workout and not before. If you need to do yoga before your workout, then there needs to be a few hours separating the two sessions, such as a morning and afternoon workout. If you’re able to, try to keep yoga to your rest days to maximize recovery.
Why Gym and Yoga Are Complementary Fitness Disciplines
Workouts in the gym and yoga seem like two completely opposing fitness disciplines when in fact, they are quite complementary to each other.
A lot of the techniques and exercises that you do in yoga can aid you in your gym workout and better your performance. So even if you are an Olympic weightlifter, powerlifter or the everyday gym-goer, you may benefit from adding yoga to your routine.
And of course, for the yogis out there, lifting weights could aid you in your yoga practice. All in all, they each fill a gap that may be missing in each activity so it could benefit you to do both.
It Builds Strength
Lifting in the gym can give you raw strength that can translate well in your yoga practice.
Developing this strength can help you remain solid in fundamental yoga poses such as the Warrior pose and make it easier to hold these stances as you move through them.
If you’re a weightlifter, check out our article on Improving Flexibility For Olympic Weightlifters (With Sample Program).
It Improves Mobility
Weight lifting does require a lot of strength but it also needs mobility.
Being mobile means that you’ll be able to perform lifts and exercises with better form and a wider range of motion. This could be getting your squat to parallel or lower or being able to hold a barbell in an overhead position.
Yoga is known to increase your flexibility and mobility. By getting into deep stretches in yoga and working on this aspect in your practice, you’ll find that you’ll be capable of a wider range of motion with less exertion and effort.
You Can Learn Breathing Techniques
Yoga does a lot of breathwork, which can definitely translate nicely over to your lifting.
Knowing the correct breathing techniques is an underrated yet pivotal component of both yoga and weight lifting and so, it’ll definitely help you in the gym.
Being able to control your breathing can help you lift heavier, improve your muscle endurance as well as promote faster recovery.
It Improves Mental Strength
There is a mental aspect that comes with both yoga and the gym.
Mental strength is something that you work on, whether it’s trying to hold a pose for a few more breaths or pushing through your last set, it’s the backbone of all strength.
Regular yoga practice can really make a difference to your mental well-being. It sharpens your concentration and focus as well as increases your body awareness which will greatly benefit you in the gym.
If you’re looking for a customized training program for the gym, then take a look at the FitBod app. FitBod will generate your personalized workout session based on preferences you can choose such as the body parts you want to focus on, what space and equipment you have available and how long you want to train for.
Why You Shouldn’t Do Yoga Before the Gym
So, while you can do yoga and gym on the same day, it’s recommended that you leave yoga after your training session and not before. Yoga can aid your weight lifting but it can actually be detrimental if you do it prior to it.
Most yogas require you to hold positions for longer periods of time, which is reminiscent of static stretching.
This will affect your muscle power, tire them out and weaken them. Doing so will mean that your muscle won’t be up to performing at their usual standards, which will impact your session. After all, your strength relies on your muscles contracting but yoga does the opposite and stretches them out.
This is why it’s best to stick to dynamic stretches as a warm-up before your gym workout, such as arm swings and leg swings.
If you do want to do yoga before training, then consider dynamic yoga poses that’ll wake and energize the body and mind, warming your muscles for the gym. Dynamic yoga means that you don’t hold the stance and instead you move in and out of each pose.
