How much can yoga improve strength?

I'm looking to really strengthen my legs and back. I just came back from a Yoga class tonight.. It was actually very challenging. The fact they heat the room up so much increased the difficulty.

Is this enough to give me sufficient lower body(legs and back) for wrestling & jiu jitsu?

It's a pretty refreshing workout, and lots of good looking girls attend.

 

Yoga will do more for your flexibility and maybe a little core. You are most likely feeling it in the legs do to a lack of training.

 

for just wrestling and jiu-jitsu, you have the strength to do the moves as it is, and yoga may help some with that aspect, but if you are trying to be an athlete of greatness then nothing really beats heavy low rep training, not to say you can't succeed on just yoga, but if you are just training for recreation and you enjoy yoga aswell then i don't see why you can't make use of it...what's life if you're not happy

 

The isometric strength from yoga will be beneficial for grappling/JJ guys I would of thought. Even more so due to hip ROM thats held in some of poses.

I think its great compliment to regular strength training.

 

It's a good supplement to normal training and it will make you more flexible.

But if you want to have a strong back and legs go deadlift and squat.

 

He asked if it was sufficent for wrestling and Jiu jitsu so i guess you can take it to mean "can I get by with only doing yoga for strength training and stilll be the best martial artist I can be?" To which I would say no, it'll help but you need to train with weights as well.

 

Dan john says it's a bunch of horse shit. If you want more flexibility, do overhead squats.

Admittedly though, many grapplers seem to swear by it, and dan john aint no grappler. It will never ever EVER even come close to replacing weight training for strength development, however it may be beneficial for gaining the neccessary flexibility and supplemental endurance to gain an advantage in grappling. Pilates also seems to be gaining a cult following.

 

I would not rely on yoga/pilates as a strength base for combat. They succeeded in bringing balance, posture, flexibility, and good energy flow to my body, but any sort of strength gains are for these specific areas, not for attacking/defending.

Core strength requires Core training, some of which yoga/pilates encompasses. But without a doubt you'll be wanting to develop a specific core/ab workout for yourself. Go ahead and ask if you arent sure about where to start, but google does work, and yoga/pilates may even give you a good first look.

PEACE!

 

Im not so sure that it will increase strength, not at all for someone who is used to training with weights. However, as a recovery tool, I think very highly of it. When yoga is used as an exercise, like a tape i own (I cant believe I'm admitting to this) "Yoga for Athletes", It definatly helps stretch all the muscles and flush out lactic acid. It is more of a high speed approach to yoga and hard to keep up with at first. Once you get the hang of it, I think it is well worth it. It has kept me relativley injury free in the gym.

 

Asside from the intangible, unquantifiable, unmeasurable "energy flow" thing, all of that can be accomplished through overhead squats.

and rickdog, lactic acid is gone within a couple hours of exercise isn't it?

 

I disagree. Overhead squats are awesome though.

The reason i disagree is because doing yoga/pilates means you are in a class with a person who is specialised in and has a passion for balance and flexibility, all throughout the body.

Overhead squats truly train balance for certain movements like sprawling, holding someone above your head and doing circles while screaming awaiting disposure into a pond or something, and etc. But yoga emphasizes through and through balance and flexibility "for a healthy, happy life "

LOL but in all seriousness, Yoga/Pilates creates balance and flexibility very hard to focus on with a fighter's lifter's schedule, in just an hour a week (or whatever). Overhead squats and the like can get you ferociously strong and stable. Everything has its place, its all about what you care about emphasizing.

 

Man I wish there were really some way to settle this. It just seems like you're speaking like somebody who hasn't tried to squat with something overhead. In any event, for most sports I think yoga is pretty unneccessary, however for grappling where flexibility and isometric strength training can give you an advantage, it may be somewhat useful, I'm not denying that... but if you're looking for a healthy, happy life, serenity, ki and zen, go meditate under a waterfall. it'll be time better spent... better yet, go do overhead squats under a waterfall.

fact is there's no way for me to prove OH squats are better than yoga at improving posture, flexibility and balance. What I know, is that doing overhead squats forces you to work hard to maintain your balance, posture, and to increase your range of motion increases your functional flexibility. It's a total body movement requiring total holistic harmony in the body... how much more zen can you get? But like I said, there's no way for me to prove that it's better than yoga, and vice versa... maybe if we get a pair of twins and train them from birth in different methods... yeah! yeah that'll work. To the maturnity wing of the hospital!

 

Actually, now that i reread what i was about to say, I agree that Overhead Squats are more important than yoga/pilates for fighting.

I advocate yoga/pilates for footwork balance and COMPLETE body flexibility, because its hard for fighters (at least me) to focus on these aspects outside of serious instruction.

 

I'm a wrestler/coach and I've been doing Yoga for a few years. I don't like to take time off AT ALL from lifting/running. Yoga is my method of "taking it easy." It will improve your core if you do it right, and a half hour session in a hot room will leave you fealing pretty good. The flexibility is a plus too. I recommend it for everyone, but I recommend it as an active rest activity not a replacement for lifting or other forms of training. Its a great alternative to just sitting on the couch on your down days.

BTW, I never got into the whole "spiritual" side of Yoga. I just do the positions and breathing techniques.

 

Good idea! That type of experiment has the potential to solve many of the worlds problems...Science vs. Religion; BJJ vs. Wrestling: Yoga vs. OH squats (i'll be trying these tonight btw) and most importantly, we can finally settle the age old battle of pepsi vs. coke... Not that I drink that bullshit....

 

I had a friend who tried yoga once. Y'know where he is now? He sits in a chair staring out a window all day saying, "My name is Bob!".

 

It will or will not hurt you. Some of the exercises in yoga can be very damaging on joints, since tendons don't stretch, so if they are put in certain situations were they had no choice but stretch, then it makes the joint unstable/weak, not good. Otherwise a lot of exercises are great.

Who would you want to wrestle, a guy who can deadlift 400pds and throws around a 200pd sandbag ? or a guy that just does yoga ??

If one does both, then its even better. )

 

It is good for posture and flexibility. I did a workout at home with the wife. It was hard on the core.