3 Weight Lifting Exercises for Yoga Students
Get Started - Beginner Friendly Exercises
It can be intimidating to get started on a weight lifting journey for a variety of reasons. I get it. The gym is an overwhelming place and there is so much to choose from that it can be hard to figure out where to even begin. That’s where I hope to help bridge the gap and support you and your yoga practice for the long haul by asking you to incorporate some simple exercises.
But First, disclaimer alert
I’m not a certified personal trainer and I shared a bit about my journey here when talking about why yoga students need to embrace weights. It’s very important that you do some in-person research. That means having your team of specialists - Osteo, physio, massage, chiro, personal trainers etc - on board with your journey and guiding you in ways that will support your uniqueness. While I recommend YouTube videos to help correct form and understand proper techniques, the most important piece of this journey is to understand your body and what it needs specifically.
I’ve been hitting the gym since I was in high school and practicing yoga for the last 14 years. I’ve learned some things (mostly the hard way through injury) about what works and what doesn’t for me. So I want to encourage you to do the exact same. This is a journey for longevity and there is no quick fix. It will require time, patience and persistence - just like your yoga practice. 😉
3 exercises to get started
I recommend you get started with incorporating these 3 exercises into your workout routine at least 1-2x a week. I subscribe to the philosophy that ‘something is better than nothing’ and the only thing that matters is consistency. Even if it’s once a week make it consistent I.e every Sunday. You can’t do a week or two here, skip a week or two there and expect to experience the benefits. The reason I recommend these 3 exercises is they build strength in key areas that we simply can’t do or replicate in a yoga class unless we change the fundamental principles of what a yoga class is. These exercises are complementary to most Vinyasa style classes and will help protect your joints and strengthen your bones. I’ve heard of too many yogis having severe shoulder injuries or hip tears and replacements at far too young of an age simply from doing too much repetitive yoga movements or being too flexible.
So here you go! 3 simple exercises you can start today with benefits as they pertain to your yoga practice.
Rows:
Exercise Breakdown: Rows involve pulling weight toward your body using a variety of equipment, such as barbells, dumbbells, or cable machines. Common variations include bent-over rows, seated rows, and single-arm rows. My favourite is the seated row with a narrow grip.
Benefits for Yoga Students:
Posture Improvement: Rows target the upper back and shoulders and literally involve us pulling the shoulders back. Rounded shoulders and poor posture are so hard to avoid these days with cell phones and laptops so this one is great for every day life and longevity.
Balance in Muscle Development: Yoga is heavy on pushing movements like downward dog, plank, and chaturanga. There aren’t many ways for us to strengthen our back and the muscles around the spine making this the perfect weight lifting exercise to add into your routine. The row helps us strengthen and utilize a crucial range of motion for the shoulders that we simply cannot mimic or recreate in a yoga class.
Form tip: Let your shoulders protract and retract through the movement without rounding your spine while pulling the weight towards your belly button. Feel free to research on Youtube for more tips on doing this exercise safely or reach out to your team of specialists to guide you.
Pull Downs:
Exercise Breakdown: Pull downs involve pulling a weighted bar down toward the chest using a cable machine. Variations include wide grip, narrow grip, and reverse grip pulldowns.
Benefits for Yoga Students:
Upper Body Strength: Pull downs strengthen your lats, rhomboids, and biceps. This compliments all the pushing in yoga with another type of pull exercises that we can’t mimic in yoga. The strength you build here, similar to row, will improve your strength in poses like plank and chaturanga.
Enhanced Grip Strength: A strong grip is essential in yoga for poses that involve weight-bearing on the hands, such as arm balances. Weak wrists and wrist injuries are common place in the yoga world. So, better grip strength = stronger wrists = reduced chance of injury.
Scapular Stability: Pull downs promote scapular retraction and depression, fostering stability in the shoulder blades much like the protraction and retraction from the rows. This stability is crucial for longevity of your shoulders and, again, another one of those ranges of motion that we can’t replicate in a yoga class.
Leg Press:
Exercise Breakdown: Leg press involves pushing a weighted platform away from the body using the legs. It’s often performed on a leg press machine in a seated or reclined position. What I love about this is there is minimal injury risk compared to doing a barbell squat or deadlift while still giving you the chance to strengthen your entire lower body.
Benefits for Yoga Students:
Lower Body Strength: Leg press primarily targets the quads, hamstrings, and glutes, enhancing lower body strength. This strength and mobility combination will make poses like chair and power lunges feel easier and lighter.
Joint Support: Leg press is a closed-chain exercise, reducing impact on the joints. As mentioned above it allows you to strengthen the lower body without excessive stress on your knees or spine.
Balancing Muscle Development: Once again, similar to rows and pulldowns, we are trying to balance your body out in a way that we can’t in yoga. While yoga can be a strong leg-focused practice (as you may know if you’ve taken my class before) incorporating this exercise is all about keeping up with the inevitability of aging. You need to build muscle as you get older beyond body weight exercises in order to support your bones. Body weight strength exercises aren’t going to be enough to support you long term.
I hope you find this helpful and can see how incorporating these strength exercises into your routine can contribute to a well-rounded wellness foundation and address specific areas that may not be targeted through yoga alone. You will reduce your injury risk and enhance your overall well-being. It’s a win-win!
Thank you so much for reading. Drop a comment below and let me know what you think! Remember, get the right advice and form tips from the professionals in your life. This is all simply a guideline and meant to inspire you to get started now. There is no time like the present. Something is always better than nothing.
Namaste 🙏🏽