Can Yoga Count as Strength Training?
How to Mix Yoga Into Your Routine  If you're using yoga as a supplement to your strength-training routine, the science points towards benefits from just two hours on your mat every week. But if yoga is your main strength source, you'll want more. "Doing yoga five days a week and pushing yourself in the poses is the way to maximise the benefits", says Porcari. Increasing the frequency of your practice makes it more likely you'll get enough volume to actually challenge your muscles week to week. You also want to apply the progressive-overload principleor increasing the challenge on your muscles periodically as they adaptjust as you would when lifting weights. For that reason, the yoga programme in Gothe's study started with easy moves that got progressively tougher as the weeks went on. "We used similar principles that are used in traditional strength training: increasing sets and reps or time of the hold", says Gothe. Regardless of whether you want to only do yoga or just squeeze more muscle strengthening out of your practice to boost your performance in the gym, these tips can help. Think about your working muscles. "When you focus on a muscle group, you can actually make it fire up more", says Porcari, and increasing muscle activation means building more strength. "If you're purposeful in your poses, it's almost like you're using internal biofeedback, or constantly monitoring how your body is feeling and how hard it's working. Then you can adjust your practice based on that". During a warrior III, for example, think about your glutes igniting and feel them firing up as you balance. Sink into it. You can be in chair pose, or you can really be in chair pose. "You'll see some people are only crouched down a little bit, which only engages the glutes and quads to a certain degree, while others have their legs bent at 90 degrees, which maxes out the benefits of the pose", says Porcari. The same goes for every other pose. Hold it right there. The longer you hold poses, the more they test your strength and endurance, per Porcari. Time under tension translates to greater muscle damage that then helps the muscles come back stronger. Just like in strength training, if it feels easy, it's probably not doing much for adapting your body. Go with your own flow. For more of a challenge, get creative. You can do two or three quick push-ups when the instructor calls for chaturanga. Or when your arms are extended in warrior II, pulse them. Feel things out and create your own mini strength challenges within the flow. "Even just changing the angle of your shoulders or your hands can activate different muscles", says Porcari. "Holding and repeating postures or flows that are hard for you teaches you how to push yourself", says Porcari. "That carries over to every other fitness pursuit".