YOGA - any good? I hear it is for fat loss...

RIMMER · 06-14-2003, 08:35 AM

A lot of recent success stories have popped up in the media about how yoga has helped people to reduce weight drastically... I was wondering if anybody here has tried it or what their opinion of yoga exercises are?

phreak · 06-14-2003, 08:43 AM

IMO the benefits of yoga are greatly overrated. Even the so-called 'power yoga' that is all the rage now does little if anything to build muscle -- although it might be somewhat useful for maintaining muscle tone when dieting (saw your post on weight loss).

RIMMER · 06-14-2003, 09:17 AM

phreak - are u speaking from experience or is this what u have heard from others? - i have a friend who started yoga about 3 years ago, before all this media hype began - my friend is able to do some of the STRANGEST things with his legs and arms, its amazing, and he showed me the one single book he used and still uses to do all his yoga with.

btw he is built like a tank - VERY muscular and mean looking... if you have ever seen a wrestler called RVD, apparantly he can do the stuff RVD can (splits, etc) and is more muscular than him.

So I was just wondering if anybody else has had any luck with yoga.

phreak · 06-14-2003, 09:52 AM

Well no, I've never tried it myself. I do often see the people that are taking yoga classes at the health center where I train, and they are all fat. Very agile, but fat. But if you're planning to stay injury-free agility is very important, so I would recommend it anyway. Just not convinced about the fat loss aspect of it.

Now that you mention it: wrestling or judo (my fave) are indeed also great for flexibility, strength and endurance. Not to mention they help you kick a$$.

RIMMER · 06-14-2003, 10:08 AM

nice! I would love to train for a martial arts or a contact sport like kickboxing or something - my cousin has shown me a video tape of his cousin in an underground fight tournament which happened in Belfast! His cuz won and i will never forget some of the knockouts his cuz did - reminds me of Brad Pitt in that movie "Snatch"! the inspiration i got after seeing that still is inside me but until 2moro it has only been a fantasy (*crosses-fingers*)

devildog · 06-14-2003, 10:21 AM

Some of the stretches have been very good for my joints, particularly my shoulders, which I have problems with.

Rexer · 06-14-2003, 11:54 AM

Yoga is not for muscles. It is not for pussies either. It is a drastic method for keeping in harmony with your body. If you only do the asans, it will give you a great deal of flexibility, something not to be let go! Give it a try, you can definitely lose weight by doing it. However, I cannot say anything about strength and muscle...

PROSA · 06-14-2003, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rexer
Yoga is not for muscles. It is not for pussies either. It is a drastic method for keeping in harmony with your body. If you only do the asans, it will give you a great deal of flexibility, something not to be let go! Give it a try, you can definitely lose weight by doing it. However, I cannot say anything about strength and muscle...

There's a new variation on yoga that's performed in a very hot room - something like 105 degrees F. That must be a super-tough workout, though I'd imagine people have to be careful to avoid dehydration.

Kane Fan · 06-14-2003, 04:33 PM

yoga improves flexability, like stretching
even if it gives no other benifit that increased flexability is helpful in bodybuilding
increased ROM and less chance of injury
anything else is a bonus

Troutwine · 10-12-2006, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rexer

Yoga is not for muscles. It is not for pussies either. It is a drastic method for keeping in harmony with your body. If you only do the asans, it will give you a great deal of flexibility, something not to be let go! Give it a try, you can definitely lose weight by doing it. However, I cannot say anything about strength and muscle...

true. When is the ideal time to take yoga classes? morning, afternoon, or night?

NewSc2 · 10-12-2006, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RIMMER

phreak - are u speaking from experience or is this what u have heard from others? - i have a friend who started yoga about 3 years ago, before all this media hype began - my friend is able to do some of the STRANGEST things with his legs and arms, its amazing, and he showed me the one single book he used and still uses to do all his yoga with.

btw he is built like a tank - VERY muscular and mean looking... if you have ever seen a wrestler called RVD, apparantly he can do the stuff RVD can (splits, etc) and is more muscular than him.

So I was just wondering if anybody else has had any luck with yoga.

what secret book is this?

GoJu · 10-12-2006, 09:42 PM

I wouldn't build a fat loss training regime around yoga, it is exceptional for stretching, flexibility and mobility however.

http://www.dragondoor.com/v104.html

this is the link to what might be the book, this is comrade Pavel Tsatsouline, he holds the title Master of Sports and is to the strength training probably what Joe Weider or Aurthur Jones is to the bodybuilding world, I definetly suggest a look it!

It incorporates Yogic style stretches focusing not on elongating the muscles but rather conditioning the central nervous system to allow for greater flexibility, alot like what powerlifting does for the whole body to allow for a bigger deadlift or squat, that's his philosophy on it, check it!

segment · 10-12-2006, 10:29 PM

Yoga? meh.

Grab some heavy dumbells and let them stretch your arms off your sockets while you gain grip strength.

keepshruggin · 10-12-2006, 10:53 PM

The girls at work do yoga; one lost 50 lbs, another has recently lost 30 lbs. No doubt they also did a major overhaul on their diet, but it seemed to work for them.

I need to lose a lot of weight, but for now I'll stick with weights, cardio, and concentrate on diet.

Sir_Malak · 10-12-2006, 10:56 PM

Yoga is great for stretching. I took a few classes of it and whatever stretching does for muscle/str gain..yoga will help ill give it that

Alone yoga imho wont do anything for 'bulk'..perhaps a great 'toner' but thats about as far as I would merit it.

stealth_swimmer · 10-12-2006, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sir_Malak

Yoga is great for stretching. I took a few classes of it and whatever stretching does for muscle/str gain..yoga will help ill give it that

Alone yoga imho wont do anything for 'bulk'..perhaps a great 'toner' but thats about as far as I would merit it.

I agree. I am probably going to start soon. I recently bought a book on it.

The Brotherhood · 10-12-2006, 11:02 PM

I have *some* authority on this; being that ive done yoga in the past for a couple of years, and i know of people, including my dad, whove been doing various forms of yoga for over 10 years now; the benefits are amazing.

Im still very skeptic about the claims of yoga related to fat loss; but in all reality it will AID fat loss for sure as it increases your metabolism, clears toxins from your body, and a couple of other small things that would relate to fat loss.

The benefits of yoga besides that are where the awesome stuff lies. Ive had close friend of my dad's do some breathing related yoga for 4 months, and he had high BP - so high that he had to be on insulin; with no other changes, his BP dropped down to a very, very controllable level. I know this sounds stupid, but my dads hair is actually growing back o.O, i can see it with my own eyes. Its very slow, but over the last 3 months theres a marked difference in the quantity of hair on his scalp (hes 52).

A full yoga routine is designed to hit all energy circles in the body, and to work on flexion and joint/muscle health of parts of the body, including and especially the back. Following a solid yoga regime can quite possibly be the best thing short of surgery you can do for that bad back or hurting RC.

Take what you will from this; but id recommend yoga as a supplementary thing to a bodybuilding regime.

AnaerobicAndrew · 10-12-2006, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RIMMER

phreak - are u speaking from experience or is this what u have heard from others? - i have a friend who started yoga about 3 years ago, before all this media hype began - my friend is able to do some of the STRANGEST things with his legs and arms, its amazing, and he showed me the one single book he used and still uses to do all his yoga with.

btw he is built like a tank - VERY muscular and mean looking... if you have ever seen a wrestler called RVD, apparantly he can do the stuff RVD can (splits, etc) and is more muscular than him.

So I was just wondering if anybody else has had any luck with yoga.

No my friend, that hype didnt start 3 years ago, it peaked 3 years ago.

Yoga will only aid in fat loss if it raises your pulse. Just like anything else. Duh.

DoubleWide · 10-13-2006, 05:52 AM

Yoga is very good. Flexibility, strength, and stabilization muscles improve. Less chance of injury. I couldn't deal with the spiritual/mental side and found it very irritating.

Ivan25 · 06-29-2009, 11:28 AM

I just wrote this article on yoga--> http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/yoga...g_benefits.htm

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoubleWide

Yoga is very good. Flexibility, strength, and stabilization muscles improve. Less chance of injury. I couldn't deal with the spiritual/mental side and found it very irritating.

bonvec01 · 06-29-2009, 11:35 AM

Stop bumping ancient threads.

Ivan25 · 06-30-2009, 11:46 AM

Stop drinking the glass half-empty.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bonvec01

Stop bumping ancient threads.