Yoga and Weight Lifting

In Part I, I discussed how working out with free weights, or bodybuilding in general, your muscles would shorten and cause inflexibility. I pointed out how yoga will provide an alternative for the off days to give relief to sore muscle tissue, eliminate toxins and lengthen the muscles once again.

In this segment, I'd like to offer that our body and mind aren't always balanced evenly. Did you ever notice that one side of your body is stronger than the other? Well, this comes from being right or left-handed. If we were all ambidextrous we might be better balanced, but we're not, so we favor one side over another. By the same token, the mind will only push through so much pain before giving up, so the weaker parts fatigue earlier in repetitions.

If you are right handed, you favor the left leg and vice versa. This applies to your workouts too. You will see that you struggle with one arm over the other when doing bicep curls, or one leg over the other when doing quad extensions. Yoga will greatly assist you in achieving equality in strength and flexibility.

Yoga done in a class situation, works each side of the body, so they experience the same stretch, balance and strength poses. In this way, the ancient yogis designed the poses to achieve balance in body and in mind.

By performing yoga just twice a week, you will notice a significant increase in strength in your previously weaker muscles. This will give you a sense of growth and achievement that you won't experience any other way. Yes, working the weaker muscles harder in the gym will eventually produce the same result, but without the "balance of the mind" to go with it. Plus, you lose the flexibility overall, if yoga isn't adapted as part of your routine.

In many gyms I notice a lot of testosterone flowing, and hence, a lot of ego. In that atmosphere the mind is prone to an excited state, which often produces poor form and ultimately accidents. When poor form is present while working out with weights, you are more likely to hurt yourself, tear a muscle, tendon or even dislocate a joint.

By incorporating yoga into your regular regime, you learn about quieting the mind, achieving your goals with proper form through focus and concentration. These qualities will enhance your workout experience in ways you aren't prepared for. We've all been taught that building muscles in a gym is the pinnacle of body preparedness and fitness, well, once you've experienced yoga taught properly you will gain in your overall fitness in greatly.

When the mind is allowed to function without chaos it focuses on the task at hand with clarity of purpose. Concentration is heightened and quantum leaps are made both physically and mentally. Yoga provides a doorway to that area of the brain, which brings astounding results no matter what you are pursuing, add it to your exercise routine and you will see improvements in all areas of your body.

I realize that a lot of huffing and puffing and grunting go along with weightlifting, but you might be amazed to find what you can do with a quiet mind and a focused body. Yoga will provide that edge to do more than ever before.

As the old saying goes, "There are more than one way to skin a cat." Well, there are many ways to obtain a taut and lean body, combining yoga with any of them will get you to your goals more quickly.

Keith Edwin Renninson is co-owner, along with Jeffrey Forman, of Golden Years Videos, LLC a production company dedicated to offering exercise videos for those over 50 or of any age who are rehabilitating from an accident or illness. Renninson is an avid exercise and yoga enthusiast. Now in his late 50’s, he still races bicycles and regularly skis the black diamond runs in Colorado where he lives. For many years, a bona fide gym rat, Renninson still loves to lift free weights and use exercise machines.