Yoga Exercise Benefits Vs. Aerobic Execise

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The dimensions of fitness include flexibility, strength, muscular endurance and cardiovascular capacity. In addition, the amount of body fat can be influenced by your fitness level. Yoga stretches and strengthens your body. Aerobics strengthens the heart and lungs while quickly burning calories to lose or maintain your weight. To pursue a well-rounded fitness program, understand the different ways in which yoga and aerobics affect the body.

Hatha Yoga Defined

Hatha yoga, literally "sun-moon" yoga, is a system of postures, or "asanas," sometimes pulled together by transitional movements called "vinyasas". This is the yoga most Americans are familiar with, where people stand on one leg or on their head or twist themselves into pretzel-like shapes.

Hatha Yoga Benefit: Flexibility

Asanas promote flexibility. For example, "surya namaskar," or the sun salutation, moves the body forward and backward systematically through a sequence of stretches that targets almost every major muscle group. Asanas are commonly held for a minimum of 15 seconds, following the American College of Sports Medicine's guidelines for maintaining flexibility.

Hatha Yoga Benefits: Muscular Strength and Endurance

Many asanas also strengthen the body. To sustain a pose, muscle groups must work against gravity. In "chataranga dandasana," sometimes called "low plank," for example, you hover off the floor at the bottom of a push-up. The muscles of your chest, shoulders, upper and lower back as well as your abdominals, legs and buttocks all work strenuously to maintain this position. As you use yoga, your strength will increase and over time you will also develop muscular endurance.

Aerobic Exercise Defined

Cardiovascular-conditioning exercise is any activity sustained for 10 minutes or more that uses the large muscle groups and boosts heart and breathing rates. Examples include brisk walking, running, bicycling, dancing, cross-country skiing and rowing. In 1968, physician Dr. Kenneth Cooper coined the term "aerobics," meaning "activities with oxygen" to describe these activities when used for fitness exercise.

Aerobic Exercise Benefits: Cardiovascular Conditioning

The most important reason to include aerobics in your fitness training is to improve the function of your heart, lungs and circulatory system. The heart is a muscle, and any muscle that is trained regularly will get stronger. Your lungs also benefit from deeper, more complete breathing, which improves their function. In addition, your blood vessels become stronger and more pliable with aerobic training, improving circulation throughout your body.

Aerobic Exercise Benefits: Calorie Burning

Aerobics also quickly burns calories because of the continuous use of large muscle groups, which require fuel to keep working over long periods. Some forms of intense aerobics may burn as much as 10 calories per minute. Think of it like melting a candy bar off your body in half an hour. Calories burned cannot be stored as fat in the body. Additionally, if you are not overeating, your body will tap into fat stores to perform aerobics, and this will lead to weight loss.

Best of Both Worlds

Both methods benefit your body, improving your fitness in different ways. Your goals ultimately determine which elements of fitness you should focus on. For example, if you want to lose weight, focus on aerobics as it will help you burn fat and calories. However, if you have an established cardiovascular regimen and want to prevent injuries, put yoga at the top of your list for the flexibility and muscle strengthening it provides.