Yoga For Bodybuilder Athletes

As a strength and conditioning specialist, I've heard clients say that bodybuilding and yoga are diametrically opposed activities.

Bodybuilders appear to believe that yoga is primarily used to achieve deep relaxation rather than provide a "real" workout for muscular growth and strength.

While people may engage in bodybuilding or yoga for a variety of mental and physical benefits, the two disciplines actually complement one another quite well. Weightlifting helps to build bulk, but it can also result in muscle shortening and tightening. This is where yoga comes in handy. Yoga relaxes tight muscles and increases range of motion, allowing you to reach your full fitness potential.

A healthy range of motion promotes the efficient development of muscle strength, which in turn improves athletic performance.

Even when done correctly by experienced lifters, bodybuilders are constantly putting significant tension and pressure on their muscles and joints through repetitive weightlifting. Incorporating yoga poses into an exercise routine can help to counteract this stress on the body by encouraging a focus on deep, full breathing, muscle group stabilization and alignment, and joint protection.

plank of wood. Planks help to build a strong core by strengthening your deep abdominals and spine stabilizers, which helps to support strenuous bodybuilding exercise. This posture will also help you condition the muscles around your shoulder blades and collarbones, which are often overlooked during exercise. Holding planks develops isometric strength in many of the posterior muscle groups, including the muscles along the spine, shoulders, and glutes. Side planks can also be used to activate your obliques while also stretching the sides of your body and increasing overall flexibility.

Assume a push-up position, then bend your elbows and lower yourself onto your forearms to perform a plank. Put your shoulders over your elbows and your heels over your toes. Maintain a long line with your body by keeping your head in line with your spine (no dropping down or looking up). Hold on for about 20 seconds while keeping your abdominals engaged to support your lower back. By being mindful of your alignment at all times, you can gradually increase your hold time for the pose to about two minutes.

After you've gotten used to traditional planks, try side planks. Lie on your right side with your legs straight and fully extended. Rest your forearm on your forearm, with your elbow directly beneath your shoulder. Prop your body up, keeping your abs contracted at all times. Your body should form a single line without raising or lowering your head (also, your hips should not drop). Hold the pose for about 30 seconds before lowering yourself. Repeat two or three times on each side.

This pose, also known as the "bird dog pose," assists in the development of a strong back through resistance training exercises. It also helps to strengthen the glutes and the abdominals.

Begin on all fours, with your hands and knees shoulder-width apart. Engage your lower abdominals and raise your right arm and left leg off the floor, bringing them in line with your body. Hold for a few breaths before returning to all fours and repeating on the opposite side. Repeat this process a few more times. (This exercise is most effective if you do a few repetitions on each side.)

This asana is reminiscent of a cobra with its head raised. It is a backbend that opens the chest, strengthens the spine muscles, and stretches the front of the shoulders and abdomen. Strengthening the back muscles is essential for developing desirable physical characteristics in bodybuilding, such as a well-developed back and torso. It is even claimed that the condition of a person's back can reveal whether or not they are a bodybuilder!

Begin with a low cobra: Lie on your stomach with your palms next to your chest on either side, fingertips pointing forward. Maintain a broad chest and avoid rounding your shoulders forward. Maintain a flat top with your feet on the mat (toes not curled under). On an inhale, begin to lift your chest away from the floor on an inhale, keeping your hands, hips, and tops of your feet on the mat. Maintain a straight spine and a straight head. Hold the pose for a few full breaths before gently releasing it to the floor.

You can gradually work your way up to a higher cobra pose. Remember that the most important factor is not how high you can lift your chest off the floor, but how smoothly you can do so without straining your low back.

This pose stretches your hamstrings as well as the large hip muscles that originate in the pelvic girdle. It's also excellent for releasing the tension that accumulates during training.

Begin in mountain pose, with your feet parallel and hip-width apart and your hands on your hips. Exhale and hinge forward at your hips, lengthening through your spine and torso (it's okay to bend your knees). Put your fingertips on the ground. If you are unable to touch the floor, keep the posture safe by bending your knees until all of your fingertips are on the ground (or bring the ground up to you by placing your hands on blocks).

As you lift your bottom toward the sky, let your head relax and hang down. Maintain an even distribution of your weight, centered over the arches of your feet. It is critical to value a long spine over straight legs (you may find that bending your knees can help you find more length in your spine).

When you're ready to exit the pose, bend your knees (if they aren't already bent) and come to a half-forward bend. As you straighten your arms and lengthen your spine, reaching back through your hips and forward through the crown of your head, keep your fingertips on the floor or blocks or slide your hands up onto your shins. Then, bring your hands to your hips and raise your elbows to the sky. As you rise to stand, keep your spine long (avoid rolling up).

Pose This is a simple pose that will help stretch the backs of your legs. It also has a calming effect that will help you get through the day's difficulties. It's a great way to complement a yoga practice, but it can also be done on its own.

Place a rolled foam mat, rolled thick blankets, or a yoga bolster about six to eight inches from the wall as a support for the legs-up-the-wall pose. Sit to the left of your support, with your right hip against the wall, and roll to the right, onto your back, legs up the wall. You can start by bending your knees and placing the soles of your feet on the wall, then walking up the wall to straighten your legs again as you slide your butt forward (it may have slid back as you were coming into the pose).

Draw your legs as close together as you can comfortably with your buttocks below the support (either touching or close to the wall). Extend your arms out to the sides. Relax your jaw and face. You can use a pillow, low cushion, or folded blanket to support your head and neck if you want.

If you don't have a free wall nearby, you can practice "legs on a chair pose," which involves bending your knees and resting your lower legs on the seat of a chair.