These Yoga for bodybuilders will make you Flexible & pain free!
Why do I want to emphasize on the yoga stretches for bodybuilders?
Even the basic yoga for beginners are great for body builders. It will help you reduce the tightness all over your body.
Basic Yoga will help you prevent injuries associated with heavy weight lifting and will create a better mind muscle awareness.
And you do not have to go through tough daily yoga routines either.
Some basic yoga steps for beginners will also do.
No matter what yoga pose you do, there will be a ton of benefits of yoga for weightlifters.
Scroll below to see my favourite Yoga poses to do if you do a strength training workout!
Must Do Yoga Poses for Bodybuilders!
You might need long resistance bands or a set of resistance bands or other equipments like Yoga blocks or Yoga mats. Depending on what you want to do and where you want to do Yoga.
You may want to check out the benefits of doing yoga for body builders first! Not only body builders, for any athlete.
The top benefits of yoga for bodybuilders
Posture Correction:
Most of the time I am not in the gym. I am in front of the damn computer working to eat good food to increase weight.
And this takes a toll on my posture.
Rounded shoulder, low back and hip pain and all.
Yoga postures like Gomukhasana, Rajkapotasana, Bajrasana will help a lot.
People from US, UK etc have given these other names, but I will mostly refer to them with their original names as much as possible.
Posture correction should be the no 1 reason to do the yoga for body builders.
Improved range of motion
Hear that pop, creak on your shoulder when you’re lifting your arms up? Or the clicks in your knee joints? Due to heavy weight lifting, almost all of us will face this issue. Weight training limits us to a pattern of movements.
Where simple basic yoga asanas for weight loss will improve your range of motion.
Take the example of the Gomukhasana, it will heal and improve your shoulder and knee joint mobility exponentially.
Improving the range of motion and mobility improvement should be the no 2 reason to do the yoga for body builders.
Reduced Stress
Yoga includes controlled breathing, meditation and relaxation technique which might help reduce stress and lower fast heart rates.
In general, any workout relieves stress, and yoga does the same.
Improved back pain
While sitting all day and may be from that extra heavy deadlift your lower back is in pain now. But a mobility routine including yoga poses like cat cow will help.
I do this every day after workout session to keep my whole back in good shape.
This will improve your back health and reduce pain.
You might want to take a look into Foam rollers also!
Better Balance
Stances like Surya Namaskar, warrior pose, Downward dog pose etc focuses on your stabilizer muscles. And this helps with maintaining poses during tough exercises like single legged deadlift.
Shoulder Improvement
I used to a lot of push-ups, a lot more than vertical pulling exercise. And as a result, when lifting arm up I had shoulder impingement. But with rotator cuff extensions, a few yoga exercises would help.
Breathing issues
Pranayam is one of the basic yoga breathing exercises. And this do wonder to calm your mind and improve breathing. Doing various pranayam asanas you will improve your lung capacity which will help you with running and bodybuilding.
Hold that position
Doing nothing and staying still is a different thing. And many tough yoga hold poses makes you do just that.
These exercises will help you maintain your balance and also strengthen your muscles. Overall while you will get better with balance with your gym routine.
Must-do Yoga for Bodybuilders! For Recovery!
I personally do these yoga poses, 1-2 times weekly, and they help me with my shoulder impingement, hip mobility, ankle mobility, upper back pain.
All these yoga asanas for joint pain can be done by others too who do not lift weights.
Downward Dog Pose
This is what I do after a workout session. This Downward Dog pose stretches my hamstrings, calves, ankles, shoulders. All the areas that I feel tight every day.
Also since you have to hold this position, it helps with core muscle toning also.
While doing Downward Dog pose, spread your fingers to get a better grip. You might consider a yoga mat as well.
Push your belly button to your pelvis. These are the basic yoga tips that I can give you. Rest you can simply follow from Youtube.
Many also include this in their morning yoga poses.
Cat-Cow Pose
This cat cow pose is a live saver. This helps me with my shoulder impingement and weak middle back. All you have to do is get on your knees, keep your hands straight and then bend up and down from your back.
I feel a stretch in my core, my spine flexibility is also tested, and upper back gets also stretched.
Are resistance bands good for building muscle?
While doing the Cat Cow pose, inhale while tilting your pelvis back for the cow pose. And exhale while doing the cat pose.
It will also do wonders if you sit on a chair the whole day for work or study. I consider Cat cow as one of my daily yoga poses.
Gomukhasana
Back problems, tight back muscles, shoulder issues? If yes then you should turn to Gomukhasana. They call it the Cow face pose.
The hand position alone will help with stretching the back and shoulder muscles. Great for stiff shoulders and upper back pain.
And due to the hand position, you will feel a stretch on your triceps as well.
And the leg position will challenge your hips. This will also help you with hip mobility and stretching.
What should be Yoga mat thickness?
Many Yogis include this in their morning yoga stretch routine.
Warrior Pose
The warrior pose is very easy to do and can be included into your postworkout routine. This will open up your chest, work on the thigh and shoulder muscles. Warrior pose will also help with stretching abs and improve overall balance.
Warrior pose does have tougher versions too, so if you are well adapt with the basic versions then do the more advances poses of the warrior 🙂
Butterfly Pose
Improve inner thigh and groin area strength and flexibility with this asana. This will lower down the chances of knee and hip pain drastically. This butterfly pose will open up your hips, stretches inner thigh muscles.
You will feel the effects of this yoga pose when you will be doing leg workouts.
Raj kapotasana
many cal it the 90 90 pose etc but for us Indians it is the Rajkapotasana. This is one of the best yoga poses for leg flexibility. It helps me with stretching the sides of the femur, improving hip mobilizing.
The full King pegion pose also opens up chest and shoulders, improves lower back pain and stimulates abdominal organs.
This is one of the yoga for bodybuilders. It really helps with increasing flexibility, mobility so you can lift heavy safer.
Cobra Pose
This is another pose also known as Vujangasan. This helps with stretching the spinal cord. And also stretches the abs too. Overall, this is a great yoga pose for those who sit and work for a long time.
Yoga for Muscle Building
By increasing your flexibility and increasing the strength of your stabilizing muscles, yoga helps you build more muscle. There are many specific forms of yoga. Like yoga for lower body strength, Yoga for shoulders but, for basic flexibility and mobility this list of 5-10 basic yoga poses are enough.
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Yoga will prevent injuries, make you flexible and your stabilizer muscles will be strong so you can lift heavy in the gym easily. Thus with proper diet you will gain lot of mass painlessly with Yoga.
Which Yoga Poses Build the Most Muscle?
- Surya Namaskar
- Warrior Pose
- Chaturanga pose/ Plank
- Boat Pose
- Chair Pose
- Horse Pose
- Hand stands
All these yoga poses makes you stand still and balance. These are all compound exercises in nature and ultimately help you build overall muscle mass.
And as an added benefit they do not damage your joints.
But if you wish to bulk doing yoga, then it is not going to happen. For that reason I am not going into detail for these yoga poses for bodybuilders. But they do pose a challenge and you can do it on your off days or during your de-load period.
Benefits of Building Muscle Through Yoga
The key benefit of building muscles through yoga is that yoga challenges you to do some movements that are not possible with weight lifting. you develop so much functional strength with yoga that you can not do with bodybuilding at all.
Yoga by nature also affects the inner organs and may improve heart, kidney, liver issues as per ancient texts and Ayurveda.
Yoga asanas are compound movement which involves a lot of muscles, thus it improves coordination and overall physical strength.
Yoga by nature challenges your body’s rigidity and pushes you to be more flexible. This is one of the key benefit where you can grow strength and flexibility doing only one exercise.
By making you more flexible, improving your body posture, improving your recovery time shorter, yoga helps you build more muscle.
And also yoga is a low impact workout so your joints are safe too.
Optimizing Yoga Practices for Muscle Growth
To do yoga poses for best optimal effect, you should do them separately on yoga days.
Or
You can do this early in the morning.
Or do after your main workouts.
I do them after my main workouts and this helps me do the stretching and my sore muscles heal faster.
And you can also do resistance band exercises too!
FAQ
Can you get fit just doing yoga?
Yes, you can get fit by just doing yoga. Yoga will make you strong and flexible. But to gain weight with lean muscle or to have great endurance, you have either do weight training or do some running training.
Do I need to lift weights if I do yoga?
No, yoga does not need requires you to lift weights. But you can always lift weights to get strong. Weights also help with getting bigger in terms of gaining lean muscle mass.
What does yoga do to muscles?
Yoga makes muscle regain their elasticity and lose the rigidity. If you do yoga after workout, it will also help your sore muscles heal faster. And ultimately you will become more flexible and functionally strong. This will help you perform better in your weight lifting sessions.
Can you get in shape from yoga?
If you are looking to lose weight with yoga then fix your diet first. Get in caloric deficit diet and then do asanas every day. You will lose weight, tone your muscles for flexibility and strength altogether.
What type of yoga builds muscle?
Yoga positions that are isometrics in nature, like shirsason, warrior pose, planks, boat pose, chair pose etc are good yoga poses for building muscles.
Can Yoga build muscles?
Yoga can build your muscles, but not the way how weights work. They can not make you get large with progressive overload. But yoga can help you tone your muscles, improve flexibility and thus indirectly can help you build muscles.
Can I do yoga and workout?
Yoga and strength workout are easy to do together and go well together. While weight training can make your stronger and bigger, yoga will make you flexible and keep any pain away.
Can you get big from yoga?
For bigger muscles, you will need weight training with progressive overload, so you can not get big from yoga. Since doing progressive overload is kinda hard using yoga.
Is yoga better than bodybuilding?
Yoga and bodybuilding both are different. And both have their own place. Bodybuilding is great for increasing overall body mass and strength. Whereas yoga can cure illness, improve joints, improve flexibility and range of motion.
How many times a week should you do yoga to see results?
Since doing yoga is not that taxing, you can do it every day. Then you can see the results within 7 days at least. For example, if you are doing Cat Cow pose, you could see yourself getting better quickly and will also be more flexible and have less upper back and shoulder pain.
Can you keep fit with yoga?
Yes, yoga can be very demanding and touches the realm of isometric training. Yoga is also a low impact workout style, it can help you with mobility, flexibility and toning your muscles. Thus, doing yoga you can keep fit easily.
Can body builders do yoga?
Yes, bodybuilders can do yoga and yoga is good for bodybuilders. It gives them the added benefits of faster recovery, less joint problems, stretching and more.
Ref: Effects of Yoga (Research Paper)
