Reasons to Add Yoga into Your Workout Routine

So, you already have a workout routine that works well for you. You are getting in your cardio and your weight training.

But maybe you still have some flexibility issues, and you want something to give you an option for muscles and strength training.

One way to do that is to add yoga and pilates to your workout routine. Considering these benefits if you aren’t sure this will work for you.

Leaner Muscle

One of the main benefits of adding yoga and pilates to your workout routine is to work on leaner muscle. You may notice that your muscles are building if you are already doing weight lifting or weight training.

This is great, but you may want them to be leaner, offering more flexibility to you in your day and in your workouts overall.

Yoga and Pilates can give you that easily, and is one of the main reasons that people do add it to their workout plans.

Stretching Benefits

You may think that stretching goes hand in hand with leaner muscle. It does and it doesn’t. Stretching has additional benefits, such as better circulation.

It also helps cut down on inflammation from other workouts. In addition, the stretching portions of yoga and pilates are instrumental in improved posture.

You can also find that your range of motion gets better when you add the stretching of yoga and pilates to your current workout routine.

Better Body Awareness

Yoga provides you with the ability to have increased body awareness. This increased body awareness lets you notice if you have strains in parts of your body, you would not normally notice.

You can also notice if you have increased inflammation in areas or if you simply have pain you should not have. Body awareness is an ideal reason to add yoga and pilates to your workout plan and routine.

Meditation

Yoga and pilates also bring in meditation to your daily workout and workout plan. This can help you handle stress easily and help you work through problems and issues that you normally would not think of during your normal workout.

This can be a huge benefit if you are overly stressed and concerned about your stress levels during your day.

By keeping these benefits in mind, you can begin to look through many yoga and pilates styles to find the ones that work best for you and your lifestyle.

Remember, many styles, like Barre, combine yoga and pilates to maximize your time and effort.

Since we mentioned stretching, here’s a little more about the Importance of Stretching

You may have a tough time figuring out what workout may work best for you. This is a problem many people have. With busy schedules and limited time, you may not know what options will help.

One thing you can do is stretch at home. If you aren’t sure how this would benefit your health or health goals, consider these important key points about stretching at home.

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Increased Flexibility 

One of the key benefits of stretching at home is to increase your flexibility. This is vital if you are doing other workouts or fitness plans. For example, if you are working towards a 5k as a goal then the increased flexibility will help with your running.

It can help increase your strides, and you may find that it helps your muscles feel more energized and less stiff. This benefit also helps with yoga and other health and fitness aspects.

Reduced Injuries

Stretching at home is important for reducing injuries as well. If your muscles are tight and not used to flexing, then you may have issues with them locking up or being in pain during workouts. This can lead to strains and pulls or even tears in your muscles.

Stretching, especially on a routine, can help you reduce these injuries and keep things running smoothly. This is an ideal and important benefit for yoga practitioners or runners.

Increased Preparedness

If you plan on doing short workouts during your day, then you may want to keep this in mind. Stretching at home can help you take those workouts during your workday a little easier. For example, you will prepare your muscles for lunchtime walks, runs, or stair climbing.

Though you should be stretching before you do the workouts as well, you may not be able to get a full stretch in. This means you will have the full stretch and increased preparedness for the workout ahead.

Reduced Inflammation

Inflammation is a huge issue for most people who are starting a workout plan or getting ready to workout. If you want to reduce inflammation, you want to stretch at home.

Stretching works the muscles and helps reduce the chance of swelling and inflammation due to tight muscles and related issues. It also increases circulation, which helps reduce inflammation.

By keeping these points in mind, you can make a stretching routine work for you throughout your day and help with any workouts you may add into your day.

Remember that you can add more stretches, change the stretching into yoga workouts, or work your stretching around the benefits it offers.