Last Friday I blogged about my thoughts on yoga and that I would be participating in one of the classes on Sunday. Well, I did, so now I have some things to day.

1. I did enjoy the class, it was relaxing while still being challenging enough to make some sweat slide off my head and onto the purple yoga mat. But, I feel relaxed and the endorphins flowing when I do heavy deadlifts too.

2. Yes, there is a lot of lumbar flexion and rotation in some of the yoga poses and stretches. That still bothered me although the instructor did mention that you should not do the movements if you feel discomfort in the low back.

3. I need to stretch my calves more

4. Thanks to single leg training (single legged squats/deadlifts and lunges) I was able to do all of the 1-foot poses without issue.

5. A good instructor is crucial. Our instructor Jenn gave clear and concise step by step instructions that made it easy to visualize the movements (although I had to look around a few times to make sure I was doing certain things correctly)

6. I will be going back as long as it fits in my schedule. We record The FitCast on Sunday mornings, so I need to see if we can record earlier or later as the class is at 11am. In my opinion, for some yoga is a good complementary form of exercise for healthy active individuals with no low back pain or major asymmetry issues.

And again, one more picture of Moon Bloodgood:

Yoga…Well…Yoga is… OK, I will admit, I am not a huge fan of yoga. It isn’t because I don’t think it is a good form of exercise because I do. It is defiantly better than nothing. It isn’t because I don’t want to have “better sex” (see picture to left). It isn’t because I think it is exclusively for women.

I am not a big fan of yoga because people taking the classes could may hurt themselves by:

• Becoming more mobile in the lumbar spine (which will most likely lead to low back issues)
• Hip flexors becoming too mobile: Many men won’t have a problem with this but Eric Cressey’s article on Yoga points out that, “In consideration of the fact that the majority of those doing yoga and Pilates are female, this is an even bigger issue; women tend to carry their weight too far forward already, and they already have a tendency toward anterior pelvic tilt and lumbar hyperextension.” Check out the article here.
• Not gaining lean body mass, strength or increasing bone density by doing load bearing movements (I am looking at you 40 and older women) to prevent osteoporosis.
• Thinking that exercising in a 90 degree room will make them “burn fat” faster

Nonetheless, I will be taking a yoga class on Sunday before recording The FitCast. There are two reasons why I am doing this.

1. I want to become more flexible in my lower body including my hips
2. I can’t bash something I haven’t personally tried, otherwise I am an ignorant bastard

I will be coming in with my full impressions on this week’s show. Wish me luck.

And for the record, I will do yoga, pilates, Tracy Anderson’s complete DVD series, jazzercise…anything with Moon Bloodgood. If you haven’t do so already, check out Journeyman

]]> http://thefitcast.com/yoga-so-i-am-taking-a-class-on-sunday/feed 4 http://thefitcast.com/yoga-this-and-pilates-that http://thefitcast.com/yoga-this-and-pilates-that#comments Thu, 24 Aug 2006 01:57:30 +0000 Kevin Larrabee http://thefitcast.com/?p=82 By: Eric Cressey, MA, CSCS
Ever since Mike Robertson and I introduced our Magnificent Mobility DVD, we’ve been inundated with email inquiries about how what we’re recommending is different from yoga and Pilates. And, those that actually appreciate the difference keep asking what we think about it.

Let me preface this entire article by saying that I’m all for anything that makes people enthusiastic about exercise, or gives individuals an outlet to relieve stress. If you’re not moving, you need to move – regardless of what it takes to make you do so. With that said, I gave these two modalities three strikes before I called them “out.” Here are my main issues with Yoga and Pilates:

Strike #1

They don’t differentiate between good and bad range of motion. That is, these disciplines look at being limber as being healthy. This assumption couldn’t be further from the truth.

The truth of the matter is that certain joints in our body – the ankles, hips, and thoracic spine for instance – require more MOBILITY training because they’re too stable/tight. Conversely, some joints – most notably the lumbar spine and glenohumeral (shoulder) joint – require a lot more stability training because they’re too mobile. Every joint in our body is designed to function with a delicate balance of mobility and stability; some just need more of one than the other.

My main concern with yoga and Pilates is the tremendous amount of lumbar hyperextension that occurs; this is the LAST thing you want at the lumbar spine. Most back problems are extension-based; that is, people get excessive ROM at their lumbar spine because they lack ROM at their hips, or they’re just too weak to prevent it at the lumbar spine.

In my view, being “limber” is another way of saying that you’re “unstable.” This is not a good thing. Limber people easily break down on the athletic fields, and they even get injured with ordinary activities like carrying groceries.

Strike #2

Of secondary concern is the excessive recruitment of hip flexors. In consideration of the fact that the majority of those doing yoga and Pilates are female, this is an even bigger issue; women tend to carry their weight too far forward already, and they already have a tendency toward anterior pelvic tilt and lumbar hyperextension.

I’ve worked with loads of female athletes from the youth to professional levels – and I can’t say that I’ve ever looked at one of them and said, “She needs Yoga/Pilates to get stronger, faster, healthier, or leaner.” Now, if these are athletes who in some cases are devoting 3-4 hours per day to training – and they still don’t need Yoga/Pilates – why is it that the average female weekend warrior who has 3-4 hours per week to devote to exercise is CONVINCED that these modalities are the Holy Grail of exercise?

Just to confirm my “intuition,” I contacted a few of the industry’s top performance enhancement coaches and personal trainers. I asked them a simple yes/no question:

Your female client has five hours per week to train. She wants to look good, get stronger, and perform better in the sports of her choice. Are yoga or Pilates going to occupy any of the five hours in the program you write for her?”

Mike Robertson, Performance Enhancement Specialist, Indianapolis, IN: “No. Most women already have enough flexibility, so they’d be better served improving core stability, fixing postural imbalances, and putting some more weight on the bar.”

Mike Boyle, Boston University Hockey Strength and Conditioning Coach: “No” – with an entire article to back up his assertions (and nicely complement the one I’m writing)

Sean Skahan, Anaheim Ducks Strength and Conditioning Coach: “No, I wouldn’t.”

Scot Prohaska, Performance Enhancement Specialist, Newport Beach, CA: “Nope.”

Brijesh Patel, College of the Holy Cross Associated Head of Strength and Conditioning: No, I would not include it into the program that I write; if she did it, it would only be if she asked specifically about yoga or Pilates, and it would be on her own in conjunction with the program.”

Julia Ladewski, University at Buffalo Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach: “For someone with limited time who wants to improve athletic performance, I would not include yoga or Pilates in her workout schedule. I believe dynamic mobility work (as in your DVD) will give her all she needs in that area. So much more of her time needs to be devoted to strength training, getting stronger, conditioning work for her sport, etc. Her time to be devoted outside of sport skill is limited, so she needs to make the most of it in these areas.”

Erik Ledin, Bodybuilding and Figure Competition Contest Prep Expert: “Definitely not; time is better spent on other activities.”

Mike Irr, Chicago Bulls Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach: “I’m going to have to say no on using the five hours for yoga or Pilates – at least not on my time! I think there are so many things that strength coaches can do to better improve her physique and performance in the weight room or track. Plus, a lot of things that you can do during the workout between sets here and there can borrow the favorable elements from Pilates or yoga – if she really, really needs them!”

Strike #3

Third, many of the movements used in yoga and Pilates only train flexibility – not mobility. Mobility implies that you have STABILITY in the ROM that you achieve; you need to have strength to support your body weight in all those extremes. Having excessive ROM without strength in those ROMs is actually a big risk factor for injury, so excessive static stretching can be a huge problem.

Additionally, I almost never stretch female athletes’ hamstrings. They are quad-dominant enough already; why would I want to inhibit their weakest muscles? Stretch it, and it gets slower and weaker – and it’s ability to prevent anterior tibial translation diminishes. English translation? Your ACL has to do a lot more of the work, and we know all too well that ACLs pop much more easily in females in light of biomechanical differences in their body types when compared to men.

An Important Note

I don’t want to throw the baby out with the bath water, though; there are good aspect to yoga and Pilates; I just wish people would take more time to qualify their recommendations. Movements that encourage ROM at the lumbar spine should be discouraged, and the same goes for those that involve long isometric actions of the hip flexors.

Additionally, if you’re too weak to punch your way out of a wet paper bag, you’d be better off spending your time lifting weights than taking yoga and Pilates classes. From functional carryover and aesthetic improvements perspectives, lifting weights is far superior.

So, in the grand scheme of things, women don’t need more yoga and Pilates classes. They need to get stronger, and focus on mobility and activation training that enhances stability in the ROM that they’ve already achieved. Additionally, they need to learn to stabilize the lumbar spine instead of tying it into knots.

I recognize that, in writing this article, I’ve probably once-and-for-all given up my change to ever date a yoga or Pilates instructor. If it’s going to save a lot of people a lot of back pain, though, that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.

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