Hey!
Anyone out here doing YOGA, as a complement to regular triathlon training?
I´m starting to enjoy doing a bit of Yoga, after learning some moves from my gf, and was wondering if there are any benefits from doing this as part of a regular triathlon training routine.
I do yoga at lunch time on mondays. My work brings in an instructor from a local yoga studio.
I think its good for increasing flexibility and helping with recovery. Its also helps me relax and relieve stress. I always feel better after yoga.
I do something very much like Yoga … well, it’s* like* Yoga in a way that Scrambled Eggs are like Crème brûlée
Y’know … as a Surfer, I should like Yoga … I mean it’s all about Balance and slowness and calm and so on; which is kinda how I am, really … but once I get a DVD on or something OnDemand and I try it … I’m all like: “Okay, I can touch my toes. Great! Can we move on here? I haven’t got all day! What’s next? Move it people!”
It certainly has lots of fans. I’ve tried it. S’ok. But until it becomes (a) free, and (b) something done at my convenience I’m good with stretching and massage in my living room in front of the tube.
I did it 3 times a week through the months of Nov & Dec last year.
The block of 9 weeks at three times a week was long enough and consistent enough. It seemed to help with flexibility, strength and balance.
Let’s be honest though- it’s not going to do much to help with triathlon. And if you do it less than 2-3 times a week- it won’t do much at all.
It seems like there is a lot of cross training, strength work, etc. going on.
Yet most people seem to find it hard to fit in a minimum amount of swim/bike/run.
Being a good swim/bike/runner makes one a great all round athlete.
Being a bad swim/bike/runner/cross trainer makes one a great all round flake.
I did yoga once. Hot yoga. I felt like I was doing wall sits on the surface of the f*cking sun. It was terrible. On top of that - due to the training in the heat - I started to sweat buckets 10 seconds into this 1.5 hour death stretch.
So I let my girlfriend do Yoga - because when it comes time to get rewarded for cleaning the kitchen - that is all that matters - is that she is flexible. Not me.
I have started doing yoga 2x a week. It has helped me with some IT band flair ups. My legs are usually roasted from training when going in to a session and I feel like it helps with leg strength in a different way than straight up running and biking. I would say if you have a quality instructor it will help.
I’ve just started doing yoga within the past couple of months
I think it is helping with my inflexible hips and ankles.
A nice easy Hatha yoga is a great rest day activity (especially if you have any flexibility, IT band, or core strength deficiencies)
Well… I do believe that strength training and stretching are a must, if you want to have durability. If you want to avoid crashing and burning after a couple of seasons.
I did yoga once. Hot yoga.
I let my girlfriend do Yoga - because when it comes time to get rewarded for cleaning the kitchen - that is all that matters - is that she is flexible. Not me.
That’s HOT
It certainly has lots of fans. I’ve tried it. S’ok. But until it becomes (a) free, and (b) something done at my convenience I’m good with stretching and massage in my living room in front of the tube.
This is where I ended up.
Everybody told me, “You should do yoga. You should do yoga.”
Fine. I’ll check it out. Holy hell…$135 a month for “unlimited” classes, of which I’d probably make 1, maybe 2, a week max.
For $135 a month, I better be getting a little Active Release Technique, if you know what I mean.
I do YOGA and I would disagree with the comment about it not really helping out with triathlon much. I bought the DVD called “The Athlete’s Guide to Yoga” which has moves that focus on strengthening key muscle groups that are important for stability. I’ve had issues these last several years with my ITB and this winter I’ve decided to include this workout at least once a week in my training. This is the first year where I seem to have managed to finish a race without flaring up the ITB. The warrior poses and lunges really work the glutes, knees, and hips, which are the route of all ITB issues. I think it is a great addition to toss into training.
doyogawithme.com is free and has numerous videos. I do the “rise and shine” a lot as it’s 30 minutes and has a mix of core and stretching. Also do one for sciatic relief and one titled deep release for hips, hamstring and lower back.
I do yoga 3x per week mainly for flexibility and recovery purposes. I use the Spinervals/Flexible Warrior 3.0 - Flexibility for Swim, Bike, Run video. It’s basically four 15-20 minute routines (Energy, Swim, Bike, Run).
I wish I had more time to do it regularly. During the winter I try for twice a week but during the warm months if I can get in once a week I’m doing good. Great for body and mind. Keeps me long, loose and strong in different ways from regular training.
No.
Not enough time to for s/b/r so adding something else has less value than adding more s/b/r.
Now if you have unlimited time - I’m sure it can’t hurt.
I have done yoga, but I hate it. It’s boring, droning pseudo religious and time consuming.
But, it works.
Even just once a week it showed me where I was weak and loosened up my hips for a better stride.
It might even help in terms of bike positioning. Did for me.
It’s a no brainer for the rest day.
But I still hate it.
First, talking about a generic “yoga” isnt really useful. As it is practiced, “yoga” is anything from a recovery activity to another hard workout. So what you get from it depends largely on the type you are doing.
Second, it wont help your S-B-R, for the same reasons that increased flexibility, increased strength, or more core work wont improve your S-B-R either.
Finally, if you want to do it anyway, and believe deep down in your heart of hearts that it makes you faster and more injury resistant, then tear it up. Confidence in your program is crucial.
I will disagree with a lot of the comments about how yoga will not help your swim/bike/run. I do Functional Movement Screening as part of my bike fit process and as a standalone service. FMS is not perfect, but it’s interesting. The basic premise is that for us to be able to perform to our potential and avoid injury, we need to be able to move well.
As athletes, we tend to ask ourselves “what can I do to be better at my sport?”, and the first and most obvious answer is to train specifically for it - to get stronger through specificity. To perform well as a human, we have to have an appropriate amount of flexibility, stability, and strength, and strength is dependent on a solid base of stability and flexibility. Swim, bike, and run can be time-consuming and being able to do any kind of cross-training becomes a matter of time management and if time spent doing something else is going to get you the same gains that you can get by focusing on sport-specific training. Will 1 hour of yoga be as effective as 1 hour of cycling? That depends on what is limiting you. In other words, what is your “glass ceiling”?
When I do Functional Movement Screening for someone, I can usually uncover some interesting limitations and get a better understanding of their human performance profile - maybe they are strong as an ox but stiff as a board. Maybe they are flexible, but instable. I see a lot of overuse injuries, especially with triathletes. Often, we will identify something they knew they had (and didn’t think it was worth mentioning). With FMS, we can then target those deficiencies with a few corrective exercises that can be done - maybe 5-10 minutes a day a few times a week - that can be used to enhance existing training. Often, people don’t want to do it or give it a try a few times and forget about it - “no time! Gotta swim, bike, and run!” I understand that.
With all that said, I’ve screened and fit a lot of triathletes and cyclists. The best FMS score I’ve seen is 15 out of 21. I’ve only seen one of those, and a handful of 14s. The people that scored well have all practiced yoga somewhat regularly. That’s just a trend I’ve noticed. Most of my customers score between 7 and 10 - they move pretty poorly, and are an injury waiting to happen, if they aren’t already injured. Most of my customers come to me because they have pain or discomfort on the bike. Usually, they also want to find a way to get faster on the bike, and they have reached that realization because they’ve plateaued. Sometimes, throwing something different into the mix will help overcome that plateau.
Triathlon can and should be part of a balanced, healthy lifestyle. Yoga can also be part of a balanced, healthy lifestyle. So, I say go for it.