• TRENDING
  • Fitness
  • Lifestyle
  • Healthcare
  • Nutrition
  • Shopping
  • Nutrition
  • Life / Sports
  • healthifyme
  • International
  • Nutrition Facts

Healthy Body Revive

SUBSCRIBE
  • Fitness
    FitnessShow More
    the-best-smith-machine-for-your-home-gym-in-2025-–-breaking-muscle
    The Best Smith Machine for Your Home Gym in 2025 – Breaking Muscle
    March 4, 2025
    strongest-pre-workout:-the-best-high-stim-picks-of-2025-–-breaking-muscle
    Strongest Pre-Workout: The Best High-Stim Picks of 2025 – Breaking Muscle
    March 3, 2025
    best-creatine-for-men-of-2025-–-breaking-muscle
    Best Creatine for Men of 2025 – Breaking Muscle
    March 3, 2025
    best-elliptical-machines-of-2025,-reviewed-by-fitness-experts-–-breaking-muscle
    Best Elliptical Machines of 2025, Reviewed by Fitness Experts – Breaking Muscle
    February 7, 2025
    xwerks-motion-review-(2024)
    XWERKS Motion Review (2024)
    December 18, 2023
  • Healthcare
    HealthcareShow More
    No, You Might Not Want to Do 100 Kettlebell Swings a Day—but Here’s How to Crush a Single Really Good One
    May 16, 2025
    these-fitness-trackers-will-help-you-train-smarter-(not-harder)
    These Fitness Trackers Will Help You Train Smarter (Not Harder)
    May 15, 2025
    want-to-do-a-pull-up?-this-bodyweight-exercise-can-help-you-get-there
    Want to Do a Pull-Up? This Bodyweight Exercise Can Help You Get There
    May 12, 2025
    progressive-overload-is-the-gym-secret-you-need-to-finally-hit-your-fitness-goals
    Progressive Overload Is the Gym Secret You Need to Finally Hit Your Fitness Goals
    May 6, 2025
    7-under-desk-treadmills-that-let-you-walk-and-work-at-the-same-time
    7 Under-Desk Treadmills That Let You Walk and Work at the Same Time
    October 10, 2024
  • Lifestyle
    LifestyleShow More
    proximamente-el-10-de-junio-:-25-minute-speed-train-de-joel-freeman
    Próximamente el 10 de junio : 25 Minute Speed Train de Joel Freeman
    May 27, 2025
    a-venir-le-10-juin-:-25-minute-speed-train-de-joel-freeman
    À venir le 10 juin : 25 Minute Speed Train de Joel Freeman
    May 27, 2025
    coming-june-10th:-25-minute-speed-train-by-joel-freeman
    Coming June 10th: 25 Minute Speed Train by Joel Freeman
    May 27, 2025
    before-dry-scooping-pre-workout,-consider-these-risks
    Before Dry Scooping Pre-Workout, Consider These Risks
    October 10, 2024
    can-pre-workout-supplements-help-you-lose-weight?
    Can Pre-Workout Supplements Help You Lose Weight?
    October 9, 2024
  • Nutrition
    NutritionShow More
    do-probiotics-help-you-lose-weight?-find-out-now
    Do Probiotics Help You Lose Weight? Find Out Now
    May 9, 2025
    how-to-talk-to-your-doctor-about-glp-1s:-a-conversation-guide
    How To Talk To Your Doctor About GLP-1s: A Conversation Guide
    May 8, 2025
    fat-burning-supplements-for-men:-hype-or-effective-solution?
    Fat Burning Supplements For Men: Hype Or Effective Solution?
    May 8, 2025
    body-fat-scale:-are-smart-scales-the-smarter-way-to-measure-health?
    Body Fat Scale: Are Smart Scales The Smarter Way To Measure Health?
    May 7, 2025
    indian-height-weight-chart-–-ideal-weight-for-men-and-women-–-healthifyme
    Indian Height Weight Chart – Ideal Weight For Men And Women – HealthifyMe
    October 2, 2024
  • Privacy Policy
Reading: Does Yoga ‘Count’ as Strength Training? Cardio? Both?
Share
  • TRENDING
  • Fitness
  • Lifestyle
  • Healthcare
  • Nutrition
  • Shopping
  • Nutrition
  • Life / Sports
  • healthifyme
  • International
  • Nutrition Facts

Healthy Body Revive

SUBSCRIBE
  • Fitness
    FitnessShow More
    the-best-smith-machine-for-your-home-gym-in-2025-–-breaking-muscle
    The Best Smith Machine for Your Home Gym in 2025 – Breaking Muscle
    March 4, 2025
    strongest-pre-workout:-the-best-high-stim-picks-of-2025-–-breaking-muscle
    Strongest Pre-Workout: The Best High-Stim Picks of 2025 – Breaking Muscle
    March 3, 2025
    best-creatine-for-men-of-2025-–-breaking-muscle
    Best Creatine for Men of 2025 – Breaking Muscle
    March 3, 2025
    best-elliptical-machines-of-2025,-reviewed-by-fitness-experts-–-breaking-muscle
    Best Elliptical Machines of 2025, Reviewed by Fitness Experts – Breaking Muscle
    February 7, 2025
    xwerks-motion-review-(2024)
    XWERKS Motion Review (2024)
    December 18, 2023
  • Healthcare
    HealthcareShow More
    No, You Might Not Want to Do 100 Kettlebell Swings a Day—but Here’s How to Crush a Single Really Good One
    May 16, 2025
    these-fitness-trackers-will-help-you-train-smarter-(not-harder)
    These Fitness Trackers Will Help You Train Smarter (Not Harder)
    May 15, 2025
    want-to-do-a-pull-up?-this-bodyweight-exercise-can-help-you-get-there
    Want to Do a Pull-Up? This Bodyweight Exercise Can Help You Get There
    May 12, 2025
    progressive-overload-is-the-gym-secret-you-need-to-finally-hit-your-fitness-goals
    Progressive Overload Is the Gym Secret You Need to Finally Hit Your Fitness Goals
    May 6, 2025
    7-under-desk-treadmills-that-let-you-walk-and-work-at-the-same-time
    7 Under-Desk Treadmills That Let You Walk and Work at the Same Time
    October 10, 2024
  • Lifestyle
    LifestyleShow More
    proximamente-el-10-de-junio-:-25-minute-speed-train-de-joel-freeman
    Próximamente el 10 de junio : 25 Minute Speed Train de Joel Freeman
    May 27, 2025
    a-venir-le-10-juin-:-25-minute-speed-train-de-joel-freeman
    À venir le 10 juin : 25 Minute Speed Train de Joel Freeman
    May 27, 2025
    coming-june-10th:-25-minute-speed-train-by-joel-freeman
    Coming June 10th: 25 Minute Speed Train by Joel Freeman
    May 27, 2025
    before-dry-scooping-pre-workout,-consider-these-risks
    Before Dry Scooping Pre-Workout, Consider These Risks
    October 10, 2024
    can-pre-workout-supplements-help-you-lose-weight?
    Can Pre-Workout Supplements Help You Lose Weight?
    October 9, 2024
  • Nutrition
    NutritionShow More
    do-probiotics-help-you-lose-weight?-find-out-now
    Do Probiotics Help You Lose Weight? Find Out Now
    May 9, 2025
    how-to-talk-to-your-doctor-about-glp-1s:-a-conversation-guide
    How To Talk To Your Doctor About GLP-1s: A Conversation Guide
    May 8, 2025
    fat-burning-supplements-for-men:-hype-or-effective-solution?
    Fat Burning Supplements For Men: Hype Or Effective Solution?
    May 8, 2025
    body-fat-scale:-are-smart-scales-the-smarter-way-to-measure-health?
    Body Fat Scale: Are Smart Scales The Smarter Way To Measure Health?
    May 7, 2025
    indian-height-weight-chart-–-ideal-weight-for-men-and-women-–-healthifyme
    Indian Height Weight Chart – Ideal Weight For Men And Women – HealthifyMe
    October 2, 2024
  • Privacy Policy
Reading: Does Yoga ‘Count’ as Strength Training? Cardio? Both?
Share
  • Fitness
  • Healthcare
  • Lifestyle
  • Nutrition
  • Privacy Policy
Have an existing account? Sign In
© Foxiz News Network. Ruby Design Company. All Rights Reserved.
Healthy Body Revive > Blog > Healthcare > Does Yoga ‘Count’ as Strength Training? Cardio? Both?
Healthcare

Does Yoga ‘Count’ as Strength Training? Cardio? Both?

Kayne Collins
Last updated: May 20, 2024 5:13 pm
Kayne Collins
Share
5 Min Read
does-yoga-‘count’-as-strength-training?-cardio?-both?
SHARE

As for the functional strength benefit? That comes from doing postures that engage various muscle groups simultaneously and replicate daily actions like bending, lifting, pushing, pulling, squatting, rotating, side-stepping, and more, she adds.

Yoga builds strength, but not necessarily in the same way lifting weights does.

Following in line with the functional benefit, yoga generally strengthens across your entire body, Candace Harding, DPT, a physical therapist specializing in orthopedics and a registered yoga teacher in Arlington, tells SELF. That’s because a lot of classes engage large muscles in your legs, upper body, and core through moves like lunge variations, push-ups, and high plank holds.

But this doesn’t mean yoga smokes every single muscle you have. To challenge certain ones (like your lats, or your broadest back muscle, for example), you really need to pick up weights and pull them toward you, use resistance bands or cables, or do moves like chin-ups, inverted rows, and pull-ups that have you pulling the robust external load that is your bodyweight—all things you likely wouldn’t encounter in a yoga class.

Using this extra resistance is also important if your goal is to improve maximum strength and power, Fryer says, since yoga likely doesn’t deliver enough of a challenge to reap those gains. That’s because in yoga, you can’t make the stimulus heavier, since you’re limited to just using your bodyweight.

Final thing: How much yoga counts as strength training depends on how strong you are to begin with. “It makes a difference where someone’s coming from,” Dr. Harding explains. For example, if you’re brand new to exercise, you’ll probably get a lot of strength benefits from the practice, since moving around your bodyweight will automatically be pretty tough for you, whereas if you’re a regular gym-goer, you may not reap as many perks since you’ll already have a solid baseline level of strength. That said, even experienced weight lifters could see gains by adding yoga to their routine, since it taxes your muscles in a different way, Dr. Harding says—it involves putting your muscles under tension for a greater amount of time than what they’d do in the gym when moving heavier loads for shorter periods. .

Can you consider yoga a cardio workout?

Cardiovascular exercise is generally defined as anything that demands more oxygen intake and involves the cyclical, repeated movement of large muscle groups, Dr. Harding explains. So answering whether yoga counts as cardio “has a lot to do with the pace of the class,” she says.

For instance, classes that have you flowing continuously through movements—like vinyasa, power yoga, and hot yoga—can definitely elevate your heart rate and provide cardio benefits, Fryer says. Just keep in mind that compared to more traditional aerobic activities like running and biking, the aerobic challenge yoga offers is generally “on the more mild side,” Dr. Harding says. Slower-paced sessions, like yin or restorative, wouldn’t provide a cardio challenge.

Similar to the strength benefits, how much cardio yoga provides depends on your current fitness level. “If someone’s been sedentary, yoga may be enough” to qualify as moderate or possibly vigorous-intensity cardio, Dr. Harding says. But for an already active person, it may not bring a ton of heart-boosting benefits.

Yoga also checks a few more boxes too.

If you’re looking to improve your balance, yoga can be a smart choice. Really any type of class that flows through poses (unless it’s designated as “therapeutic” or “slow”) will challenge your ability to keep from wobbling, Dr. Harding says. Specifically, moves that have you standing on one leg—like tree pose, eagle pose, and dancer’s pose—will test, and ultimately bolster, your steadiness. Indeed, a 2015 meta-analysis of six studies involving older adults published in Age and Ageing concluded that yoga led to small gains in balance, as well as moderate boosts in mobility.

You Might Also Like

No, You Might Not Want to Do 100 Kettlebell Swings a Day—but Here’s How to Crush a Single Really Good One

These Fitness Trackers Will Help You Train Smarter (Not Harder)

Want to Do a Pull-Up? This Bodyweight Exercise Can Help You Get There

Progressive Overload Is the Gym Secret You Need to Finally Hit Your Fitness Goals

7 Under-Desk Treadmills That Let You Walk and Work at the Same Time

TAGGED:Fitness / Yoga
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
Leave a comment Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

New Releases

- Advertisement -
Ad image

Trending Stories

this-is-how-long-you-should-rest-between-sets-when-strength-training
Lifestyle

This Is How Long You Should Rest Between Sets When Strength Training

July 24, 2024
8-things-to-know-about-cameron-brink-after-her-wnba-debut
Healthcare

8 Things to Know About Cameron Brink After Her WNBA Debut

May 17, 2024
how-to-do-anjaneyasana-(crescent-lunge)
Lifestyle

How to Do Anjaneyasana (Crescent Lunge)

March 7, 2024
the-importance-of-corporate-nutrition-programs-for-employee-well-being
Nutrition

The Importance Of Corporate Nutrition Programs For Employee Well-being

August 29, 2024
7-must-add-ingredients-for-your-protein-shake
Lifestyle

7 Must-Add Ingredients for Your Protein Shake

May 4, 2024
‘appalling’:-the-paralympic-women’s-cycling-course-is-just-half-the-length-of-the-men’s
Healthcare

‘Appalling’: The Paralympic Women’s Cycling Course Is Just Half the Length of the Men’s

September 4, 2024

Follow US on Social Media

The following Terms and Conditions govern the use of Healthy Body Revive and are in place to protect everyone who uses the website. Health Fuel Zone d.o.o owner of Healthy Body Revive has the right to revise and update these Terms and Conditions at any time without prior notification; therefore, you should visit this page periodically to review these Terms of Use including the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy of our owner Health Fuel Zone d.o.o.

Healthy Body Revive

2024 © Proudly powered by Health Fuel Zone d.o.o. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?