Mixing it Up Part II – Hot Yoga
July 25, 2008 by nopstar
Cross Training
I did a post last week about changing up my routine, trying to keep things fresh. I find that if I mix things up it improves my training and prevents burnout.
I find I’m always close to burn out… I need to change things up to keep focused and enthusiastic about training. About 6 years ago a Bikram Yoga studio opened up down the block from my apt. I started going and really found it beneficial to my long distance running and my Muay Thai.
Hot Box
Bikram yoga, is a system of “hot” Yoga where you’re in a very hot room (105 F) to be exact and set at 40% humidity. You do a set of 26 poses over a 90 min class. (For those of you who know about Bikram you know he’s trying to patent his system… I’m not here to endorse bikram yoga etc. I don’t agree with what they are trying to do) having said that, I do recommend you guys check out “hot” yoga.
It’s an excellent workout, and really helps with your flexibility. One of the most beneficial things for me is that it helps me remain calm and focused when I’m very, very uncomfortable. There is a great deal of dynamic stretching, engaging very specific muscles while pulling and pushing others (same philosophy behind Thai massage.) while in a very hot environment.
Check Your Ego at the Door
Tell them your new; you’ll need to do the poses correctly if you’re going to get the full benefit. This isn’t a race or competition… don’t worry about anyone else and just focus on yourself.
So, I’m not going to lead you guys wrong. If you’ve never been to a Yoga class, you’ll find that the instructors are … for a lack of a better word “Yoga-ish” You’re going to hear things like “breath out all of your negative energy etc…” Don’t worry about it just stay focused on yourself and the task at hand. Think of why you chose to go, what are you trying to get out of it? Focus on that.
Don’t Panic
Anyone who trains hard should be able to get through this, be sure to bring a towel and lots of water. I would avoid eating anything a few hours prior to going in. If you feel like you’re about to pass out… you probably are. Just chill sit up and just focus on breathing. You’re going to be tempted to leave… this is the perfect opportunity for you to practice remaining calm in a very uncomfortable environment.
Last night was the first time I had been for about 4 years. There were a couple of points where I started seeing spots a new I was probably going to pass out.
Yoga does wonders for flexibility (important for Nak Muay’s) and core strength. If you can find a hot yoga studio near you (SF Peeps… you can’t walk 2 blocks without running into one) Oh and fellas, leave your girl friends home… trust me.
Anybody of you tried Bikram or any other style of Yoga?
Did ashtanga yoga for a while.it was dead good but I was trying to do it on top of my normal training routine and it was to much on top of everything else.The other thing I quickly realised is that exactly like MT ( or any martial arts) you need to dedicate yourself to yoga to gain all the benefits out of it and I prefer MT.Im an all or nothing kind of guy.I felt just doing a bit of yoga every now and then, was doing it (the art form)and yourself a bit of a disservice.It didnt feel to me like the sort of thing you should drop in and out of.Lets face it although they pay the gym’s bills the people who train MT once or twice a week and then dont turn up for a fortnight are rarely taken seriously and arent really doing themselves any favours as far as learning MT goes.Thats how I felt about doing yoga part time?
I am a big yogi myself, I practice Ashtanga Yoga every day. It really is an amazing workout. That being said, my wife and I did Bikram for a few weeks.
I think he, himself is an idiot for trying copyright his style, ha! Pretty silly. Bikram Yoga actually doesn’t have very difficult poses, and you don’t hold them too long to make it very hard. Where the difficulty comes into play is with the 90 minutes and the heat. With the people in the room, it can easily get to 115-120 degrees.
You should get yourself a nice Ashtanga Yoga DVD such as Bryan Kest’s Power Yoga series (3 Part – All On One DVD) and turn up the heat in your home. I don’t turn up the heat at all, and believe me – I sweat pretty good. Then again I sweat walking to the fridge, ha!
Good luck with the supplemental training. Yoga is amazing!
Yoga, Pilates, Stretching! I hate It but It is needed, if you wanna pratice Muay Thai, Never Tried any Yoga, but Its always been Interresting.
Great topic…very relevent to me…
My gym incorporates a 1/2 hr yoga warm-up into our training sessions once or twice a week. We use a few specific poses that help flexibility and core strength in the right areas (hamstrings, lower back, abs, etc), we basically skip any of the “relaxing” or “energy-releasing” stuff….I feel like I get a lot out of pad and bag work right after the Yoga warm-up….my body just feels different.
Seems like you guys have some experiences with yoga. I always found it interesting and important, but don’t know shit about it. It’s time to look into it.
rvafighter, you have yoga for warming-up?
That’s strange. As I’m aware yoga is for relaxation and stretching. Isn’t more reasonable to practice it at the end of training? Does any of you have the same schedule?
Gusnark – Yoga is not just for relaxation and stretching…try taking a regular Yoga class and you’ll find that many poses are anything but relaxing. As far as our warm-up goes, we focus on a series of stretching and core-strengthing poses. Nothing close to a full class or traditional series of Yoga poses, but I’ve found it to be a nice switch from the regular stretching routine.
Hi rvafighter.
I understand what you mean. You can warm-up by Yoga poses, no doubt about that.
I just think that primary exercises for warming-up are running, jumping or shadow-boxing, therefore using conditioning exercises. I always use stretching (traditional yoga) in the end for relaxing mind, muscles and body which is opposite of conditioning exercises.