Yoga and CrossFit can be paired beautifully to develop a well-rounded physical routine. Yoga is a mindful practice that increases strength, flexibility, and peace of mind, while CrossFit is more intense and aggressive. When both are paired, they provide unique emotional, psychological, and physical benefits. Whether you are an avid Crossfit enthusiast, who wants to balance your regular routine, or a yogi who wants more cardio and strength training, these two modalities work well together.
Here are six fantastic benefits of incorporating yoga into your CrossFit training, or vice versa, to help facilitate a well-rounded routine:
Different Types of Endurance and Strength
Both forms of exercise are known to improve your endurance and strength but in their own unique ways. Yoga uses body weight to increase strength, and CrossFit makes use of training tools and equipment. Practicing yoga poses before a CrossFit workout prepares your muscles and joints for the hard work ahead. In yoga, you improve strength and endurance by the ease at which you do difficult asanas and how long the poses are held for, and in CrossFit, your strength is measured by the amount of weight you can lift.
Increased Flexibility and Mobility
CrossFit workouts need flexibility in your muscles and joints. When you incorporate yoga into your routine, you increase your mobility and flexibility in a deliberate and controlled manner. Yoga stretches your ligaments and lubricates your joints for better flexibility which can greatly enhance your CrossFit performance and reduce the risk of injury. CrossFit's focus on strength can add benefits to your yoga practice also.
Increased Energy and Motivation
Yoga has a big impact on various aspects of wellbeing including increasing your energy levels. The practice can also help you become more self-aware and have better self-control. These attributes help you in achieving your fitness goals and maintaining mental strength when doing intense CrossFit, which requires a lot of motivation and toughness.
Breathing and Balance
Yoga postures require strength, coordination, calmness, stretching, and core engagement. Many of them increase and improve one's sense of balance. These attributes help maintain awareness of breath and inner balance that is essential while lifting weights or doing any sort of strength training. Strength training can also make it easier to maintain balance in yoga postures, like arm balances and one-legged balancing poses.
Increased Relaxation
After an intense CrossFit workout, it’s hard to cool down your body as your adrenaline is pumping and there’s a rush of energy. Yoga helps you wind down and relax after an intense workout.
Improved Metabolic Rate
CrossFit incorporates more cardio training than most yoga styles do. The overall health benefits of cardio exercise are numerous. Various asanas, especially the ones used in Vinyasa yoga can also increase your metabolism. This means you’ll burn calories faster and increase the absorption of minerals and vitamins into the body. All these ensure that your body is functioning at its best, and this improves your performance in whatever you do.
Dos and Don’ts for Combining Yoga with CrossFit: While CrossFit and yoga are a rewarding combination, there are some things you should avoid.
Don’t do advanced Yoga poses and stretches right before CrossFit training. Many studies suggest that doing intense mobility and flexibility exercises before lifting weights decreases strength and power. Warm up your body with dynamic movements and then gradually move through the exercises, increasing the intensity until the body is prepared for what’s coming next.
Don’t try to do intense yoga if your muscles are sore. Tired and sore muscles need time to rest. If you do advanced yoga poses and stretches, it may make things worse. You can do gentle stretching, foam rolling, massages, and other simpler yoga poses for sore muscles.
Combining Yoga and CrossFit in your exercise regime improves performance in both disciplines. They complement each other perfectly. The reflectiveness, peacefulness, and quietness of yoga and upbeat competitiveness of CrossFit can help you keep your mind and body in balance.
By Sancket Kamdar
Sancket Kamdar, a certified weightlifting coach, and a successful entrepreneur founded SF HealthTech with a single goal in mind – to bring high quality, international standard exercise equipment to help fitness enthusiasts and athletes reach the next level of fitness. When he’s not working on new equipment ideas and designs, he loves to create educational content about health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness. He also writes to help budding entrepreneurs on running and growing a business, based on his experience.