Which is better as a whole Yoga or Weight Training?

1. 59

   creator of wonderposted 14 years ago

   Which is better as a whole Yoga or Weight Training?

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2. 96

   Sue Adamsposted 14 years ago

   Yoga is MUCH better than weight training especially for people who are overweight. Think of all those superfluous extra pounds your body is having to carry around all day. That in itself is a form of weight training (a strain on the skeleton) and requires muscle to do unnecessary work. Fat people are usually quite strong and well balanced (by necessity) and can only benefit from flexibility exercises as in Yoga to move away the excess fat.

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3. 62

   joecsekoposted 14 years ago

   WHAT? "Yoga is much better than weight training if you're overweight". Please, oh please elaborate on that statement.
      Yoga is minimally effective for burning calories! Also, Yoga is extremely difficult for overweight persons to do. Many postures iin Yoga are unattainable for the rotund among us.
   
      Hmm, which of these builds the most metabolic tissue in the body, muscle. Progressive resistance builds muscle. A Yogi will strive not to build muscle. Yoga, much like Tai Chi (among the many arts I've studied) is about being supple. You will surely build strength in Yoga or Tai Chi, but muscle-- no.
   
      Now, cutting to the chase- asking this question is much like asking "who's the best guitar player in the World?" There is no such thing! This is much a matter of opinion as it is a situation. If Metallica was looking for a new lead guitarist, they sure wouldn't have called Les Paul. The man was a great guitarist, but surely wouldn't have lived through one show (RIP, Les).
   
      So, there is no definitive answer here. Brute strength or explosive power (leaving Tai Chi out- as Tai Chi can be very explosive) would surely make weight training best. Physique? Weight training wins hands down!
   
      Now, if relieving stress, becoming more focused, becoming more supple are your goals (as both can add to core strength as well as the other) are your goal, Yoga wins there.
   
   Joe Cseko, ASFA Master Personal trainer, seven year martial artist, trainer and instructor in six arts, from four countries.

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4. 60

   multifunctionsposted 14 years ago

   Yoga works differently on your body. it works on the body organs and nervous system primarily.  fats gather because the body is not able to utilize them. it does not directly work on your muscles like the most of weight trainings.
   the yoga works for you to regain the proper body weight. surprisingly, by doing the same yoga asana if you are overweight you will loose fat and if you are skinny you will put on weight.
   Yoga also regenerates flexibility in the body. so even if you have mass all around your body you will have greater flexibility in the initial days of the yoga practice.
   since the yoga regenerates your body and its intrinsic powers, once you have got the perfect body there are little chances that you will again gain fats.
   though, yoga asana do not give the quick results but they give you permanent results.
   secondly you need worry about the diet controls , because yoga  automatically trains your hunger to respond to your body needs.
   now choose yourself.

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5. 60

   Dale Michaelsposted 13 years ago

   There should be no argument about this question whatsoever. If we are discussing, from a strictly scientifically/physiological based perspective, there is a huge amount of research now showing that resistance weight training is, by far, the best exercise you can do for your body, period.
   
   Muscle is metabolically active. Therefore, the more lean muscle mass you have on your body, the more calories you will be burning 24/7. That means if you are overweight, you're going to be burning the fat right off of your body as you work to increase and/or maintain your lean muscle mass. And there is one type of exercise that is far superior to all others when it comes to accomplishing that -  resistance training with weights.
   
   Just look at the body composition of a yogi or anyone else that only does yoga for exercise and compare that to an individual like a sprinter. Why is there such a difference in the appearance of these physiques? It's because sprinters train by doing two things.
   
   1) They do HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training - that is they train by doing wind sprints, running all out for a distance, and then switching to running at a slower pace over a longer distance, then doing more wind sprints, and then switching back to a slower paced run.
   
   2) Sprinters also do a lot of resistance training with weights. These two types of exercise, HIIT and resistance weight training are what give them their physique.
   
   I'm not criticizing those of you that choose to do yoga. If yoga does it for you, that's great. However, doing yoga will never get you into the type of physical condition that high intensity resistance weight training will.
   
   And by the way, there are professional bodybuilders, men that compete at 240, 250 pounds with only 3 or 4% bodyfat who can do the splits on stage. That's pretty supple, in my book.
   
   So, in conclusion, think about all of the activities that you need strong muscles for. Your two largest muscles are your glutes, that is your butt muscles. If you didn't have those muscles you wouldn't be able to walk.
   
   Your neck muscles make the turning and bending of your head possible. Your biceps, triceps, deltoids, lats and thigh muscles  make the lifting of heavy objects possible. Why wouldn't you want to make these muscles, not necessarily much bigger, but a lot stronger? Stronger muscles means an overall healthier individual.

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6. 69

   scubadoggyposted 13 years ago

   Definitely weight training is better for you, the whole "new age" eastern philosophy crap that is going around isn't my style...

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7. 60

   Suzie Parkerposted 13 years ago

   Both Yoga and weight training is excellent in their own right.
   
   Yoga is great for de-stressing and getting more flexible and supple. It can also help you to shed belly fat by suppressing the fat storing hormone that is activated by stress.
   
   Weight  training  strengthens the body and boosts your metabolism so that you even burn calories in your sleep. If you want to sculpt your body and burn fat, weight training is the exercise for you.
   
   For best results do yoga, weight training and cardio.

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