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Tuesday, April 2, 2019 - 17:14
No matter what your fitness goal may be, adding yoga to your cross-training schedule can improve your fitness, reduce soreness and chance of injury, and calm your mind.  If you’re new to yoga, let FitClub convince you to give it a try on your next cross-training day.  Here’s how yoga can help you reach your fitness goals faster:


  • Learn to breathe through tough moments. At the root of any yoga class is a breathing practice that moves you from pose to pose.  Learning to inhale and exhale equally can be useful when you’re pushing through a challenging run or difficult strength session.

  • Increased mental focus. Practiced breathing and attention to each pose and posture can increase your mental focus, even when you’re off the yoga mat.  If you consistently find your mind to be your greatest obstacle during a workout, yoga can help you learn to master the negative self-talk or mental chatter that tries to hold you back.  Yoga is a critical tool for improving your mental focus and stress management in every area of your life.

  • Faster recovery. When increasingly difficult workouts leave you feeling sore or tight, yoga can help you flush the lactic acid that causes soreness out of your muscles and relieve tight, overworked muscles. You don’t have to be incredibly flexible to benefit from the restorative yoga poses central to every yoga class. If soreness from your regular workouts are keeping you sidelined, adding a yoga class between tough workouts can help you get back to your schedule more quickly.

  • Even out muscle imbalances. Whether you’re a runner, weight lifter, or just prefer one particular form of exercise over another, chances are parts of your body are stronger than others.  Using your own body weight in a variety of challenging yoga poses helps build lean muscle mass in areas that might be underworked in your current routine.  Unlike other forms of exercise, yoga is a full body activity that challenges each muscle and evens out muscle imbalances that may be keeping you from living your healthiest life.

  • Healthier joints and range of motion. If you’re consistently training for a fitness goal, you’re likely loading particular joints or muscle groups with the majority of the work.  Yoga helps to keep your joints healthy and improves the range of motion in the muscles you use most often in chasing your goals. Improved flexibility can also help prevent overuse injuries, leading to fewer missed workouts on your fitness journey.


If you’re interested in trying yoga, grab your yoga mat and check out FitClub’s group class schedules.  You don’t need to be flexible or an expert in the practice to get started. FitClub’s yoga instructors can help you learn the practice in a friendly and safe manner.

What do you love about yoga?  Is it your primary form of exercise or a compliment to another fitness goal? Share your thoughts in the comments!