Should All Athletes Do Yoga?

Have you ever tried to convince a male high school athlete to do yoga?  It can be very challenging.  Why?  Because they think that looks funny, won’t help them perform and better, and is a waste of time.  How do I know?  I coached high school track for several years. I know.

When most guys thing about working out, they think about lifting weights, plyometrics, and other forms of intense exercise.  They do not think of yoga as intense.  Women tend to be more open minded, and are therefore experiencing the benefits of yoga.  I am a firm believer that flexibility is one of, if not the most overlooked aspect of fitness in the world today.  That being said, yoga is one of the most effective ways to improve flexibility.

What are the benefits of yoga for athletes?

Yoga is more than just making funny looking poses and the occasional ohm.  It is a about improving your flexibility, balance, and even strength.  Anybody who questions that needs to try P90X.  Try the Yoga X Workout, then let me know what you think.

Football players are very prone to injury.  One of the best ways to prevent these injuries is to prepare your body properly.  If you look at the pros, they are very flexible because they know that it will reduce their risk of injury.  When you are getting sandwiched between 2 people trying to take you down to the ground, you want your body to be used to flexing and banding.

Track and field athletes need the benefits of yoga for a variety of reasons.  First of all, as your flexibility increases, you stride increases.  If you are a hurdler, high jumper, or pole vaulter, you know that you need to be able to move your body in challenging ways.  Throwers are often the hardest ones to convince that they need yoga.  They tend to believe that throwing and lifting weights are all that they need to do.  The truth is that in order to be a good thrower, you need to have flexibility in order to comfortable get low, and you need balance to control your throw, and get the most power out of it.  If your balance is off when you throw, your power goes down the drain.

I could go through every sport and explain the benefits that you will get from yoga, but I think that you get the point.  If you are looking to be the best athlete that you can, I recommend one of 2 programs.

P90X – This is a 90 day program designed to get you into the best shape of your life.  Using very little equipment, you will build lean muscle mass, burn fat, get stronger, and improve your balance and flexibility.  One of the P90X programs is Yoga X, which will show you just how challenging, and beneficial yoga can be.  Check It Out Here

Insanity The Asylum – This program is actually designed specifically for improving sports performance.  I am yet to finish an Asylum workout where I did not need to mop the floor after it.   The program includes an awesome workout called, “Relief”.  It is a great way to help your body recover, and really improve your flexibility.

Both programs are great for getting you into the best shape of your life, and helping improve athletic performance.