Whether you are using Yoga Strong as a standalone fitness program, or using it conjunction with an existing exercise routine, we wanted to help you eliminate any guesswork for how to use Yoga Strong.
This quick guide includes 2 sections: Yoga Strong Strategy and Sample Schedules:
- Strategy – Understand the rationale behind the recommendations and sample schedules, and come up with your own ideas about how to add Yoga Strong to your workout routine.
- Sample Schedules – Get our recommendations as well as examples of how to use Yoga Strong as a workout program, either as a standalone program or as an addition to your existing routine.
Strategy Section:
- Your lower-body has much more strength and endurance than your upper-body. Because of this, your upper-body workouts need not last as long as your lower-body workouts. This is why we recommend adding 30-45 minutes of extra exercise on top of your Total or Lower Workouts, while we recommend just 20-30 minutes extra on top of Upper.
- Soreness is a sign that your previous workout was effective enough to break down muscle tissue, which initiates the recovery process to strengthen your body. If you are feeling excessively sore in one particular area, it’s not always a good idea to put that area through another difficult workout, or you could delay the recovery process and minimize your gains. For example, if you did Yoga Strong Lower Body (Level 3) two days ago, but you are still feeling sore, it is not a good idea to do Yoga Strong Lower Body again. Reduce the difficulty level or exercise your another part of your instead.
- Watch for overtraining! If you feel excessively sore on a continual basis, find the workouts getting more challenging instead of easier, and are not sleeping well, these are all signs you are doing too much. Take the difficulty level down or add a rest day between workouts.
- Depending on your fitness level, the Level 1 versions of the Yoga Strong workouts can double as active recovery routines. Use these on rest days or between other longer workouts to decrease muscle soreness, improve mobility, and prepare you for your next workout.
- These schedules are only recommendations. Try out multiple variations for yourself and see which variations work best for you.
- We recommend changing your workout program every 4 weeks. This doesn’t mean you need to find a new workout program every month. This just means you have to change up the schedule in order to keep your body guessing. That’s why we’ve included multiple sample schedules, so you can keep your workout routine fresh and exciting – not to mention, effective!
- If you miss a day, don’t worry about it! Just make it up the next day. Sometimes your body needs rest more than a workout.
- If you have any questions, just send an email to [email protected] and we’ll do our best to get back to you ASAP.
Schedules section
Standalone:
We recommend completing 4 cycles of each schedule in this section, for a total of 4 weeks each. After 4 weeks, it’s a good idea to change your workout schedule, either by increasing the difficulty, rearranging the workouts, or mixing up your Yoga Body workouts with other physical disciplines, like walking, running, cycling, weight training, or otherwise.
- Day 1 – Upper Level
- Day 2 – Lower Level
- Day 3 – Total Level
- Day 4 – Abs Level
- Day 5 – Lower Level
- Day 6 – Total Level
- Day 7 – Rest / Active Recovery
Integrating Yoga Strong with your other workouts (Cross-Training / Running / Weight Training / etc)
Sample Week For Beginners:
- Day 1 – Lower Level 1 + 30-45 minutes non-yoga lower-body workout (running, weight training focused on lower-body (squats, deadlifts, lunges), cardio, or similar)
- Day 2 – Total Level Level 2 or 3
- Day 3 – Upper Level 1 + 20-30 minutes non-yoga upper-body resistance training (bench press, lat pull-downs, arm workouts, or calisthenics such as push-ups, pull-ups, etc)
- Day 4 – Lower Level 2 or 3
- Day 5 – Abs Level 1, 2, or 3 + 30-45 minutes non-yoga full-body workout (rowing, running, agility work, cardio, or weight training / resistance training)
- Day 6 – Total Level 1 or 2 (Recovery Workout)
- Day 7 – Rest / Active Recovery (Hiking, walking, or similar leisure fitness activity)
If you feel like you aren’t getting any stronger with your current routine (the workouts are easy or you aren’t getting that sore) then it’s a good idea to increase the difficulty. (Don’t forget – it takes times to notice results! If it’s only been a couple of weeks, keep going!)
Don’t get discouraged if you aren’t immediately noticing results. Sometimes you may need to stick with your program for a few weeks before you start noticing changes. And remember – you’ll feel the changes in your body before you can actually see them. It takes time and effort!