Yoga as Cardio/Active recovery?

[nEwSkIn]

Hi

Instead of going running or rollerblading, etc, what do you guys think about doing yoga for cardio and/or active recovery?

I´m talking about Ashtanga Yoga, which is a pretty intense form of Yoga, kinda like pylates I guess. If doing this on an empty stomach it would probably be a good way of burning fat and also help to recover and relax the muscles for later heavy training.

Does anybody do something like this?

What do you think??

Thanx

 

[IronLion]

I would throw in a protein shake as opposed to an empty stomach, and I have done some power yoga in the past and it at least gets me stretched and feeling much less beat up. I say it would be a great form of ar, not the biggest calorie burner though...

 

[nEwSkIn]

Nobody else with experience on this??

Power yoga, ashtanga, stuff like that...

 

[edgecrusher]

Ironlion basically said it all. Good for recovery, but not for cardio.

 

[Zander1983]

As much as I dislike doing it, yoga complements all forms of exercise brilliantly.

 

[mr. sparkle]

Yoga's great for active recovery and maintaining flexibility, but I personally don't think it's the greatest form of cardio, despite the fact that you can really feel like you're doing a lot of work during a certain pose. (down-dog is a bitch!)

I have to disagree with IronLion, though, about the protein shake. Usually when doing yoga you should wait about two hours after you have eaten so that you can maintain bloodflow to all the muscles you're stretching and working. Drinking a shake right before your yoga session will cause a substantial amount of blood to go to your stomach to digest the new food, and will take away from the overall results of your workout.

My suggestion: Use yoga as your method of active recovery and supplement it with some other form of exercise in order to get your cardio. Wait about 1 and a half to 2 hours after eating a meal or, if you want to have a shake, wait about 1 to 1+1/2 hours after drinking a protein shake.

---Mr. S---

 

[nEwSkIn]

Yeah, yoga´s best done in the morning, on empty stomach.. I think I would keep that. That´s why I thouht about it as a substitute to cardio. I get my heart pumping quite fast and I get sweaty as well, and the whole practica takes about an hour and a half! How bout that? lol

Also being on an empty stomach would aid in the fat loss, probably not as efficiently as cardio, but to some extent... no?

 

[casualbb]

I'm gonna throw in with ironlion on this one -- a simple 20g scoop of protein isn't really that substatial in terms of a meal. And since yoga gets your blood flowing, you want protein circulating to help in repair and growth from the previous day's workout.