In designing a workout routine, it’s common to prioritize cardio and strength training — yet experts also recommend including ample mobility work, especially if you’re taking multiple fitness classes per week. This is where yoga can be beneficial, as it requires moving your body in different ways and can serve as a form of active recovery from your other efforts.
“Variety is key when it comes to taking group fitness classes,” says Lindsay Payne, certified yoga instructor and yoga leader at Life Time in Edina, Minn. “Taking multiple types of classes — from fast-paced formats to those that prioritize recovery — can help you stay engaged in fitness so you don’t burn out or get bored. It also prevents injuries and builds muscles in different areas of your body.”
Increasing variety can be as easy as adding one yoga class to your schedule each week, says Emma Graves, studio master trainer and Dynamic Personal Trainer at Life Time River North at One Chicago in Illinois.
“My goal is to help people choose just one yoga class to add to their weekly routine,” she says. “Yoga isn’t only meant for people who are amazingly flexible and mobile. It’s for anyone who wants to move better, breathe easier, and live healthier. There are no prerequisites. Just show up!”
With that in mind, we asked Payne and Graves to recommend a yoga class based on your favorite types of studio classes.
I like to take strength classes like LIFT Barbell Strength and Upper or Lower Body MAXOUT . . .
One of the many benefits of yoga is improved flexibility, which translates into more active range of motion when strength training.
“Strength training, by definition, is the contraction of a muscle against resistance,” Graves says. “If you’re a regular in strength classes, you may often hear your instructor say things like, ‘squeeze your glutes!’ or ‘brace your core!’. When we contract the muscles again and again while resistance training, it can lead to our bodies feeling tight and tense.
“Yoga is a great counteraction for this, as it focuses largely on breathing into stretches — the opposite of contraction. It can help us recover from hard strength-training days, and it can even improve our effectiveness during our strength-training sessions. When you have more available range of motion — being able to get deeper into a squat, for example — you’re recruiting more muscles and decreasing your risk of injury. Yoga also helps immensely with mind-body connection, meaning your brain can more effectively help you fire the right muscles to complete your strength-training exercises.”
Payne’s and Graves’ yoga pick: ROOT HATHA
“For anyone who loves strength-training classes, I suggest ROOT HATHA,” says Graves. “This format focuses on building a strong yoga foundation and becoming more aware of our bodies and muscles, which in turn can help us move better during strength training formats.”
Payne also advises ROOT HATHA as a great complement to any strength-training class. “It is a grounded, more traditional class that will inspire acute muscle engagement to create greater stability in the joints of your body. You will learn to mindfully engage your muscles to support your body in other movement modalities.”
I like to take cardio classes like XTREME, REMIXX, or AMP, EDG, and PWR Cycle . . .
Many cardio classes — especially anything involving running or cycling, Graves notes — feature repetitive, front-to-back movements. “One beautiful thing about yoga is that it gets you out of traditional movement patterns,” she says. “Our bodies need to be challenged to move side-to-side and rotationally as well, which is what happens in a yoga class. If the cardio classes you take are based in repetitive movement, yoga can help you switch it up. If the cardio classes you take already have you moving in different directions, yoga can make you stronger for that.
“Yoga also helps with improved core strength, mobility, flexibility, and mental focus,” Graves adds. “It can teach us so much about controlling our bodies and our breathing during physical activity, which are very important when working on cardio.”
Payne’s and Graves’ yoga picks: SURRENDER YIN or FIRE HIIT
“SURRENDER YIN is great balance to the fast-paced world of the cycle studio,” Payne says. “This format helps to loosen the tight hips, quads, glutes, and calves that often come with cycle classes. It is a yin-style practice that will help you learn to deeply concentrate on your breath, bringing a calm that perfectly counters your heart-pumping intervals.”
For those who love challenging their heart and lungs through cardio classes, Graves also recommends trying FIRE HIIT. “This class blends meditative yoga with high-intensity intervals, increasing your ability to move well, while strengthening your heart and lungs for your other cardio-favorite activities,” she says.
I like to take classes that mix strength and cardio like SHRED or GTX . . .
Although they challenge you and help improve your overall fitness, classes that work both your cardio and strength capacity can be tough on your body. Taking a yoga class provides an opportunity to release the stress or tension that can build up over a week of exercising.
“Often, we don’t realize how much stress we are holding in our bodies until we pause for a moment,” Graves says.
Payne’s and Graves’ yoga picks: SOL VINYASA, SURRENDER YIN, or Warrior Sculpt
“For faster-paced group fitness formats that involve both cardio and strength, SOL VINYASA is a great complement,” Payne says. “This format is fully guided, just like your other favorite strength and cardio classes, and offers a full-body stretch, which can foster greater success in your other workouts.”
If you’re looking for that moment to slow down, breathe, and meditate, Graves recommends SURRENDER YIN. “A personal favorite of mine, this class challenges you to slow down, breathe, and let your muscles release tension, which is why I suggest it for those also taking faster-paced classes” she says.
“On the flip side,” she adds, “if you’re looking to swap out a faster-paced strength and cardio class for something similar in the yoga world, I recommend trying Warrior Sculpt. The fusion of yoga, strength training, and cardio is sure to leave you feeling sweaty and accomplished.”
