Should You Do Yoga Before Or After Cardio?
There are two ways to start your day: either with yoga or with cardio.
One is not better than the other, but what should be done before if doing together?
Yoga will increase flexibility while decreasing stress and anxiety, while cardio will increase endurance and help you lose weight.
If you don’t mind being sore the next day then do yoga before cardio as it will give you a stretch without joint pain if done right before.
But the question often goes unexplored is: Which should be done first, yoga or cardio exercise?
Let us explore more the effects of doing Yoga before or after cardio
Yoga After Cardio Exercise
Yoga has many benefits. It helps with stress and anxiety, boosts heart rate, increases flexibility, and improves balance.
But cardio won't help you lose weight. It will only increase your heart rate which can cause you to sweat more than usual.
This is why it is not recommended to do cardio after a yoga session (if all else fails, you can always do yoga first).
1. Body is Already Warm
Exercise heats your body, and you can come down with a cold or flu if you exercise in a cold environment. If you do yoga before doing cardio, your body will already be warm from doing yoga exercises.
2. No sore overworked muscles
People who do regular yoga practice have amazing flexibility. They don’t have muscle pain the day after exercising, which is why many people prefer to do yoga before doing cardio.
Doing yoga first will get and maintain muscle length while giving your heart a workout at the same time.
Doing cardio first may result in sore or overworked muscles that can inhibit flexibility if you choose to do both activities during the same day or consecutive days to keep moving towards better fitness goals.
3. Breaks down lactic acid
Have you ever wondered why some muscles burn more lactic acid than others? Well, it's because the muscle tissue is a lot more flexible than hard bone structure.
But what if you do yoga after cardio?
Here is a pretty smart solution. Just by doing one set of yoga poses in which you work your muscles, you will be able to break down lactic acid and mobilize your body so that it can release lactic acid at a slower rate.
This will not only help with cardiovascular activity but also help with increased flexibility.
4. Slows the Heart Rate
When you exercise after yoga, the body will work to have a more steady rate of heartbeat. The body will not want to work too hard in the beginning if it is not ready for it.
5. Relaxes the Muscles after Cardio
While doing yoga first will help you lose weight, doing it after cardio will help slow your heart rate to a more sustained level and also relax the muscles that have been worked out during exercise.
6. Aids in Faster Recovery
Yoga after cardio helps in faster recovery when you are trying to lose weight. Even if your body is overly tired from doing cardio, yoga will help the blood flow better and help clear your mind.
You may not even realize how much you have sweated during a workout, but it helps in letting the body heal faster and get the blood flow better within your muscles.
7. Boosts Metabolism
Yoga burns calories by increasing metabolism, but there are many other benefits of yoga before or after cardio exercise that increase metabolism.
Yoga Before Cardio Exercise
Eeffects of doing Yoga before cardio:
1. Serves as a warm-up
A warm-up is a process of waking up your body before you do any rigorous activity. Doing yoga before you do cardio is a great warm-up routine that will help stretch and relax your muscles, thus making them work less during the actual cardio exercise.
2. Prepares the Body for Increased Workout
The heart pumps oxygen to all parts of the body so that it can work properly to provide energy to every cell within the body, including the muscles.
When you do yoga before cardiovascular activities, your blood flow becomes more consistent and less sporadic to provide energy and oxygen that is needed by vital organs so they can function properly throughout the day.
Doing cardiovascular activity first may make your heart beat faster, but not at a steady rate.
3. Increases Metabolic Rate
There is a direct link between your metabolic rate and how much weight you actually lose. When you do cardio after yoga, it will increase your metabolic rate, getting rid of excess calories that may have accumulated in the body.
The body will want to burn fat for energy throughout the day and exercising after breathing exercises stimulates your metabolism so that the body can use fat for energy instead of sugar or carbs.
4. Helps with Breathing Exercises
Your breathing may get out of sync during the workout if you do yoga before cardio (yes, even before yoga stretches).
Doing yoga first will help with proper breathing exercises so that there are no problems during a chest or back workout on top of cardiovascular activity.
The Best Way to Lose Weight with Yoga
Yoga can help you relax and relieve stress while giving your muscles a little bit of a workout. But it will not grow muscle so do not think that if you are doing it after cardio it is the right thing to do.
It is helping your body with relaxation, but it won’t help in building muscle mass in the same way as does cardio exercise.
Cardio exercises (such as running or cycling) burn calories, but they also change the body in other ways that make it harder to lose weight while maintaining muscle mass.
Cardio exercise burns fat in different areas than yoga, and this may make it more difficult to gain the weight back once you have lost weight.
Yoga is a form of exercise that can help you lose weight. But it cannot replace other forms of exercise like running or cycling.
It is a form of exercise that even the most active person can do because you don’t have to focus on your breathing or do something strenuous to get the heart rate up for cardio benefits.
You can add yoga into any workout routine, or even add stretches in between sets of your normal workout routine so that you don't have to put as much work into your fitness goals.
Yoga Before or After Workout: When is it most beneficial?
Yoga should be viewed as a tool for mental health as well as physical health. It allows you to focus and clear your mind so you can function better throughout your day.
Having an active lifestyle with yoga will create positive changes in your life that will help you to live a healthier lifestyle in general.
The dynamic stretches and static stretch in yoga before and after a workout are important because they will help reduce muscle fatigue, improve flexibility, and increase circulation that results in a more effective workout.
Another benefit is that it allows the muscles to relax properly before exercise. Regular yoga practice and physical activity will help you to stay fit and be in better shape.
It is not recommended that you do yoga after exercising because most of the work has already been done.
It is a good idea to do yoga before your workout, as it will maximize your workout by giving your body a chance to warm up properly before exercise. This will help prevent injury, so if it is possible, consider doing yoga first before any exercises.
You could always join a hot yoga class or a dance class so you can learn from professional instructors because they have the knowledge and experience to help you. Yoga studios will also have a lot of different equipment that will make it easier to perform the poses.
Research has shown that yoga is effective at reducing stress, which is a major contributor to many diseases today.
It also helps increase flexibility and rescue which reduces joint pain and makes it easier for you to exercise without getting hurt.
The most basic principle of yoga comes down to breathing deeply, calming your mind, and being more aware of your body.
FAQs
Do you need rest days from yoga?
Some yoga poses can cause muscle strain.
It is recommended that you take a rest day if you have any signs of pain or soreness during or after your routine.
Don't be stubborn, and listen to your body. Doing the same poses over and over again will just cause more pain until you give yourself a rest day in between.
This allows the muscles to heal properly and prevents injury.
What are The different forms of yoga
The main styles of yoga are Hatha Yoga, Iyengar Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, and restorative yoga.
The way each form works is different. But they all achieve the same goals which include: breath control, strength, flexibility, and balance.
Poses in each form differ slightly from one another but there are a few important things to remember when practicing your yoga routine.
Yoga should be viewed as a tool for mental health as well as physical health. It allows you to focus and clear your mind so you can function better throughout your day.
Having an active lifestyle with yoga will create positive changes in your life that will help you to live a healthier lifestyle in general.
Final thoughts
Yoga is a great way to improve your physical health and create a more relaxed mind because it helps you focus on the breath, stretch, and relax.
It is a form of exercise that can help you to lose weight if you are looking for an effective workout routine.
You should do yoga on days when you want to relax to calm down and clear the mind to work better throughout the day.
You can also do yoga in the morning after you wake up. That way, you will have a better day in general.
Yoga and exercise go hand in hand, so consider starting a routine to achieve the goals that you are looking for.
Doing yoga before a cardio workout helps your body become more flexible and leads to better circulation which leads to more effective workouts.
It can also help you to be in better shape because of the increased flexibility and circulation. This is beneficial because it helps your muscles recover faster so that you can get back in the gym and do a different routine.
Doing yoga before you go to the gym will give you a good warm-up and not strain your muscles when lifting weights or doing cardio exercises.
You will be able to maintain muscle mass, lose weight, and build strength through a regular habit of yoga.
Yoga is also very flexible and adaptive. If you want to do Yoga after exercising, there are certain relaxation poses like shavasana and pranayam like brahmari pranayam, which can help relax and stretch the muscles and help in recovery.
You can also focus on doing yoga stretching poses for specific muscle group to aid recovery.
So Yoga can be done both before cardio for warmup and stretching or after cardio for muscle relaxation and recovery.
Experiment with your Yoga practices and see what you like best about your routine. There are a lot of different poses and techniques to try so make sure you try a variety to find the one best suited for you.
Hope your questions have been answered, and you can now plan your next effective workout.
