Why Every CrossFitter Should Incorporate Yoga
Why should every CrossFitter incorporate yoga into their training?
Good question! Through first-hand experience, I know the many benefits that CrossFitters can reap from incorporating yoga into their weekly training schedule. Also did you know that many professional athletes from all different types of sports and disciplines (NFL, NBA, MLB, & Olympic Athletes to name a few) incorporate yoga into their training regimens? Besides the obvious benefits of “stretching” and “relaxation”, I’m going to share with you five fantastic reasons why CrossFitters (or any athlete really) might want to consider incorporating yoga into their training to help facilitate their development as an overall, well rounded, and healthy athlete.
#1 – Increased Flexibility, Mobility, Range Of Motion
Have you ever found yourself struggling to maintain proper form, alignment, and positioning with the many compound movements found in CrossFit like the Overhead Squat, Snatch, or even an Air Squat? You’re not alone. The plight of many CrossFit athletes is lack of mobility and range of motion which affects their overall performance and ability to execute compound lifts. When we lose our ability to properly execute a lift or movement due to lack of flexibility and range of motion, we put ourselves at an injury risk and ultimately hinder our performance. The good news is that the majority of yoga poses we practice at Baptiste Power Yoga With Austin target and mobilize the same joints and muscles that we use in CrossFit! Even basic poses like Downward Facing Dog, Warrior I & II, and Pigeon pose increases our mobility in pivotal places like our shoulders, hips, and ankles (just to name a few). With a little patience and commitment, anyone can increase their overall range of motion through consistent yoga practice and see a direct correlation to improvement with their CrossFit movements and overall performance as a result.
#2 – Increased Balance & Coordination
Just finishing a full weekend studying CrossFit and its methodology, I’ve learned so much regarding the overall sport, and how it defines fitness.
According to Coach Glassman, CrossFit uses several models to gauge an athlete’s Fitness. One of the models focuses on the 10 general Physical Skills. Two of those are Balance & Coordination. Pretty much every movement we execute in CrossFit requires balance, coordination, and body control. In yoga we learn how to control our bodies with precise movements as well as developing an overall body control with rigorous balancing poses such as tree pose, dancer pose, and eagle pose. These one legged poses result in increased overall stability, balance, and coordination. This helps in CrossFit especially when trying to balance under weighted loads as well as working on the dexterity to perform advanced calisthenics such as the pistol squat!
#3 – Improved Breathing & Breath Control
“Breathe Austin!” – Is a quote I am too familiar with constantly told to me by my dear friend and CrossFit Coach Alex. I’d argue to say that your breath is the most important tool for any athletic endeavor. I know for sure in yoga that breath work is the most important part of the practice – without it the whole thing falls apart. Yoga teaches us how to control our breath and breathe more effectively and powerfully, especially under duress. This is a no brainer in how it relates to CrossFit. Did you know that your breath is the single most powerful force available to us to regulate our mind and body? While we can’t control our sweat and heart rate, we can control our breath. Where the breathing goes, the body and mind is sure to follow. Your breath has the power to calm your nervous system and tell your brain that you’re okay (which will lower your heart rate), even while performing high intensity training like CrossFit. Remembering to breathe and to control your breath is pivotal for CrossFit performance, especially with longer endurance type WODs. This helps you move more effectively and not burn out and red line during a WOD, which results in greater overall performance. If you’ve ever seen Games athletes work out and compete (think Rich Froning, a master of pacing), you’ll notice that they are usually in control of their breath and pacing in between movements, sets, and transitions.
#4 – Increased Mental Toughness, Concentration & Focus
The style of yoga I practice and teach is a rigorous, dynamic, power vinyasa flow called Baptiste Yoga. Practiced in a heated room, this practice is athletic at its core, and is a total body workout that kicks your ass in a similar way that a WOD does. There are certainly moments in yoga when things get tough, the poses feel excruciating, and we want to come out of a pose. Yoga practice brings us to our physical and psychological edge just like CrossFit, and helps us bypass that inner voice that pops up when we want to quit. By directing our inner and outer mental focus to a physical spot (called Drishti), we are able to stay in strenuous yoga poses for extended periods of time. Many times we quit on ourselves mentally (listening to that voice in our head) long before our body gives up, but through practice, we develop our grit to get through the workout and stay with uncomfortable situations. Developing this focus in CrossFit helps get us through painful workouts, especially chippers, by controlling our concentration and focus on the task at hand.
#5 – Yoga is a great way to actively recover, cross train, & prevent injuries
From my experience, yoga has been pivotal in my athletic endeavors and has been a great way to recover and cross train. Whether my body is beat up from intense WODs and Open-style workouts, or from distance runs, yoga has always been there to help me recover and get back to top form. Not only does it take your whole body through a complete range of motion, it also brings fresh blood and oxygen to your fatigued and recovering muscles and joints. Coach Alex & I both agree that the worst thing athletes can do after a grueling workout is nothing (to sit in bed or on the couch all day).
It is far better to get moving and take your body through a full range of motion to promote recovery, get you moving, and deliver your daily dose of endorphins as a result of low impact cross training. Yoga serves as the perfect complement to CrossFit by helping with injury prevention, increased aerobic capacity, and an overall reduction in muscle tension and tightness.
Well there you have it. I hope these reasons may have piqued your interest about why yoga is a great compliment to your CrossFit training.
Want to try it out? Email info@hudsonriverathletics.com or DM us on IG @hudsonriverathletics!
- Coach Austin
