Incorporating yoga into your training

Training
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Hi everyone,
I am ridiculously inflexible, I’m thinking about incorporating a bit of yoga into my training to help with this.

Anyone got any good resources to suggest for a complete beginner? Something like a youtube video series specifically good for a triathlete/ cyclist?

Cheers

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I recently heard about this resource on the Matt Dixon podcast, but haven’t had chance to try it yet:

Here was the podcast episode if you’re interested:
https://purplepatchfitness.com/education/podcasts/s1-e24-erin-taylor-jasyoga-integrating-yoga-endurance-sports

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I like this app & use it each Saturday.

Simply Yoga - Fitness Trainer by Daily Workout Apps, LLC

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I’m thiking about it of this too.

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Sufferfest has some good yoga videos that I have been using for a while now. My flexibility and core strength have improved greatly resulting in a lot more comfort on the bicycle using their videos.

On a Windows based machine you can use the X Box app to record the screen;)

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I had a back injury a year ago due to inflexibility and started yoga as part of my rehabilitation. I have now been doing it for 11months and my core strength and flexibility have improved massively.

One thing I would recommend though is going to some classes when first starting out as most of us will not position ourselves correctly at the beginning and just following an online video will not necessarily garner the improvements you are looking for. I still get adjusted when in a class and the benefits realised from doing it right are huge as well as making sure you don’t injure yourself in the process.

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I do this 20 minute routine on my rest days:

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Abi Carver has done many videos for mountain bikers. But they will work for any athlete. What I really like is they are relatively short at 15 min each. You can find some on youtube. She has a website called yoga15.com.

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I second taking at least a few classes first before starting a home practice using videos. Alignment is key to not injuring yourself while practicing yoga and to obtain the most benefit out of it.

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I do some yoga. I’m not sure you could tell it was yoga if you watched me :smile:, but I do enjoy it. I do my best to do the exercises as best I can. Mine are only 15 minutes long. I certainly think it breaks up the tough Chad session yet still be good for you.

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same.

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My wife got me into yoga years ago but I’m sure if I took a class, I’d still be corrected by the instructor. So, +1 on taking live classes if you can. So many different types of yoga, it’s over whelming. Been doing it for years and still not flexible but that’s what I get for running anyways. Oh, yoga classes, could be 80 plus a month and finding a good instructor is interesting subject.

Abi on yoga15 is the same instructor on sufferfest. So, you can pay Abi a 99 a year and have over 100 videos or pay sufferest 99 and get 30 videos. Sufferfest is more easier to navigate, uploads to garmin and sends you a notification, yoga15 does not. If you send yourself doing a pose to Abi, she will give you constructive criticism about your pose. So, pro’s and con’s I’ve learned.

I just learned about Adriene a few days ago, she has 15 minute videos that you could do after a ride and so much more. Oh, and she’s free on youtube. You just have to know how to navigate and if your unfamiliar with yoga, you might not get all you can out of it and you might hurt yourself, some poses are very intense and challenging. Same for any yoga.

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Did not know Abi was on Sufferfest. Good for her.

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Here’s more stuff from Pinkbike featuring Abi. I’ve used the lower back stuff and it has helped. https://www.pinkbike.com/u/yoga15app/

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I highly recommend the 30 day Yoga with Adriene series if you are looking to get into yoga. Her stuff is easy to follow and not to long.
She also has some very good episodes that address some key issues for cyclists, one listed above and the following which addresses a lot of the same areas;

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Oh, and Abi has another site also which I think yoga15 has a link to it

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Threre are some more free yoga15 videos on her account on PinkBike (look for longer videos, not all if these are on YouTube).

Edit: Did not notice @joshuam already posted this.

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I used to do lower back stretches prescribed by my chiro dude. Tried the SF free intro and found those yoga sessions did open my eyes to what actual stretching/flexibility is. Although part of the sufferfest was Abi’s dialogue. Yikes. I still do yoga for glutes. lower back, hip flexors, and hamstrings.

Interestingly, from a few scientific papers I’ve read, 1) not much of our body can actually be stretched, i.e. lengthened. Hamstrings are one of the main one which can be; 2) stretching might all just be mental, as in your body can already do all those yoga poses, it’s more getting the brain used to “stretching” in those ways.

As @chad says a few times (breathing vs cadence, VO2 intervals), the brain is almost always the spanner in the cogs of what the body can accomplish.

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I’m a big fan of Asana Rebel. Cheesy name but great product (it’s all app based which I like too). It’s not traditional yoga and strips out all the fru-fru stuff and adds in quite a bit of body-weight training. I used it last winter extensively (then fell off the yogo train in the late spring when I could play outside all the time). I will definitely be adding it into my 2019 planning.

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Been going to yoga classes on end a week for 3 years now. Can’t recommend it enough, Inhavent had lower back pain on the bike since I started the classes.

As said above you really do need to go to a few classes just to learn how to do the poses correctly, it’s amazing how when you think you are doing it correct and the teacher will make a small change and the pose will suddenly feel very different. and although the classes I go to aren’t specific for cycling the teacher was happy to show me some posses for hips and hamstrings, and some simple stretching to to do after rides.

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