Are you confused about what type of workout is best for you: yoga or gym? This debate is going on for a long time. There will be always some people who will tell you that each one is unconditionally better than the other. Maybe it's because of the mental benefits and balance yoga gives to you. Or maybe, it is because of how the gym helps with weight loss and toning your muscles.
Objectively, both workout types have their advantages and disadvantages. Your choice will greatly depend on what you are looking to gain from your workout sessions.
Here is a table detailing pros and cons of yoga: Here is a table detailing pros and cons of the gym:So, for the beginning, what should you do before deciding whether yoga or gym is for you?
Yoga or Gym? Set Your Fitness Goals First!
Whether you should choose yoga or gym greatly depends on your fitness goals. Yoga is definitely for you if you want to stay fit and lean while investing minimal physical effort. On the other hand, the gym is definitely your thing if you want to have a muscular physique or maybe a flat belly and strength in your arms or legs (or any other muscle group you want!).
You definitely won't feel as strong by doing only yoga as compared to only doing gym training sessions though.
Our best suggestion is to do both yoga and gym for optimal training sessions. Let's take one example. You want to do push-ups. It doesn't matter if you are doing them at home or in the gym; we can classify this exercise as a gym exercise. When you implement yoga focus and breathing techniques, you can activate specific parts of your body with more ease. In this example, you are doing push-ups for your chest. You close your eyes and implement the controlled breathing technique. Now, you can isolate your chest and do a more effective workout for only your chest.
Both yoga and gym have their advantages and disadvantages. Here are some points to consider for the yoga or gym debate.
Benefits of Yoga
With yoga, you can expect increased flexibility of your body, toning, and strengthening of your muscles. You don't need any equipment, just some free space around yourself to practice different yoga poses (they are called asanas). Also, you will save travel time that you might need for getting to the gym.
You won't feel compelled to avoid yoga sessions because of how convenient they are. Yoga also helps you get rid of fatigue. After each yoga session, you will feel energetic and fresh, rather than tired and sore. There is also less risk of injury in yoga practice because you don't use any workout machines in yoga sessions.
Yoga helps put your entire body to practice because it doesn't focus on individual body parts. A huge focus is on the overall improvement of your body. You won't get very hungry after a yoga session, as it isn't that much intensive.
It is said that yoga doesn't just benefit the physical part of your body. Yoga also contributes to the mental part of your body, growing your intellectual and physical spheres. It helps with the unification of your mind, body, and spirit. After all, this practice comes from one of the oldest world religions, Hinduism.
Disadvantages of Yoga
If your goal is weight loss, yoga is not very good for rapid weight loss, as it doesn't provide you with intensive workout sessions. It is also very time-consuming and requires a lot of patience. If you have both of these traits, then yoga is definitely for you!
Advantages and Disadvantages of Gym
The gym is great for rapid weight loss thanks to the intensive workouts. Keep in mind that gym workouts are much harsher than yoga sessions. They involve rapid muscle movement that helps with toning up your body and reducing weight.
You need equipment for gym sessions. Also, you need to invest time to get to the gym if you don't have a home gym. If you opt for a home gym, it might be an expensive endeavor. There are times when you just won't feel compelled to go to the gym because of the distance, bad weather, or other reasons.
After an intensive gym workout session, you will probably feel very tired and have to deal with sore muscles. Gym sessions may increase your hunger levels and lead to overeating. That greatly depends on your discipline though!
Gym sessions will tone your outer appearance and your muscles much better than yoga. While the gym mostly has physical benefits that are great depending on your fitness goals, you can rule out the mental stimulation that yoga offers. If you value physical appearance more than your general well-being, then opt for a gym workout.
We hope that now you have some outline on whether you should choose yoga or gym for your next workout!
With yoga, you will get to know your body optimally. Yoga also contributes to developing your well-being. With the gym, you will get to grow your body optimally. Gym contributes to rapid weight loss and faster muscle toning.
The bottom line is, set up your fitness goals first; then choose between yoga and gym accordingly depending on your fitness goals!
If you opt for yoga in the end, we can help you with designing yoga equipment, such as yoga mats, yoga straps and more! Have any other questions or concerns about choosing between yoga and gym? Feel free to reach us out through email or live chat.
Looking for more interesting content?