Category: Personal Training

Written by Nat Young – Clinical Hypno-Psychotherapist, Fitness Instructor and Yoga Teacher

This is a question I’m often asked and the short answer is “of course you can!” but whether you’ll reach your fitness goals with ‘just yoga’ is another question. Let me explain…

A well-rounded fitness programme will consist of exercises for strength, cardiovascular fitness and flexibility. The NHS regards yoga as a strength building exercise (as well as the obvious benefits to flexibility), however, not all yoga is equal. If you’re doing Yin-style yoga, that’s not strength-based at all as it’s focused on flexibility of the joints and connective tissues. However, a strong Hatha, Vinyasa or Power inspired yoga practice such as our fitness-focused yoga classes is a different story! You’ll get strength benefits from these faster, stronger styles.

An important distinction to make is that all yoga is bodyweight-based so you won’t get the same ‘tone’ that you get from lifting weights (think ‘long and lean’ muscles!) In terms of lifting weights, how you lift them is important. Lighter weights and high repetitions such as those you might find in a studio weights class such as Body Pump will help with muscular endurance (so you train your body to be able to continue when it gets tired) but heavier weights and low repetitions such as those in a gym-based environment are better for building size and ultimate strength. Building muscle is also great if your goal is weight loss as a higher muscle mass will boost metabolism.

Lots of ladies worry about lifting heavier weights in case they bulk up too much but rest assured, it’s much harder for women to bulk up as we don’t have the high levels of testosterone that our male counterparts have. Yoga also doesn’t have a lot of pulling movements (it’s mainly pushing movements) so supplementing your yoga practice with exercises like lat pulldowns or rows can really help to keep the balance.

From a cardio fitness perspective, you’ll get some benefit from a faster paced yoga class but really it’s best to supplement your yoga practice with some dedicated heart-rate raising activities as well. Cycling, swimming, running or simply walking briskly are all fantastic for this. As long as you feel yourself getting breathless with the effort, it’ll be increasing your cardio fitness.

While balance is important to make your fitness goals a reality, it’s also important to choose forms of exercise that you enjoy. You’re more likely to stick with your exercise regime if you look forward to doing it! Consistency is key.

At Aurora we know all-round fitness is important, whether it’s physical fitness or mind fitness. That’s why we offer personal training and hypnotherapy as well as yoga. Why not get in touch to see how we could help with your mind and body fitness goals?

Written by Nick Young – Personal Trainer.

Whether it’s a yoga class, a personal training session or other physical activity, if you’ve ever taken part in a session with Aurora Mind and Body, we’ll have asked you to fill out a form about your medical and exercise history and readiness to participate (as should all exercise professionals). There are a few reasons why we do this and it’s not because we enjoy paperwork! We may also need to ask you a couple of follow-up questions depending on your responses to the form. 

Firstly, and most importantly, we need to ensure your safety. If you have a health condition, some forms of exercise may be unsuitable for you or even dangerous to your wellbeing. In such a circumstance we always aim to be empathetic and helpful  but we’re not doctors. If we don’t know what your condition means from an exercise perspective, please understand that we may ask you to see your doctor for clearance before participating in some cases. It’s a part of the REPs code of ethics that all exercise professionals sign up to, to train you ‘safely and effectively’.

Secondly, we want you to get the most out of your exercise. We recognise that you’ve made the effort to invest in your personal health and fitness, and we want to encourage that. With no two people the same, what one person finds easy, another person will find difficult. There are many different ways of getting the same exercise benefit and if we know about any aches, pains or ailments before your session, we can modify those exercises to work with your body rather than against it.

“…it’s not because we’re nosey but because we want to ensure your exercise is as safe and enjoyable as possible“

Finally, we have to consider the legal aspect. Some conditions require special training and we’d be considered negligent if we trained you when we don’t have specialist knowledge of a condition or limitation you have.  To do otherwise would be contrary to the REPs code of ethics that we adhere to. It’s therefore important that you’ve taken medical advice if you answer ‘yes’ to any questions on your health form.

We also know that your health and fitness changes over time, so even if you’ve filled out a health form before, we ask that you let us know if anything changes. We may also ask you to fill out a new form if you haven’t filled one out for a while. So as you can see, health forms aren’t required because we’re nosey but rather because we want to ensure your exercise is as safe and enjoyable as possible!