Fitness Basics For A Healthy Heart

Wondering what you need to know to improve your physical fitness and help reduce your heart disease risk? Let’s start with these fitness basics.

Physical activity is anything that makes you move your body and burn calories.

For people who would benefit from lowering their blood pressure or cholesterol, the American Heart Association recommends 40 minutes of aerobic exercise of moderate to vigorous intensity three to four times a week to lower the risk for heart attack and stroke.

Below are several key types of exercise that can all help you improve your level of fitness.

1. Strength and resistance training

Strength and resistance training are important elements of a good physical activity routine. The American Heart Association recommends strength training at least twice per week.

A well-rounded strength-training program provides the following benefits:

• Increased strength of bones, muscles and connective tissues (tendons and ligaments)
• Lower risk of injury
• Increased muscle mass, which makes it easier for your body to burn calories and thus maintain a healthy weight
• Better quality of life

2. Walking and running

Walking is a great way to get you moving with minimal impact on your body. It’s also low-risk and easy to start. While the AHA recommends that adults get 150 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week, even short 10 minute activity sessions can be added up over the week to reach this goal.

A regular walking program can also:

• Improve your cholesterol profile
• Lower blood pressure
• Increase your energy and stamina
• Boost bone strength
• Prevent weight gain

Do you want to start jogging or running but aren’t sure how? Dr. Deborah Rohm Young, vice chair of the AHA’s Physical Activity Subcommittee, encourages women to start by setting small goals. Begin by walking 15 minutes four times per week, Young suggests. “You can experience an increased sense of wellbeing almost immediately,” she says. “From there, you can have more energy to do other things.”

3. Yoga

Yoga is an ancient practice with potential mental and physical health benefits for people of all ages.

Practicing yoga—as part of an overall healthy lifestyle—can:

• Help lower blood pressure
• Increase lung capacity
• Improve respiratory function
• Boost circulation and
• Tone muscles
• Give you a sense of well-being while building strength

In addition, yoga poses require stretching, increasing flexibility.

Flexibility activities are an appropriate part of a physical activity program. Note however that yoga does not count toward the 150-minutes-per-week of recommended moderate activity. That’s due in part because some forms of yoga do not raise the heart rate enough to achieve moderate intensity aerobic activity for a sustained period.

Try these yoga moves to improve your heart health.

Learn more about different types of exercises, including swimming and bicycling, to find what is right for you.

3 Tips To Improve Your Cardio Workout

It is common practice for many people to enter the gym, and grudgingly get on a treadmill or cross trainer for their cardio work. Let's face it, cardio work can be a drag at times. Finding ways to to get more enthused about the process can inspire you to excel during this part of your exercise routine, and also make the time appear to pass more quickly.

So how can you make your time on the treadmill (or any piece of cardio equipment for that matter) more exciting? Listening to an MP3 or watching the TV monitor seems to be the standby for most, but if you're looking for something a littlle more motivational consider giving these 3 tips a try to put the bounce back into your cardio routine step. 

Tip 1: Try HIIT Training: 

The principle here essentially would be jogging for two minutes, sprinting for one, or jogging for one minute, sprinting for 30 seconds, and so on, you can alter the formula to suit your needs and ability. You do not need to do more than 20 minutes as the emphasis here is to get your heart rate up and down in a speedy fashion, which is great for fat burning.

* This method can be translated onto any piece of cardio equipment.

Tip 2: Set A Goal:

Don’t let your mind wander away when using cardio equipment, as this can take away from the intensity of your efforts. Every piece of cardio equipment will give you a reading of the distance you have covered. So why not set a goal of trying to beat the distance you may have covered the previous session in the same allotted period of time.

Eg: 5 miles/ 8km – covered in 30 minutes on the treadmill. So during the next session try to cover a larger distance.

Tip 3: Get Your Heart Racing:

Most cardio machines will have a heart rate sensor which is activated when you place your hands upon them. Ensure you are working within your target heart rate and pushing yourself by placing your hands on these sensors. Make sure your heart rate does not drop below your maximum heart rate.

To calculate your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) use the following formulas.

• Male athletes - MHR = 202 - (0.55 x age)
• Female athletes - MHR = 216 - (1.09 x age)

Give these tips a go and continue and alternate between each one to make things interesting and exciting.  

originally posted by muscleandfitness.com 

How To Maintain Muscle Mass

We all know how much persistence and consistency it takes to get a great physique.

• You have to hit the weights 3-5 times per week, every week, for at least 1-2 years.
• You often have to also find time for a couple hours of cardio per week.
• You have to watch what you eat, regulating intake to meet your goals of gaining or losing weight.

While some of us learn to enjoy the process, nobody ever said it was easy. It takes intense, regular work.

Now, how do things change once you’ve achieved the type of body you desire? Do you have to work just as hard to keep a good physique as you do to build one?

If that question doesn’t matter so much to you–if you’re like me and you just enjoy the fitness lifestyle–then maybe this one will catch your interest:

How can you maintain muscle and strength when you’re not able to follow your regular exercise routine?

Although some of us would love to be able to hit the gym 5 times per week without any unplanned breaks, year-in, year-out…life will inevitably throw us curve balls.

Staying in shape while traveling can be tricky. The holidays are notorious for messing with schedules (and diets). Family and work often take precedence over personal time.

Are you simply doomed to losing muscle and strength in such situations? Or is there an easy way to avert such problems?

Well, as you’ll see in this article, it’s much easier than most people think to maintain muscle and strength, and even continue to make gains.

Let’s get to it.

How Much Exercise it Takes to Maintain Muscle and Strength

I have good news for you:

It’s much easier to maintain a good physique and level of conditioning than it is to get there.

How easy, you ask?

Well, consider a study conducted by the University of Alberta with competitive rowers. After 10 weeks of weightlifting 3 times per week, 18 varsity female rowers were split into two groups. Both groups then did 6 weeks of maintenance resistance training, with one group training once per week, and the other twice per week.

The results? Both groups improved their strength in two exercises they performed each week, and maintained strength in the four others in their routine.

Yes, that’s right–according to that research, you can maintain your strength training just once per week. And that’s not the only study demonstrating this.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham conducted a study wherein subjects lifted weights 3 times per week (9 sets per workout) for 5 months, and then were assigned to one of three groups for the next eight months:

1. No exercise at all.
2. One weightlifting workout per week that consisted of 9 total sets.
3. One weightlifting workout per week that consisted of 3 total sets.

Over the course of the following 8 months, group 1 lost muscle (of course), but both groups 2 and 3 were able to maintain most of the muscle they had gained in the first part of the study, and even increase their strength.

So, what we can learn from these studies is this:

You can not only maintain muscle and strength training only 1-2 times per week, you can actually make gains.

Sure, you won’t be able to make the same kinds of gains as you can training 3-5 times per week, but you can do better than most people think.

• One study conducted by The University of Queensland showed that subjects that trained a muscle group twice per week made about 70% of the gains of those training three times per week.
• A study conducted by the University of Florida showed that subjects doing isometric training twice per week made about 80% of the gains of those training three times per week.
• Researchers from Laurentian University found that one group of subjects training twice per week, performing 27 total sets per week, made equal gains to another group training three times per week for the same number of sets.

The key takeaway here is that weekly workout volume is at least as important, if not more important than, workout frequency.

So, here’s the point that will come as a great relief to many:

Regardless of what’s going on in your life, if you can sneak away from the hustle and bustle for a couple hours per week, you can minimally keep your hard-earned gains.

Now, how do you best go about the training? What type of workouts will deliver the best results when you’re only training 1-2 times per week?

The Perfect “Muscle Maintenance” Program

When you can only train once or twice per week, what you do is very important.

If you’re in decent shape and simply hopped on some machines and got a pump, you certainly won’t make gains, and will almost certainly lose muscle over time.

The bottom line is when you reduce workout frequency, you have to increase volume and, most importantly, intensity (the amount of weight you’re lifting).

You also want to focus on exercises that recruit the maximum amount of muscle, which are the big compound lifts like Deadlifts, Squats, Bench Press, and Military Press.

I could delve into some more advanced physiology here to further explain the relationship between frequency, volume, intensity, and exercise choice, but let’s save that theory for another post and get to the practical.

Here’s how to get the most out of training twice per week.

Training Twice Per Week

When you can only train twice per week, I recommend you use one day to train your push and pull muscles, and another day to focus on your legs, with a little additional push.

The following workouts take about an hour to complete. Rest 2-3 minutes in between each set, and take at least one day of rest in between each (two days of rest between each is ideal, I think).

Day 1: Push/Pull

Deadlift: Warm up and 3 sets 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Bench Press: Warm up and 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Barbell Row: 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Military Press: 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Day 2: Legs & Additional Push

Bench Press: Warm up and 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Squat: Warm up and 3 sets 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Hack Squat (sled, not barbell) or Leg Press: 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Romanian Deadlift: 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

This is a brutally simple and effective workout. With it, you should expect to make gains, not simply remain the same.

It trains every major and minor muscle group in your body, and the emphasis on the 4-6 rep range focuses on inducing myofibrillar growth, which is ultimately what creates the big, strong, dense muscle that we all want.

As with any program, the most important factor in terms of making gains is progressive overload.That is, you have to keep adding weight to the bar as time goes on.

To do this, simply add weight once you hit 6 reps in a set. Go up 10 lbs, whether by adding 5 lbs to each side of the barbell, or moving up 5 lbs on dumbbells.

Training Once Per Week

If you can only train once per week, don’t despair–you can not only maintain muscle, strength, and conditioning, but you too can make gains.

The following workout hits every major muscle group in the body, and takes about 1:15 to complete. Rest 2-3 minutes in between each set. It’s hard, but very effective.

Squat: Warm up and 3 sets 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Deadlift: Warm up and 3 sets 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Bench Press: Warm up and 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Barbell Row: 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Military Press: 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Again, nothing fancy here–just heavy, compound lifting, hitting your entire body. Move up on your weights as described above.

originally posted by muscleforlife.com 

The Complete 4 Week Beginners Workout Routine

In the realm of fitness, three-month programs dominate the landscape. You’ve even seen plenty of them in this magazine over the years. Are they effective? Absolutely. But we’re going to let you in on an interesting secret: It doesn’t necessary take eight or 12 weeks to get your feet wet in the gym. Not that you’ll be a seasoned vet after four weeks, but if you can just get that first month under your belt, you’ll get yourself over the proverbial hump where so many fail and give up, and set the stage for a lifetime of gains.

Let’s just call this the accelerated beginner’s guide to bodybuilding. In this plan, your first month of training will be demanding, but not so demanding as to cause injury (or worse yet, burnout), and progressive in the sense that each week you’ll graduate to different exercises, higher volume, more intensity or all of the above. After four weeks you’ll not only be ready for the next challenge but you’ll have built a significant amount of quality muscle. In other words, one month from now you’ll look significantly better with your shirt off than you look now. (How’s that for results?)

This program isn’t just for the true beginner who has never touched a weight before; it’s also suitable for anyone who has taken an extended leave of absence from training. How long has it been since you went to the gym regularly? Six months? A year? Five years? No worries: The following routines will get you back on track in — you guessed it — just four short weeks. Let’s get to work.

WEEK 1: WHOLE IN ONE

You’ll begin the program with a full-body training split, meaning you’ll train all major bodyparts in each workout (as opposed to “splitting up” your training). Train three days this first week, performing just one exercise per bodypart in each session. It’s important that you have a day of rest between each workout to allow your body to recover; this makes training Monday, Wednesday and Friday — with Saturday and Sunday being rest days — a good approach.

The exercises listed in Week 1 are a collection of basic moves that, while also used by advanced lifters, we feel are suitable for the beginner as well. Notice we’re not starting you off with only machine exercises; a handful of free-weight movements are present right off the bat. Reason being, these are the exercises you need to master for long-term gains in muscular size and strength, so you may as well start learning them now. Carefully read all exercise descriptions, starting on page, before attempting them yourself.

In Week 1 you’ll perform three sets of every exercise per workout, which over the course of the week adds up to nine sets total for each bodypart, a good starting volume for your purposes. With the exception of crunches for abs, you’ll do 8–12 reps per set. This rep scheme is widely considered ideal for achieving gains in muscle size (the scientific term is hypertrophy) and is commonly employed by amateur and pro bodybuilders alike.

Notice in the workouts below that your first set calls for eight reps, your second set 10 reps and your third set 12. This is referred to in bodybuilding circles as a “reverse pyramid” (a standard pyramid goes from higher to lower reps), where you decrease the weight each set to complete the higher rep count. For example, if on your first set of lat pulldowns you used 140 pounds for eight reps, try using 120 or 130 pounds on set two and 100–120 pounds on set three.

WEEK 2: SPLIT DECISION

You’re only a week into the program, yet you’ll begin to train different bodyparts on different days with a two-day training split (meaning the entire body is trained over the course of two days, rather than one as in the first week). You’ll train a total of four days this week; the split includes two upper-body days (Monday and Thursday) and two lower-body days (Tuesday and Friday), and each bodypart is trained twice. Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday will be your recovery days.

Several exercises from Week 1 are carried over to Week 2, but one move is added to each bodypart routine — with the exception of abs — so you can train all muscle groups more completely from multiple angles. Chest, for example, includes two exercises: One is a compound movement (dumbbell bench press) that involves multiple joints (both the shoulder and elbow) to work the largest amount of muscle possible, and the other is an isolation exercise (dumbbell flye) that involves only one joint (shoulder) and targets the pecs to a greater extent. (When doing presses for chest, the deltoids and triceps are involved to a degree, meaning presses don’t isolate the pecs as much as flyes do.)

You’ll again employ a reverse pyramid scheme of reps, though in Week 2 you’ll go slightly higher in reps (15) on your third set of each exercise. Fifteen reps may be just outside the ideal muscle-building range, but these sets will help you increase muscular endurance to provide a solid foundation on which to build size and strength going forward.

WEEK 3: THREE ON THREE

In the third week of the program we step it up to a three-day training split: Train all “pushing” bodyparts (chest, shoulders, triceps) on Day 1; hit the “pulling” bodyparts (back, biceps) and abs on Day 2; and work your lower body (quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves) on Day 3. As in Week 2, you train each bodypart twice a week, so you’ll hit the gym six days this week.

One new exercise is added to each bodypart routine to provide even more angles from which to train your target muscles to promote complete development. You’ll hit each muscle group with two exercises of 3­–4 sets each: four sets for large bodyparts (chest, back, shoulders, quads, hamstrings) and three sets for smaller bodyparts (biceps, triceps, abs, calves). The result is 16 total sets for the week for large bodyparts and 12 sets total for smaller ones — again, working in the 8–15-rep range — which is a substantial increase in volume from Week 1.

WEEK 4: TURNING UP THE VOLUME

In the fourth and final week of the program, you’ll train four days in a four-way split that hits each bodypart just once (except for calves and abs, which are each trained twice). Four-day splits are common among experienced lifters because they involve training fewer bodyparts (typically 2–3) per workout, which gives each muscle group ample attention and allows you to train with higher volume. As you’ll see, chest and triceps are paired up, as are back with biceps and quads with hamstrings, each a very common pairing among novice and advanced bodybuilders. Shoulders are trained more or less on their own, and you’ll alternate hitting calves and abs — which respond well to being trained multiple times per week — every other workout. No new exercises are introduced in Week 4 so that you can focus on intensity in your workouts instead of learning new movements.

Rep schemes remain in the hypertrophy range this week, but overall volume increases by adding more sets to individual exercises: up to five sets per move for larger bodyparts, and even 10 sets of calf raises on Thursday. This bump in volume will ensure that your muscles are overloaded sufficiently to continue the growth they’ve already begun experiencing in the first three weeks. Completion of this four-week program now entitles you to go to the next stage.

Originally posted by muscleandfitness.com

WNY MMA & Fitness the importance of cardio.

WNY MMA & FITNESS The Importance of Cardio.

Cardio

We’ve all seen Rocky wake up early, pound back raw eggs, then head out for a run.

Roadwork is a big part of the sport. But sprinting and more intense forms of cardio are as–if not more–effective than the slower method of running. We do both here at WNY MMA.

Early Morning Roadwork

Roadwork is typically done upon rising on an empty stomach. Ideally run 3-5 miles. Although when Rocky Marciano read that Joe Louis ran 5 miles, he started running 10. I’ll leave this up to you. Remember, Being able to out last your opponent is crucial to victory in MMA. 

Do this 5 days a week, and feel free to shadow box as you jog. It’ll get you used to throwing punches as you move your feet.

Sprints

Intense bursts of cardio, such as sprints, better replicate the explosive combinations of a fight. They also help boost human growth hormone (HGH) levels, helping us burn fat while maintaining muscle.

Sprints are great for improving conditioning. They’re also easier on the body due to the lessened impact on our knees when sprinting at full speed (in comparison to the typical  “heel/toe” gait of a jog of runner with poor form that creates a high degree of impact on the knees and lower back.).

I like performing sprints up hills or stairs due to the added difficulty. If you have access to either, use them. If it’s your first time running in a while, warm up with 10 minutes of skipping, and only sprint at 85% to avoid pulling anything. After an initial session or two, up the intensity to 95%, then to 100%, and remain there for the duration of the program.

Why Circuit Training at WNY MMA & Fitness is Beneficial

Circuit Training Basics

Circuit training consists of performing multiple exercises on multiple body parts in a row with little rest in between exertions. The two most basic types of circuit training are horizontal training and vertical training. In horizontal training, all sets of one exercise are performed before a person moves on to the next exercise. In vertical training, one set of every different type of exercise is performed before returning to an exercise for the second time.

The amount of weight that a person lifts during a circuit training session can vary between sets. A person can start with light weights and work up to heavier weights (increasing pyramid) or can start with heavy weights and regress to lighter weights (decreasing pyramid). The most important component of circuit training is to take little rest in between sets, whether of the same or different exercises

Circuit Training Benefits

Due to the lack of rest that circuit training at wny mma demands, exercisers maintain elevated heart rates for the entire period of exercise. The combination of weight training and increased cardiovascular effort makes circuit training a beneficial type of cross training. The exerciser gains muscle through the resistance training. The exerciser increases his/her cardiovascular endurance during the slightly elevated heart rate that is maintained in between sets and throughout the overall program.  The exerciser burns high amounts of calories during the high exertion periods of his/her sets.

Circuit training is also a convenient way to exercise.  It maximizes the total exercise volume (number of sets, repetitions, and amount of weight) completed in a period of time. Exercises are completed in a row, and therefore, the time spent exercising is condensed. Separate cardiovascular training is not necessary. All body parts are trained in one session, and therefore, exercisers do not need to work out everyday. 

WNY MMA & Fitness: No Band Pull Ups Please!!!!

At wny mma, we do not allow our members to do band assisted pull ups and for various reasons. Below are some reasons why and alternatives to the pull ups you may have been considering. No worries, i'll wait while you read.

Bands Provide Inconsistent Assistance

The intent of banded pull ups is a good one. It provides assistance to the athlete so he or she can get the chin or chest to the bar. It is a cheap alternative to the expensive machine that provides a counterweight applied to the person’s legs or knees to assist him or her (sometimes called a Gravitron machine). But as the cliché goes, you get what you pay for. 

 

The banded pull up is like a spotter that is sometimes overly attentive and at other times not paying attention at all. Imagine someone spotting you on a bench press and at the bottom position, he yanks on the bar for you. At the top position, he is off checking his phone. The banded pull up is similar in how it assists people. 

The banded pull up is like a spotter that is sometimes overly attentive and at other times not paying attention at all."

The Solution - Get a Spotter

If you want to perform assisted pull ups, get a spotter. A spotter will be able to provide more optimal assistance by giving you enough assistance in your sticky spots so you can finish the movement and gain strength. In many group classes, it might be difficult to have spotters, but a team workout , just like the ones at wny mma, where one member is working and the other is spotting could be an alternative.

Bands Should Only Complement the Resistance Curve

In compensatory acceleration training of the squat, the athlete uses bands attached to the ground to provide greater resistance in the top part of the exercise where the movement is easier. With this technique, we learn to accelerate through our lifts, which helps us lift heavier things. In banded pull ups, we are doing the opposite by giving assistance in all the wrong places. 

The bottom of the pull up is where we need to start from a dead stop. We have no momentum and our leverage is at its worst. Sounds like a perfect place to help, right? Well, yes - but only if you don’t want to build strength. The places we struggle are where we build the most strength. The bottom of a banded pull up is like a jumping device for babies. It might be entertaining and fun, but it might not be the optimal way to build strength.

The Solution - Do Jumping Pull Ups

You can break through strength plateaus by getting stuck in the toughest positions. We do box squats or pause squats to practice being stuck in the bottom. Thus, I would suggest jumping pull ups, which simply involve jumping up on the bar and slowly lowering yourself down. The key is in resisting on the way down.

 

"A more advanced person could do pauses at his or her sticky points. This controlled and slow descent will build pull up strength much faster than bands."

In a workout, you can figure out how long each descent should be and shoot for time on the way down as the goal (e.g., each round will have five reps of two seconds on the way down). Don’t count reps where you don’t hold for the specified time. It will be much better for you in the long run if you don’t rush on the way down. A more advanced person could do pauses at his or her sticky points. This controlled and slow descent will build pull up strength much faster than bands.

Get Rid of the Bands 

The third reason is a sub-reason of the last one. If you are not creating strength in the right part of the strength curve, then you will have a difficult time getting off bands. Many people talk about a progression of going from greater resistance bands to lighter bands. But our body takes a long time to adapt to the dead weight at the bottom of the pull up and the bands are an inefficient way to build strength. As a result, I have seen many people a year into their training still doing pull ups on bands. No worries, as this is not a factor when training at wny mma.  

The Solution - Grease the Groove

As a person attempting your first pull up, more volume can be helpful. A greasing-the-groove type of program might be perfect for some. Every hour or so, do a few jumping pull ups with a slow descent. If you can’t do them throughout the day, do them everyday. A low daily volume over frequent days adds up to impressive gains.

Ring Rows Are a Better Alternative for Beginners

Ring rows are great for a beginning athlete. The movement is easily scaled by moving the feet forward or backward and/or bending the knees. 

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In many aspects of CrossFit and mixed martial arts fitness at wny mma, we do a lot of pressing movements (overhead presses, bench press, push ups). The pull up winds up being one of our only pulling movements. The pull up is great, but it is also good to change the angle of the pull to build up the muscles of the back, the rotator cuff, and around the scapula. I recommend ring rows or some type of bent-over row for everyone in order to create balance in muscular development and to support shoulder health. 

 

Another similar option is to place a bar in the rack. You can then do pull ups with your feet outstretched in front to provide assistance (i.e., a nice tight plank with the feet taking away some of the weight of the body). Some people also know this as an Australian pull up(because you’re “down under.”)

I recommend ring rows or some type of bent-over row for everyone in order to create balance in muscular development and to support shoulder health."

Wrap Up

As the saying goes (I may have it slightly wrong), friends don’t let friends do banded pull ups. Bands are like drugs. Please don’t get hooked on them. 

 

The only time a band would be appropriate is if the bands are attached to something on the floor and are providing resistance. That is a great use of bands as it gives the most resistance at the top of the movement and teaches explosiveness on the way up. 

 

But if your goal is to build strength for strict pull ups, I recommend ring rows and jumping pull ups with slow descents. These exercises will build strength much more quickly for the pull up.

Yoga at WNY MMA

Yoga at WNY MMA

You know what I find surprising, its that the participation in yoga around the western new york area is not at the level that it could be. This could be due to the misconception that the practice of yoga is only for women. This couldn't be further from the truth, and I will shed some light on why the guys can benefit from the practice, aswell as post a video at the end for your viewing pleasure of course. All this courtesy of WNY MMA.

Propioception

coming from the latin word propius which means ones own or individual and perception, propioception is the ability to sense where your body parts are in relation to space, aswell as the amount of strength being employed by them. In other words, its a very big deal. You can develop this sense to some degree throughout life, but it is significantly increased through athletic endeavors like; martial arts, gymnastics, yoga, etc. 

Improved Flexibility & Physical Condition

 Common issues for guys are tight hips, Calves and lower backs. Aswell as weak hip flexors, of course anything can be fixed once you know about it. But you won't find out how inflexible or weak your muscles are until you practice yoga. Those weaknesses will become apparent once you start working through the many postures and series of movements. Don't feel anxious about it, over time you will become stronger, no weights needed. Oh, and that flexibility will definitely come in handy for your grappling and striking, just a lil something to keep in mind.

Respiratory Issues?

Not after practicing yoga, in a study that included individuals who suffered from asthma, showed an improvement in vital lung capacity, forced expiratory volume, and expiration flow rate over the course of 8 weeks when compared with a control. What does this mean for you, gradual increase in respiratory health and performance. Meaning, you won't need that inhaler as much. 

Extras:

this was a relatively short article, but I will post some valuable information for the other benefits of yoga, aswell as a video of a UFC competitor that lived in india for a period of time to improve himself through the use of yoga. Its a very interesting video. So all in all, come by WNY MMA for your dose of yoga and mma. The more people to show interest, the more yoga classes we can have. So, the more the merrier. 

Thats all for today, WNY Signing out.