10 Tips To Improve Your Cardio Workout

Making cardio workouts part of your exercise regimen is a surefire way to improve fitness and health. But you don't have to spend hours on the treadmill or trail to achieve results. Instead, use these tips for effective cardio workouts that burn calories and fat.

1. Increase the Incline

Instead of running on a flat road or treadmill, head for the hills or bump up the incline. Running uphill will send the heart rate through the roof and increase the calorie burn. Some added benefits include improved leg strength, running form and spring speed.

2. Hands Free

When using a piece of cardio equipment don't hold onto the handrail. Just let go and pump the arms forward and back, not across the body (which will reduce the effectiveness of a workout).

3. The Great Outdoors

If possible, take to the outdoors to add variety and new challenges to a boring running routine. Mountain biking and trail running on uneven surfaces improves athleticism and balance while working smaller, but equally important, stabilizer muscles.

4. Stop and Go

Use interval training to increase workout intensity and maximize results. Alternate periods of all-out effort with periods of low effort or rest. Try sprinting 100 meters and then walking or jogging back to the start line before repeating the sprint. Eight to 10 sprints is all it will take to get a great workout.

5. Swing It

Try kettlebell training for a workout that provides both cardio and strength benefits. Use the two-hand kettlebell swing to improve lung efficiency and maximum heart rate in a fraction of the time of traditional training methods.

6. More Work, Less Rest

Select six to eight body weight exercises, resistance training and cardio-based movements to use as part of an up-tempo circuit-based workout. Perform the first exercise, and then move onto the next without working. Repeat for each exercise before resting for one to two minutes at the end of the circuit.

7. Keep Pace

Use a smart phone app (like FitDay), heart rate monitor or GPS to record distance, pace and calories burned. Tracking all of these variables helps increase motivation and promote progress to avoid a performance plateau.

8. Turn it Up

The music that is. Listening to music during a workout improves performance by increasing motivation and reducing fatigue. Pick something up-beat and fast-paced to keep energy levels high throughout the workout.

9. The Buddy System

Workout with a training partner or group of friends to make the entire gym experience more enjoyable. Being accountable to another person will also serve as motivation and prevent missed workouts.

10. Be Consistent

The best way to get results from a cardio workout is to create a routine and stick to it. Whether it's first thing in the morning, at lunch or after work, the body will adapt to training any time during the day. Be consistent and exercise on a consistent basis and your fitness goals are within reach.

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 

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

6 Tips to Help You Stick With Exercise

6 Tips to Help You Stick With Exercise

It's easy to talk yourself out of exercising. Even when you have the best intentions to work out, excuses are so easy to find -- “I’m too tired,” or "I’m busy," or "The weather is bad."

The right attitude and a few tricks can keep your fitness routine on track. Use these tips to stay in the game:

1. Do it for yourself. Studies show that people who are "externally motivated" -- that is, they hit the gym just to look good at your class reunion -- don't stick with it. Those who are "internally motivated" -- meaning they exercise because they love it -- are the ones who stay in it for the long run.

2. Take baby steps. You would never try to run 10 miles on day one, right? When you do too much too soon, you’ll end up sore, injured, and discouraged. Take it easy as you get started. Maybe you only run a quarter of a mile your first week. When that becomes easy, you can make it more challenging.

3. Hang tough. No one has perfect form the first day of strength training. Every workout takes practice. You'll get the hang of it if you keep making an effort.

4. Mix it up. Do different types of workouts to keep things interesting and to exercise different muscle groups. If the elliptical machine is usually your thing, hop on the stair climber for some cardio instead. Also, switch between machines and free weights when you strength-train. You don't have to reinvent your entire routine every week, but you do want to shift it around a little.

5. Don’t be your own drill sergeant. Half of all people who start a new exercise program ditch it within the first year. It often happens because they can't keep up the boot-camp pace they've forced on themselves. It’s better to work within your limits, and gradually get stronger.

6. Bring a friend. When your inner demons order you to hit the couch instead of the treadmill, a workout partner can steer you back in the right direction. It's easier to bail out on the gym than on the friend who waits for you there. Studies show you'll also work out longer when you have a pal along.

Originally posted by webmd.com

Why You Should Do Yoga at WNY MMA

Why You Should Do 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.

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: The "Squats"

Squats are lifting royalty for curing chicken leg syndrome’ and building high-performance muscle mass. Squats develop total-body strength, stimulate tons of total body muscle growth, and improve athleticism.Yep, the squat reigns king among bang-for-your buck exercises at wny mma. World re-knowned fitness guru Michael Katilus states that the key to athletic prowess is built through postural chain building exercises and the squat is Zulu (a god in Scientology). 

"To maximize the squat you need the mobility to reach proper position and the stability to control movement through the intended range of motion."

Problem is, most lifters have the mobility of a cast-iron skillet and lack the ability to squat safely and effectively. To maximize the squat you need the mobility to reach proper position and the stability to control movement through the intended range of motion. 

It’s time to maximize your squat potential through improving technique, mobility, and execution. With these ten tips you’ll take your squat performance to new levels.

1. Train for Maximum Strength

Despite the fact you need to train heavy to build maximum strength, people often neglect heavy weights. Yes, training with submaximal loads will spare your joints and nervous system to a degree, but even to maximize submaximal training you need a base of absolute strength. Training at 60% 1RM for speed is much more effective when your 1RM is 1.5 to two-times your bodyweight.

Heavy lifting is generally defined as 85+% maximum effort for multiple sets of one to five reps. But it’s best to avoid missing lifts. Missing lifts consistently zaps your nervous system, engrains poor technique, and wrecks your confidence. Hit the reps you know you’ll make and save yourself for the occasional max-out attempts at wny mma.

2. Train Submaximal Reps for Power

Strength-speed and speed-strength are synonymous with power. They produce a sky-high power output compared with longer-duration, lower-velocity maximum strength exercises.

"Compare a tractor-trailer and a Ferrari. It’s great to have a ton of horsepower, but for high performance, it’s best to generate horsepower rapidly."

For breaking lifting plateaus or achieving more weight-room transfer from athletes, power development is key. Compare a tractor-trailer and a Ferrari. It’s great to have a ton of horsepower, but for high performance, it’s best to generate horsepower rapidly.Remember: Power= Work/Time

Most research shows that maximum power is achieved through moving moderate loads at high velocity with loads of 40-60% of your 1RM. Depending on the womens fitness athlete, there will be differences within this range and some experimentation will be needed to find what’s best.

For a big squat, speed squats are ideal for power development and technical practice.These can be used as long as a decent base of absolute strength is present and technique isn’t an issue.

3. Train Speed and Speed-Strength

Speed-strength works the lower-load, higher-velocity component of the force velocity curve to train explosive power. Once again, the greater your base of absolute strength, the easier it will be to express explosive strength. For most lifters, keep the emphasis on explosive jumps that match the biomechanics of the squat closest, i.e. jump squats.

There are tons of variations that address speed of movement, landing mechanics, and power without too much risk. Your best choices are broad jumps, vertical jumps, and box jumps to increase your rate of force development and explode through sticking points. Stick to single-response jumps and ensure sound landing mechanics before moving to multi-response jumps.

4. Squat Twice Per Week

Multiple squatting sessions per week maximizes technical and neuromuscular efficiency through training at variable intensities. Squatting twice per week at wny mma allows you to focus on one heavy and one speed session. Separate these sessions by 48-72 hours for full recovery.

"Targeting the squat pattern with multiple sessions per week while addressing the force-velocity spectrum leads to greater gains in power, strength, and explosiveness."

I like to combine a speed-strength method before squatting, followed by maximum strength (85-95+%) on the first squat day. On the second day, I’ll emphasize a pure speed movement with a submaximal strength-speed squat (40-75%). Targeting the squat pattern with multiple sessions per week while addressing the force-velocity spectrum leads to greater gains in power, strength, and explosiveness.

5. Train Your Squat Depth

Yes, building a big squat is great and should improve multiple performance parameters.  But the key word is “should.” Too many coaches and athletes sell out for big totals in the “big three” and being hardcore with ass-to-grass (ATG) squats no matter what.

 

While ATG will earn you props on the interwebz, it doesn’t mean anything if you’re risking injury to the lumbar spine. If you squat to depth without a tuck - keep going. But if you can’t maintain position due to lack of core control or bony hip anatomy, don’t force a deep squat.

. Cycle in Front Squats

Yes, back squats take the title as the King Builder, but front squats offer a plethora of benefits:

• Increased core integrity, allowing greater depth without compromised spinal position and, thus, greater relative muscle activation at lighter weights compared to the back squat.
• Similar muscle activation of the back squat without as much joint compression and shear stress due to using less weight.
• Increased strength requirements of the thoracic extendors to hold position - a bonus for desk jockeys with kyphotic posture.

7. Spread the Floor

Allowing the knees to buckle in, known as valgus collapse, is a great way to reinforce poor mechanics and set you up for a knee injury. For most people, allowing the knees to buckle engrains dangerous technique, especially if it leads to uncontrolled valgus collapse during sport or recreation activities.

"Allowing the knees to buckle in, known as valgus collapse, is a great way to reinforce poor mechanics and set you up for a knee injury."

Prevent valgus collapse by spreading the floor and pushing the knees out during the squat. This emphasizes hip and posterior chain development and will skyrocket your squat numbers.

8. Train the Pause

If you’re squatting to depth, you need to be stable in the bottom position. Train the pause by using submaximal loads and squatting to maximum depth while maintaining trunk integrity (this means no butt-wink). Unless you’re training for a big total and need to hit certain depth, the risk versus reward probably isn’t worth a rock-bottom squat under load in the presence of butt-wink.

9. Bend the Bar

Don’t be lazy with the bar. Get your Hulk on and try to bend it around your body. If you’re not actively applying force to the bar, the bar will act on you – jumping off or burying you in failure, we don't fail at wny mma.

"If you’re not actively applying force to the bar, the bar will act on you."

Drive your elbows down and back to engage the lats, provide a larger shelf for the barbell, and create additionally stability in the trunk. Solomonow, et al concluded that over 200 muscles are activated during squat performance. Use them all to maximize your squat performance. 

Additionally, you’ll prevent the bar from jumping off your back during explosive squats, improving rep quality and decreasing injury risk. You don’t want to be that chump who loses a barbell behind your back during training anyway.

10. Rack at the Correct Height

We’ve all seen it: a rack set-up too high, a calf-raise walkout followed by the poor sap nearly cracking his skull when re-racking. Besides inappropriate barbell loading, improper rack set-up is the best way to get injured.

Set the rack up with the barbell set between nipple and shoulder height, low enough to allow you to squat to weight out and easily re-rack, as well.

Summary

The squat is a technical movement and squatting appropriately for your body type and goals is imperative to long-term success.Optimize your technique first, and then start piling on plates.

Take these tips into consideration and you’ll be squatting big weights without pain for years to come.

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.