Should I do yoga before or after my run?

January 5, 2017 Ashley 0 Comments

Running is a great way to lose weight.

(No money to give up. No gym lines to wait in. No machines to fall off or faceplant into…)

But, unfortunately, it’s also a great way to injure yourself – if you aren’t balancing it out with the proper sorts’ve stretches and strengthening when you’re not doing it. And, obviously that’s counterproductive. If you hurt yourself, then you’re laid up with an injury for at least a couple of weeks. Before you know it, your weight loss goals are lost. And we all know how hard it is to get started after falling off track. So before you hit the track, how should you prep for your aerobic treading? I asked myself this and I wondered: wait – could another great weight loss tool – yoga – aid in my favorite weight loss activity? Could my asanas assist in keeping me limber and strong – seeing as it offers lots’ve strengthening and stretching? As it turns out, yes. Yes, it can. So my next question, of course, was – alright… when do I do it? Before my run? After my run? On those days I don’t run? (A.K.A: never?)

The answer: yes.

Yes to all of those things. Yes to before the run. Yes to after the run. And, yes, definitely on your rest days (if you’re smart unlike me and take at least one each week). The caveat? That you’ll wanna cater which poses you perform when. See, before the run is when you’re going for more motion in your warmup. (Dynamic warmups are what they call this.) So, instead’ve holding a posture for longer, a better bet is to transition smoothly between each, repeatedly.

(Tree to to warrior three – two goodies for outdoor warmups)

And, aside from that, not only does pre-cardio yoga help Gumby-fy you for run time – it also helps with breathing and balance. That’s fantastic, seeing as those’re the first two things to go the second I get the slightest bit fatigued. (Culminating in a muddy faceplant moments later when some malevolent root rudely reaches up and yanks my ankle earthward.) So, what should you stick with beforehand? The likes of mountain pose, warrior, and tree are fantastic. The plus to poses like these is that – aside from stabilizing you – they also are standup moves. In other words – you don’t have to put your paws on the pavement or get any other non-shoe covered bits of your body in the dirt. And, if you’re a nature-phile style runner like myself, that’s a plus and a half.

Then, after your sweat sesh’s ended, that’s when you can enjoy the more restorative poses. Back home, on the safety of your clean carpet (unless it’s mine – which probably belongs in a biohazard landfill somewhere by this point) or yoga mat, you can do some stellar supine stuff. Examples? Glad you asked! Relaxing poses like half pigeon, reverse child’s pose, and corpse (my fave) impart a far deeper stretch for those lower extremities and hips and elicit the required unwinding by allowing you to focus on respiring and relaxing your body. So, def keep those in your post aerobic yogi tote, too.

(Pigeon’s perfect for the upper bit’ve your lower limbs ’cause it stretches separate muscles in both legs, simultaneously.)

However, let’s not let the legs get all the attention.

’cause neglecting your upper body’s a massive mistake we often make as runner’s. You wouldn’t think that’d matter, would you? But try treading for an extended stretch and tell me those pecs aren’t cinched in. Of course they are. After a nice long jog, our northerly somatic sections get vice-tight. That’s why a bit’ve bow or fish pose is an excellent recipe for releasing our shoulders and chest as well.

(Protip: press your ankles into your hands to *really* unzip that rib flesh…)

The nice yes and to all of this? That – along with all the calories and fat you’re incinerating in the middle of your sprint sesh – yoga in itself (as mentioned about) is a weight loss tool. But it’s more like the drum beat to your whole weight loss song. It’s what carries you – because it’s a mindful practice. In other words, by doing it on the daily, it’ll change your brain and make you make better lifestyle choices in general when you’re off the trail or track or asphalt. You eat more mindfully. You go to bed at a better time. You make the kinda choices in general that help make weight loss easier. And that’s half the battle you can defeat – one warrior pose at a time.

So, start surrounding your run with a handful of asanas.

That way, you can avoid being laid up on your as-sana later – and adding weight to it.