Can Yoga Benefit My Running Performance

Everyone knows that flexibility is important and you may feel left out when all your running club team mates can touch their toes. But the best thing about winter or when its just too hot to run is its a great chance to try something different and see if that can help. At certain times of the year the amount of miles you can do will dip because of the weather or maybe you are coming back from an injury and cant complete as many as you had done previously. Yoga can be a critical part of recovery or a get healthy program as it has huge potential.

Being a runner involves a lot of determination and persistence and mastering yoga can help to improve these traits. With so many benefits its surprising to see that up to 70% of runners in a survey at Runners World said they didn't take part in yoga or any form of flexibility training. And this is quite significant because many world class athletes have actually stated that they take part in yoga such as Lauren Fleshman who is a two time national 5000m outdoor champion claiming she used yoga to overcome an injury.

There are many studies that investigate the affect of yoga and core strength training methods on running performance. In particular, a study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in 2009 found that in a group of runners aged 25-45 their 5000m running time was faster after 6 weeks of yoga based training. They concluded that core strength training methods would significantly benefit performance in runners. As well as physical benefits yoga studies have shown that this type of regular exercise decreases stress, aids in weight loss, relieves pain and actually improves adherence to an exercise routine which in turn will improve running times.

I have briefly mentioned the mental benefits of taking part in yoga and this really is a great advantage. If your looking to compete or challenge yourself in an upcoming race most of what it takes to be successful is in the mind. Yoga builds up a great level of tenacity mainly because you have to apply yourself fully to master the technique's used in classes.

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This is because when completing a yoga stance there will be periods where you have to fight the natural urge to give up on the balance and start again, the same happens during a race. But in yoga you learn to control with breathing and patience to accept the situation and find a way to work through the pain and this can be applied to running easily. There are lots of pitfalls that can happen if you decide to start yoga but hopefully some of the information will help you decide how to start and continue onto a yoga filled training program.

Check Local Yoga Classes

There are so many different options to chose from with classes varying from yin yoga to vinyasa and there is no obvious choice that suits all runners. To be honest there is little difference between the types of classes and consistency is key when starting this type of training so take a taster session at each class and decide which instructor and style you like best. This is important because this is going to be a vital part of your training so needs to be challenging but enjoyable otherwise you simply wont attend.  

Timing Is Important

As much as we have discussed the benefits of taking part in yoga you still need to consider is the timing right for you? Particularly if you are looking ahead to a race you must think about your level of training before committing to a new style of training. For example if you are only a few weeks out from competition and your mileage is high then you should think about undertaking relaxing sessions which focus on recovery and rehabilitation type flexibility. But if you are in the off season or in the early stages of a training program you can take on the more rigorous approaches to yoga as you have time to allow the body to recover.

Don't Expect Miracles

When I recommend yoga to my clients they often come back saying they were awful at it and they hated it. But you need to be humble and remember you are starting something completely new and a lot of the positions aren't exactly natural. So don't go to your first class expecting to be a natural and be able to do the downward facing dog with ease, focus on your own ability and try not to look at the person next to you. You are there to better yourself in running and not become an expert in yoga. Take the challenge and find the determination to be better.

Avoid Getting Injured

Runners tend to be very competitive and have relatively high pain thresholds if they run over long distances. This can actually be a negative when it comes to yoga because you can try too hard. Yoga is designed to improve flexibility and a lot of the poses are designed to push muscles to their limits.

See Also: Beginner's Guide To Yoga

Try and reign in the competitiveness during yoga as there are no competitors its just you vs you. If there is an area you feel is tight talk to your instructor as they can offer you some additional poses or modify the ones they are using to help you avoid getting injured. The last thing you want is a part of your training used to improve performance to actually hamper it.