Strength Training
A couple of weeks ago, we held a strength training workshop where we explored what strength is, why it matters, and how we can build it in a practical, realistic way. So, we thought we would capture what we discussed on a blog to share with everyone.
What is Strength?
According to BBC Bitesize:
"Strength is the maximum force a muscle or group of muscle can apply against a resistance in a push, pull or lift motion."
"Strength can be further divided into static (the muscles contract and hold one position) and dynamic (the muscles move contracting and extending) and explosive strength or power (the muscle contraction happens at high speed)."
Why Might we Strength Train?
Strength training can absolutely be about building muscle for aesthetic reasons, or in a competitive way like a sport (Power Lifting, Bodybuilding and Olympic Weightlifting) and plenty of people train in that way.
However, we might also do it to help our bodies stay capable, mobile and able to move around the world with ease. Strength training supports our muscle, joint and bone function, which helps us to balance, exercise and carry out every day tasks.
Other positive outcomes include:
bone strength
tendon strength and stiffness (meaning we can produce more force from muscle to bone and move more efficiently)
flexibility
preventing injuries
better (more and faster) motor unit recruitment - the activation of additional motor units to accomplish an increase in contractile strength in a muscle. *1
What this could look like in daily life and exercise
Being able to make a short sprint for a late yoga class 😉
Catching a mug before it falls to the floor
Righting yourself before you fall if you slip
Better able to move and lift furniture without stressing muscles to the point of fatigue or injury
Being able to hold a plank for longer and with better technique
More than just physical - neurological
Exercise has a wide range of benefits for your brain health. It releases proteins called Myokines that communicate with the brain through the muscle brain axis. They act as a chemical messenger (similar to hormones) to signal distant organs—such as fat tissue, the liver, bone, and the brain—helping regulate metabolism, reduce inflammation, and adapt to exercise. All of which appears to help alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression. *2
Physical activity also triggers the release of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins, which collectively improve mental well-being.
A 2024 Systemic Review of randomised controlled trials, observational studies, and review articles found that:
"Exercise can increase the production of endorphins, which are neurotransmitters associated with a positive mood and feelings of well-being. Exercise improves sleep, reduces stress and anxiety, and enhances self-esteem and social support."
The review further stated that:
"Regular exercise improves cognitive function, brain structure, and mental health. These benefits are due to various physiological changes that occur in the brain in response to exercise, including increased blood flow, BDNF production, and endorphin release."*3
Exercise also triggers the release of a specific protein called Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), which improves the function and adaptability of your brain (in neuroscience, this adaptability is often referred to as neuroplasticity). This means you will keep your brain's ability to build new pathways for changing habits, learning new skills and figuring out ways to cope with a new or different stimulus.*4
What this looks like in daily life
driving a different car
driving in poor weather
coping with unusual terrain when walking or running
learning to play Taiko
Nailing a challenging posture in yoga
Feeling more optimistic about taking on a challenge, like a challenging yoga pose or a hike
All of this leads to:
confidence
empowerment and self-efficacy (believing you can achieve a goal, being motivated to pursue it and the feel-good factor when you achieve it)
improved coordination and skills.
Is Yoga Strength Training?
Yoga is an aerobic exercise, which means it will give you most of the positive effects we've listed above. But if we're asking is it strength training, it depends how we do it and how long we've been doing it that way. We would have to ask ourselves:
Do we make an effort in a high-intensity way in the yoga class?
Do we get out of breath?
Do we reach failure?
Does her our rate go up? And if so, for how long?
Some postures are great upper body pushing exercises, like plank, downdog, inversions and chaturanga. But we would have to do them in a challenging manner, and not let our body manage itself to make it easier, for example, having our bums sticking up in the air in planks, arms stacked holding the body weight in backward bends, or rushing through chaturanga.
Can we increase load over time in a yoga class?
We could and we do by:
Holding our bodyweight in strange ways to make us have to work harder against gravity - inversions and arm balances
Doing long-lever planks
Using props to make the movement or posture more challenging - sliding a blanket, elevating the feet, using a resistance band (but this takes us more into the territory of Strength for Life, Ballet Sculpt and Pilates)
So unless you change your yoga class by adding resistance or weight, yoga will stop strengthening you once you get used to pushing your own bodyweight in familiar positions.
So what does strength training do that yoga does not?:
Allows you to use progressive overload so that you can increase strength over time - heavier weights, more resistant bands. If you are only using your body weight, your strength gains will eventually plateau.
Gives you the opportunity to use muscles to pull instead of only pushing as is predominantly done in yoga.
Stimulates bone density to prevent or plateau osteoarthritis in a way that yoga doesn't.
Trains your body and nervous system to move heavy loads - heavier than your own body
How do I figure out how much to do it?
Factors That Affect Strength
Psychological state
Stress
Sleep
Fatigue
One’s environment
Does it need to be hard? If so, how much?
In order for change to happen, it does have to be hard/effortful. If it doesn’t feel hard, we don’t recruit enough motor units for it to be strengthening (Effort = motor unit recruitment).
If your goal is to reach your potential for increasing muscular strength, you should train to within about 2-3 reps of failure – you still have 2-3 reps left in the tank.
How many reps and how often?
In each session, the heavier you lift, the less reps you need to do. With a lighter weight, you do more reps until it becomes harder.
General classification
o 1-5 reps – heavy
o 6-15 moderate
o 16 or more – light
Like everything, there is a sweet spot. The general suggestion is 10-20 sets per week per muscle group. In general more sets are better up to that 20 point. Over 20 a week and the strength gains will decrease.
Unlike high intensity training, for strength gains, you must rest adequately in between sets. If you don't rest in between, it won't be as optimal for strength gains.
Typically in a strength training workout, we do what we call supersets - where we paid non-competing exercises together so that we use our muscles in the most efficient way - i.e. one muscle group gets to rest while another is working. This is generally how we do the Strength For Life classes which are based on Jenni Rawlings Strength for Yoga Programme.*7
Unless you are training for a specific goal, like to be able to see large muscles on your body or to be able to lift the heaviest weight you possibly can (1RM), moderate weights for moderate reps and consistently incrementally increasing the weight is a really good strategy.
What if I feel sore afterwards?
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
DOMS seems to be caused by:
Eccentric contractions – the lowering down part of an exercise
Training at longer muscle lengths
Performing new movements
Increasing volume
It is often a painful feeling that restricts your movement for a day or two after exercising. It's not necessary for strength gains, but soreness is normal for a lot of people. It is quite a indivual thing, but once you've experienced it, there will be no doubt in your mind what it is. Ever had to lower yourself onto a chair with your hands after a leg workout??
Other Signs That You Are Expending Enough Effort
Muscular discomfort – not joint pain
Face scrunches/grimaces
Some people make a noise
You can only sustain it for a brief moment – high intensity/low duration
Cardio is low intensity/long duration
Rate of lifting is slow
Heavy weights – all reps are slow
Mod/light weights: faster at first and slows during the set
Will It Make My Arthritis Worse?
This is a common question and one that understandbly worries people. I would recommend that along with following the medical advice of your health service provider, looking at all of the information, studies and resources on arthritis.co.uk. I have directly quoted from their site below:
“We want to bust the myth that exercise causes or worsens arthritis. In fact, our research has shown that doing exercise is one of the best ways you can prevent arthritis and manage its symptoms and is vital to ageing healthily.”*5
“Our Ageing Centres have shown that the way our body ages as we get older is not fixed – regular exercise has the power to halt and even reset our ageing clock for certain organs."
They found that keeping active into old age prevents many aspects of musculoskeletal decline. In fact, resistance exercise training is one of the most effective ways to prevent decline in muscle mass and strength as we age.”
"If you’re considering moving more, it’s important to pace yourself, rest when you need to, and incorporate exercise gradually into your lifestyle because joint injury is a risk-factor for developing osteoarthritis later in life."
Pacing
One thing Ashley talked about at the workshop is pacing. Figuring out how much physical activity to do in a way that allows you to stay active when you are living with a condition or with chronic pain.
Pacing is a theory used in physiotherapy to help people decide how much physical activity to do so that they can keep active and avoid symptom flare-ups. It means being mindful of how much physical activity you are actually doing - and counting things like gardening, moving furniture and dancing at a party as periods of physical activity. It is a self-management strategy to help you find the sweet spot betweem enough activity and enough rest so that you can keep consistent. If you do a lot of unexpected physical activity that is outwith your routine, factor that in terms of your overall physical activity and make sure you rest before getting back to your routine.
NHS Inform states that: "Chronic pain can cause changes in your brain and nervous system. These changes can cause the brain to continue to send out pain signals, even when there’s no harm or damage. The signal pathway to the brain can become over sensitive meaning the signals are amplified.
Pacing can help because it allows you to do things within your limits. This can help re-train the nervous system to settle and be less protective."*6
Other conditions
Always tell your health professional if you plan to undertake a form of exercise if you have a health condition. It's a good idea to get advice every couple of years, as advice changes based on new research. There are health team referral classes you can go to if you have a condition such as heart disease or you're in cardiac rehab, as well as classes for weight loss that include exercise. Ask your GP if you qualify.
Once you have medical advice, tell your instructor that you have the condition and what you've been told to do or not do and they will give you alternative options. During a class, remember the advice you have been given and try to resist the urge to do something out of politeness or because everyone else is doing it. If an instructor tells you to do something and it doesn't follow your advice, just remind them that you've been told to avoid that.
Personally, I see my role as a yoga teacher and a fitness instructor as being someone who gives you the opportunity and guidance to explore what your current potential is for movement, strength and fitness. While that sometimes involves challenging you and getting you to question your reasons for doing something or not, I will respect the advice you've been given and your own decision about what to do. Ultimately, I want people to feel empowered in my classes - empowered to move, to make decisions and empowered to cope with whatever life throws at you.
What Kind of Strength Training Do We Do at My Yoga Place?
Strength for Life - Strength for Life is a group strength training class designed to build strength, stability and mobility for everyday life. We work through a varied mix of exercises using weights, resistance bands and your own bodyweight, with options to suit different abilities and fitness levels. Expect to squat, push, pull, lift, carry, balance and challenge your muscles in ways that translate into everyday life, as well as supporting your yoga practice.
Pilates - A Physio‑led Pilates class designed to help you build strength, improve posture, and move with greater confidence. The class focuses on controlled, low-impact movement that enhances core stability, flexibility, and body awareness — suitable for beginners and experienced movers alike. Clear guidance and exercise options are provided so you can work at a pace that feels right for you.
Power Yoga - Power Yoga is no‑nonsense, feel‑good workout that keeps you moving, breathing, and building stamina from start to finish. Expect a steady build of heat as each round adds intensity, creating a dynamic flow that lifts the heart rate, strengthens the whole body, and leaves you just the right amount of sweaty.
Ballet Sculpt - This full-body class combines the elegance of ballet with functional strength and agility training to improve overall fitness. Through carefully designed movement sequences and targeted conditioning exercises, you’ll build strength, stability, flexibility, and endurance while moving with grace and control.
References
Motor recruitment - Wikipedia
Myokines - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7288608/
Mood - The impact of exercise on depression: how moving makes your brain and body feel better - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39097997/
https://www.strengthforyoga.com/blog and Jenni Rawlings Strength for Yoga programme and Strength 2.0 CPD
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