Why Every Bodybuilder Needs Yoga
This feature is so awesome in the realm of health and fitness because it shows how one form of sweating can help and enhance another. Lizzie Cushing has been practicing yoga for years and within that time she took up the sport of bodybuilding. At a first glance, bodybuilding and yoga may not seem to go hand in hand, but check out Lizzie's interview below (and her incredible pictures!). See just how much the flexibility and strength in yoga and body building work together to create optimum balance.
1. When did you start practicing Bikram Yoga and what brought you into the hot room in the first place?
I started practicing Bikram about 5 years ago when my best friend from high school (an avid yogi) asked me to come to a class with her. I've always been a competitive person, so I was up for the challenge. Although the room was hotter than I ever could have imagined, I made it through my first class and felt amazing and so accomplished when it was over. I was immediately excited to try the poses again and see how I'd progress with practice.
2. What was the most challenging thing about your yoga practice at the beginning?
I think the most challenging thing was all the balancing on one leg. It took me several years to be able to hold Standing Bow Pulling Pose, but I'm finally at the point where I can usually hold it the entire time! Another challenge was listening to my body and respecting its limits. When I pick up a new hobby, I'm usually a little overzealous in terms of wanting to master it right away. Bikram yoga taught me to have patience with my body and to respect what it was capable of each day, one day at a time.
3. You're no stranger to exercise and fitness, tell us a bit about what you do outside the hot room, and how Bikram Yoga has helped you.
I started strength training and carefully tracking my macros (grams of carbs, fat, and protein) each meal about two years ago when I took up the sport of bodybuilding. Previously, I had always been a runner, and used to run several half marathons each year. I even ran the Boston Marathon once! But I'm pretty sure my marathon days are over now :) I lift heavy weights 5 times a week and do cardio anywhere from 2-6 times a week depending on how close I am to a bodybuilding competition. My time in the gym is so therapeutic, and I love the pump I get after a good lift. Bikram yoga, however, has become a staple in my training, and ideally I practice at least 2 times a week. There are so many benefits of Bikram yoga, particularly as a compliment to my strength training. To name a few...
- The stretching involved in Bikram helps me to keep my muscles loose and maintain a good range of motion.
- The meditative component of Bikram helps me to relax and focus on the present moment. Bodybuilding is all about making progress over time, and meticulously tracking that progress and adjusting the plan as time goes on. Bikram yoga helps me to appreciate where my body is at in that moment, and how strong and capable it is.
- One of the central judging criteria in bodybuilding has to do with overall balance and symmetry. Bikram yoga allows me to concentrate on the balance and symmetry of my body, as each pose is done twice, often to balance out the left and right. Additionally, looking at myself in the mirror for 90 minutes helps me to gauge the symmetry of my body and look out for any imbalances that I can then address in the weight room and work specific muscle groups.
- Some of the poses, particularly the ones involving twisting, are very helpful with the poses required in bodybuilding. In order to showcase your body in the best way, it's necessary to get comfortable twisting and contorting your body in order to create specific angles and highlight your muscularity in particular areas. The final spine twisting pose is one that I find very helpful in this way.
- Leading up to a competition, competitors often have to drop weight and lean out in order for their muscles to be more defined. Bikram yoga is a great way to drop water weight and burn tons of calories if losing weight is the goal.
- Most importantly, the community of people I've met through practicing at Bikram Yoga Natick is by far the greatest benefit. I feel welcomed and appreciated every time I enter the studio, and knowing that I have a supportive group of individuals to share the hot room with whenever I want is the greatest gift.
4. How do you see Bikram Yoga being an asset for competitors who do what you do?
I could probably go on and on! I just feel it's the perfect counter-balance to strength training in the gym. But to summarize, Bikram yoga is an asset for competitors like me because it helps with finding the mental and physical balance necessary to compete in a fairly extreme sport. The moving meditation aspect of Bikram yoga helps to maintain a clear head in the midst of such an intense training and diet program. The stretching helps to elongate muscles that can easily get tight while training. And the mirrors allow competitors to assess their overall balance and muscular symmetry, as this is an important judging criteria in bodybuilding.
5. What would you tell a new student who is just getting into Bikram Yoga who feels challenged by the whole experience?
It is so much more than a yoga class or workout! It's a practice that allows one to cultivate a life-perspective that will help to manage and even benefit from the discomfort and difficulty we all encounter in our day to day lives. Persevering through a 90 minute, 105 degree yoga class is no easy feat. But if you can do that, dealing with difficulty outside of the hot room becomes so much more manageable. It's a mentality of accepting and even embracing struggle, and trusting that with patience and deep breaths we can overcome any obstacle.
Incredible, right?! I hope you enjoyed this interview. So much of what Lizzie has gained from yoga can be carried not only into the gym but also out into the real world as well! You can keep up with Lizzie on her Instagram account here.
