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Yoga sculpting is a yoga style (just like vinyasa, power flow, and Kundalini). It involves a high intensity workout that incorporates the yoga postures combined with high intensity movements, weights, and core exercises. As it focuses on strength and flexibility, it tones muscles and revs up metabolism.
The following five moves can help you build lean muscles as you sculpt your body.
What is Yoga Sculpt?
This full body workout combines traditional yoga, resistance training, and cardio intervals. Imagine doing yoga poses with hand weights to ramp up the intensity. Add in strength exercises, like lunges and push-ups, followed by high-intensity cardio intervals.
If you want to tone your legs and butt, build endurance, and sculpt your arms and abs — all while burning calories — this online yoga class is for you. The number of calories burned in this 30-minute class can vary from person to person; some can burn 350-400 calories during this workout.
At-Home Yoga Sculpt Exercises for Toned Body
Here are five compound movements you can try at home to give you a small sampling of what a yoga sculpting class can look like:
1) Backward Lunge with Bicep Curl
Stand at the top of your space, with feet hip-width distance apart. Bring a dumbbell with each hand down to your side and elbows extended towards the ground. Step your right foot behind you to bring both knees to a 90-degree bend while keeping your left knee directly over your ankle.
Push through your left heel, and return to a standing position at the top of your space while flexing your elbows and bringing the weights closer to your body. Repeat on the other side.
2) Squat & Press
To do the squat and press, start by standing with your feet hip-width apart. Bend your knees, and sink your hips back as far as you can while keeping your heels on the floor. If that's too hard, try bending only at the knees.
Press into your heels, and use your glutes to straighten up while simultaneously pushing the dumbbells directly overhead.
3) Sumo Squat & Upright Row
To do a sumo squat, stand with your feet wider than hip-distance apart. Squat as low as you can, keeping your tailbone tucked beneath you and elbows wide. Use your legs, glutes, and core to bring you to a standing position while simultaneously extending your hands or weights towards the ground.
4) Chair Squat & Overhead Tricep Extension
Begin by standing at the top of your space and bringing your toes, heels, knees and thighs together.
Squat back so that only your fingertips touch the ground. Holding weights in each hand, press them together overhead, and extend your arms straight up. Keep your hips low as you lift, and lower the weights to isolate your triceps.
5) Oblique Tuck Burpee
Hopping is a great way to exercise your obliques. Start by jumping straight up into the air and landing in a high plank position.
Hop your feet to the top right corner of your mat using your oblique muscles to do most of the pulling, and return to high planks. Repeat on the opposite side, and hop back to your hands before hopping again.
Benefits of Yoga Sculpt
Yoga sculpt classes combine the best of yoga with resistance training to create a workout that lengthens and strengthens all the muscles. Here are some benefits:
1) Enhances Flexibility and Mobility
Yoga has become a fixture in the fitness community, as it improves flexibility and mobility. Other kinds of workouts overlook stretching and joint movement, but these are fundamental skills you need to reach your full potential without limiting your range of motion or getting prone to injuries.
2) Building Lean Muscle
Adding weight training with dumbbells and other equipment to your yoga practice can help you build lean, strong muscle mass.
Your muscles are already doing a ton of work supporting your bodyweight and staying balanced in complex movements and asanas. When you add extra resistance of weights, they have to work even harder.
3) Endurance and Strength
Yoga sculpting classes help improve endurance and strengthen your heart. It also doesn’t hurt that increasing cardio workouts boosts metabolism by increasing the number of calories you burn. That's always a perk for those looking to lose weight while building muscle.
4) Improves Balance
Yoga sculpt classes are ideal for people who want to find balance in their workout. These classes combine the primary benefits of weightlifting, cardiovascular exercise, and yoga into one class to help you achieve your spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical goals.
Takeaway
In other words, yoga sculpt is powerful. It can change your life for the better, especially if you're willing to make it a central part of your fitness routine.
The aforementioned yoga sculpt exercises are just the tip of the iceberg. Yoga sculpt classes can include a broad spectrum of moves depending on the instructor and the day of the class.
