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I’m a yoga teacher and these are four calisthenics exercises I think anyone who regularly practises yoga needs in their routine
A regular yoga practice can provide endless benefits for your mind and body, from enhanced flexibility and mobility to better balance, coordination and mental health.
Yet, according to Nick Higgins, co-founder and head of teaching at Hotpod Yoga, there’s one crucial movement pattern missing from this ancient discipline.
“I’ve started noticing that my body is having to compensate for the lack of pulling movements involved in my regular yoga classes,” he tells Fit&Well.
“In yoga you do a lot of stretching, a lot of mobility and actions that help strengthen the chest and shoulders, but I’ve realized I need to find an activity that will counter all the pushing and strengthen my back.”
To redress the imbalance, Higgins has turned to calisthenics—a bodyweight training that includes pulling-based movements like pull-ups, rows and hangs. “It’s been a real eye-opener,” he says.
“I tend to cycle through pull-ups, chin-ups, rows and I’m an advocate of using resistance bands because they’re kinder on the joints,” says Higgins. “With bands you can target the rhomboids, the traps, and you can be more targeted for particular muscle groups.”
Resistance bands are also cheap and Higgins says you can use them in a steam room to simulate the conditions of hot yoga to further enhance your body’s range of motion and the elasticity of your muscles.
Higgins has resorted to fitting a pull-up bar everywhere he visits regularly. “We have one in the studio, one in the teacher training space, and I have two at home set up in a couple of doorways.”
Now Higgins fits in four pulling exercises throughout the day, whenever he can to counterbalance all the pushing and pressing he naturally enjoys on the yoga mat.
4 calisthenics exercises every yogi should add to their routine
1. Pull-up
(Image credit: Getty Images / Ricardo Mendoza Garbayo)
Pull-ups, with an overhand grip and hands shoulder-width apart, primarily target the large latissimus dorsi muscles on the side of your mid-back. They’ll also strengthen your grip and forearms.
2. Chin-up
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Chin-ups, with an underhand grip and hands shoulder-width apart or narrower, will also work your lats while strengthening the trapezius and teres major in your upper back, forearms and biceps.
3. Resistance band row
(Image credit: Getty Images / ArtistGNDphotography)
Higgins will use resistance bands hooked around the bar to target the smaller muscles around the shoulder blades with a range of rows and rotational exercises like face pulls and scapular retractions.
4. Hanging from the bar
(Image credit: Getty Images / AJ_Watt)
Lastly, Higgins will hang from a bar, aiming for 60-90 seconds cumulatively throughout the day. This decompresses your spine, stretches muscles in your back and boosts grip strength.
