Yoga as a recovery and strength tool

As an older athlete I have had to find ways to keep up speed as well as prevent injury in order to keep enjoying team sport. I love to play Ultimate Frisbee as well as compete in Crossfit events. These get a little tougher to stay good at the older we get because they require a large amount of fast twitch fibre work as well as power. Muscles are only ready to deliver speed and power when they are elastic.

As we age our elasticity is reduced as our collagen type changes to the stiffer of the two. That is why we need to work harder off the field or court to keep from hurting ourselves and maintain performance. I discovered Yoga on my return from the World Utlimate championships in 2016. My body was sore and stiff and I was battling to get back into the swing of things. After just a month of regular training I noticed a spring creeping back into my sprint and the early morning aches starting to ease. I started to feel stronger and faster and nothing hurt. Even more, the classes I found challenged me physically and this was just perfect to keep me coming back. As an athlete I would recommend finding a good physical yoga class to maintain strength, control, speed and flexibility to keep performing at your best. For questions on maintaining performance in the aging athelete please contact us at the clinic.