New Workout! Power Yoga Flow: Quick Tricep, Shoulder and Upper Back Burnout
If you’re looking for a quick and spicy upper-body workout, I’ve got just the thing! This all-levels Power Yoga flow targets your triceps, shoulders and upper back, and is perfect if you are looking for a quick workout, warm-up or add-on to another practice!
While the arm burn is not shy in this workout, this practice is still accessible to all levels, as I offer modifications throughout the Exploration and Peak sections of this workout; please see the video write-up for more details on the modifications provided. This workout is low-impact and utilizes our bodyweight only, however if you are really looking to turn up the heat, feel free to add in a pair of light weights. . . I think I’ll stick to just my body-weight this time ;-)
In addition to the upper-body burn, we will sneakily get in a bit of core work as well. The movements offered throughout this practice are not just a great way to tone and strengthen the upper-body, but serve as excellent active mobility drills that you can use to support your arm-balance and inversion practice. Like almost any other physical activity, arm-balances and inversions require full-body engagement — which is why solely lifting weights won’t cut it if you’re looking to get upside down. Sure, you can maybe muscle into a crow, headstand or even a forearm stand (Pincha) if you have the upper-body strength, but over time, your inversions/arm-balances will begin to highlight the growing imbalances in your body. In order to avoid creating physical imbalances (or aggravating existing ones), we must incorporate all resistance training with dynamic and active mobility training; of course, we include our total body when applying these cross-training styles.
It is important to note that even if arm-balances and/or inversions are not a part of your practice, the dynamic exercises offered throughout this flow are beneficial and functional for everyday movements. The great thing about using our body-weight to begin this sort of cross-training is that we can modify the exercises for all levels of physical ability. For example, if taking a Down-Dog press feels like too much weight/stress in the shoulders we can modify this in many ways:
Option 1: You don’t have to press all the way down; you can work on lowering 1-2 inches to start and work from there; you are still building a significant amount of upper-back and shoulder strength even if you are not able to press all the way down to 90 degrees.
Option 2: You can walk the feet out and away from the body, decreasing the amount of weight in the shoulders. You can also place a pair of blocks underneath the hands for leverage (also a great option if you have sensitive wrists).
Option 3: If any sort of pressing motion feels like too much, you can lower onto the forearms, or even stay in a Down-Dog, and hold these static positions. Continue to draw the navel towards the spine to engage the core, and press firmly through all four corners of the palms to engage and press the shoulders away from the ears. As you grow stronger, you can continue to walk the feet further in, getting the hips higher and the shoulders more stacked over the wrists. Just staying here in these static postures builds a tremendous amount of upper-back, shoulder and core strength!
As you can see, there are tons of ways to modify these movements and evolve them as you continue to grow stronger.
I hope that you enjoy this practice and leave feeling empowered! Let me know in the comments below if you would like more quick practices like this, that incorporate functional and modifiable dynamic exercises!
New Workout! Power Yoga Flow: Quick Tricep, Shoulder and Upper Back Burnout
If you’re looking for a quick and spicy upper-body workout, I’ve got just the thing! This all-levels Power Yoga flow targets your triceps, shoulders and upper back, and is perfect if you are looking for a quick workout, warm-up or add-on to another practice!
Yoga-Inspired Burnout for Upper Body Strength
While the arm burn is not shy in this workout, this practice is still accessible to all levels, as I offer modifications throughout the Exploration and Peak sections of this workout; please see the video write-up for more details on the modifications provided. This workout is low-impact and utilizes our bodyweight only, however if you are really looking to turn up the heat, feel free to add in a pair of light weights. . . I think I’ll stick to just my body-weight this time ;-)
In addition to the upper-body burn, we will sneakily get in a bit of core work as well. The movements offered throughout this practice are not just a great way to tone and strengthen the upper-body, but serve as excellent active mobility drills that you can use to support your arm-balance and inversion practice. Like almost any other physical activity, arm-balances and inversions require full-body engagement — which is why solely lifting weights won’t cut it if you’re looking to get upside down. Sure, you can maybe muscle into a crow, headstand or even a forearm stand (Pincha) if you have the upper-body strength, but over time, your inversions/arm-balances will begin to highlight the growing imbalances in your body. In order to avoid creating physical imbalances (or aggravating existing ones), we must incorporate all resistance training with dynamic and active mobility training; of course, we include our total body when applying these cross-training styles.
It is important to note that even if arm-balances and/or inversions are not a part of your practice, the dynamic exercises offered throughout this flow are beneficial and functional for everyday movements. The great thing about using our body-weight to begin this sort of cross-training is that we can modify the exercises for all levels of physical ability. For example, if taking a Down-Dog press feels like too much weight/stress in the shoulders we can modify this in many ways:
As you can see, there are tons of ways to modify these movements and evolve them as you continue to grow stronger.
I hope that you enjoy this practice and leave feeling empowered! Let me know in the comments below if you would like more quick practices like this, that incorporate functional and modifiable dynamic exercises!
With love + light,
Marina