Research: HART and TRACY,

Listed in Issue 166

Abstract

HART and TRACY, Department of Health and Exercise Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA explored the effect of a popular type of yoga (Bikram) on strength, steadiness, and balance.

Background

Exercise training programs can increase strength and improve submaximal force control, but the effects of yoga as an alternative form of steadiness training are not well described.

Methodology

Young adults performed yoga training (n = 10, 29 +/- 6 years, 24 yoga sessions in 8 weeks) or served as controls (n = 11, 26 +/- 7 years). Yoga sessions consisted of 1.5 hours of supervised, standardized postures. Measures before and after training included maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) force of the elbow flexors (EF) and knee extensors (KE), steadiness of isometric EF and KE contractions, steadiness of concentric (CON) and eccentric (ECC) KE contractions, and timed balance. The standard deviation (SD) and coefficient of variation (CV, SD/mean force) of isometric force and the SD of acceleration during CON and ECC contractions were measured.

Results

After yoga training, MVC force increased 14% for KE (479 +/- 175 to 544 +/- 187 N, p < 0.05) and was unchanged for the EF muscles (219 +/- 85 to 230 +/- 72 N, p > 0.05). The CV of force was unchanged for EF (1.68 to 1.73%, p > 0.05) but was reduced in the KE muscles similarly for yoga and control groups (2.04 to 1.55%, p < 0.05). The variability of CON and ECC contractions was unchanged. For the yoga group, improvement in KE steadiness was correlated with pretraining steadiness (r = -0.62 to -0.84, p < 0.05); subjects with the greatest KE force fluctuations before training experienced the greatest reductions with training. Percent change in balance time for individual yoga subjects averaged +228% (19.5 +/- 14 to 34.3 +/- 18 seconds, p < 0.05), with no change in controls.

Conclusion

For young adults, a short-term yoga program of this type can improve balance substantially, produce modest improvements in leg strength, and improve leg muscle control for less-steady subjects.

References

Hart CE and Tracy BL. Yoga as steadiness training: effects on motor variability in young adults. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 22(5): 1659-69. Sep 2008.

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