Recently after a series of muscle injuries, I started strength training to build up my muscles as I go deeper into my perimenopausal stage (post for another day..).
As a gym newbie, I could feel my muscles working harder with the heavier — but appropriate — weight my trainer had me on. It felt good. Strong. These were heavier loads than I’d ever handled before.
After 2 rounds when I was getting tired, my trainer asked me to push for two more reps. “Let’s push to failure,” she said. “And remember to keep the form.”
Took me a second to register this… I’d never done something like that before — I’ve never lifted weights; and most of my movement is confined to yoga and running. Seeing that I was confused, she explained that this is what makes strength training more effective than just using body weight: you deliberately work the muscle to its limit — to failure.
I was fascinated. And with teeth clenched and a distorted face, I pushed with all my might for the last 2 reps. I think I even let out a groan.
On my way home, thoughts of my yoga students come to mind — the ones who come to yoga carrying a strength-training mindset with them, often after years in the gym.
I’ve noticed an unwritten script some of them bring into asana: push for more range of motion. Go further. Deeper. Instead of staying within range, working with what the body offers today.
It’s shown up often enough that my cues have adapted. Now I say things like: “Come to 60–70% of your maximum range. Instead of pushing to the edge, stay here and focus on your breath.”
You’d be surprised how often that cue still doesn’t land. Some still ‘push to failure’ in the yoga class.
And here’s the thing — there’s nothing wrong with either script. Push to failure in the weight room, or stay at 60–70% on the mat; they are just built for different intentions. A Pilates bridge and a yoga bridge may look almost identical to the untrained eye, but they’re doing different work. Each version is right, for what it’s meant to do.
The trouble starts when modalities blur — which, in this day and age, they inevitably will. Gym culture meets yoga culture meets Pilates culture meets whatever’s trending on Instagram this month. So how do you tell them apart? How do you know which intention you’re actually training under?
Here are three questions I ask myself before any class — whether I’m walking into a gym, a Pilates studio, or my own yoga room. Maybe they’re useful for you too, especially if you’re ever in doubt and want to check in with your instructor or trainer:
1. What is this doing for me, locomotively? What are my muscles, joints and bones doing?
2. What’s happening underneath? How is my nervous system responding right now — am I in a state of effort, or a state of strain, or am I supposed to be ‘totally relaxed’? And even ‘relax’ can mean different things.
3. What if I did this differently? Would the outcome change — and why?
My trainer’s cue to push to failure made me a stronger lifter that day. If I brought that same instinct onto my mat, it would make my yoga practice lose its intention. In asana practice, a mind of steadiness and comfort is more important than the shape of the posture itself. Hence, my jaw clenching, face distortion type of push will totally defeat the purpose of an asana practice.
”Sthiram Sukham Asanam” - Steady, comfortable is the posture - Yoga Sutra 2.xx
Having a variety of modalities to practise movement is highly recommended as our bodies feel best when there is variety in postures, movement and loading. However, not knowing the intentions behind what we do can sometimes lead to confusion and the worst case scenario — an injury that never should have happened.
Always move with awareness, care and curiosity :)
