Fitness · by Huy Le · 2026-10-14

Finally tried a yoga class after years of only lifting weights — humbled doesn't begin to cover it

Can deadlift twice my bodyweight but could not hold a basic balance pose for more than a few seconds without wobbling like crazy. Strength and stability/mobility are clearly very different skills and i was arrogant to assume one transfers much to the other. Any lifters here who added yoga and noticed real crossover benefits?

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Comments

Tiny Coder · 0 likes

this is such a common experience for lifters, pure strength in a fixed range of motion doesnt transfer to balance/proprioception at all, theyre genuinely different neurological skills

Yasmine El Amrani · 0 likes

added 2 yoga sessions a week about a year ago and my lower back pain from heavy squats basically disappeared, mobility work filling gaps your lifting program doesnt address is huge

Solar Sparrow · 0 likes

the humility of being bad at something new is honestly good for you mentally too, not just physically, easy to get complacent when youre only ever doing things youre already good at

Tanvir Rahman · 0 likes

breathing technique from yoga carried over into my lifting in a way i didnt expect, bracing for heavy lifts improved noticeably once i got better at controlled breath work

An Pham · 0 likes

stick with it for a few months before judging the crossover benefit, the first few classes are mostly just you being bad at a new skill, the actual transfer benefits show up later

Mina Chowdhury · 0 likes

as a yoga instructor who also lifts, the two practices complement each other really well specifically because they train opposite ends of the strength/mobility spectrum

Finn Brown · 0 likes

the ego check of being a beginner again at 35 with 15 years of lifting experience was rough for my pride but good for me honestly