Thread: Is Yoga good for leg strengthening

Ok, this friend of mine she is into Yoga and tells me it may help me with my weak legs. Well they are not that weak but weaker than my upper body or hers as a percentage of body weight. Anyways, she said Yoga has made her legs stronger. In the gym she can do 270% of her body weight on this leg press machine they have while I could only do 220% of my body weight. This seems to be a good indicator of leg strength. I mean I can press about 80 pounds more than she can but I am 70 pounds heavier too (the exercise is just using legs). I think 60 pounds of that is because my upper half in very muscular while hers is much smaller and not at all muscular. Is strength by percentage of weight a good indicator of strength? If you went by upper body she can only bench press X .75 of her body weight while I can do X 1.5 but in actual weight I can bench 190 pound more than she can. She thinks I should do more Yoga to help with my hip and knee issues and get stronger legs. I tried it with her. She is completely stable on her legs doing these poses while I my legs are wobbling. She can also hold this squat position for ever while my legs burn out and give out. I think her body is able to trigger the small muscles much better and also because she is much more flexible. She is saying Yoga is great for the knees and hips.

Yeah I appreciate the training that is required. The class before the yoga was like a warm up. We were all lined up against the wall with a ball between our backs and the wall. Me and 12 other women. The goal was to hold the squat position for as long as you could. I know I am muscular and strong up top but also knew my legs were not in shape after all my knee and hip issues. My legs were buring and my back was aching. I was not comfortable holding that position and it told me that my lack flexibility was hampering me too. I struggled not to be the first one to bail out. I was the third. Damm embarrassing. Good lesson though. I have new respect for things like Yoga now.