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Do you think Ashtanga yoga is relaxing and CrossFit is too harsh? You are not alone. Our brave heroes have tested these popular myths for themselves. And they were surprised.
There are few fitness destinations around which there is so much prejudice. Crossfit and Ashtanga yoga are just that. The first is thought to be an episode of army training for adrenaline lovers, and the second practice is confused with relaxed types of yoga. Both are becoming more and more fashionable, so we decided not to trust, but to check - and sent two heroes to the sports ground. Artem is an employee of an insurance company. He served in the army and plays hockey at his leisure, so our proposal did not frighten him. But PR-manager Daria always shied away from sports and decided to experiment for the idea, or rather, "for the sake of the magazine." Both CrossFit and Ashtanga Yoga left vivid impressions.
I see the goal
With CrossFit, you will get visible results in just a month. If you want to take your life to a new quality level, choose yoga.
Crossfit
A tough workout, during which girls pull the barbell, and men jump rope - this is what this functional training looks like from the sidelines. CrossFit was born over a decade ago as a form of fitness in which you train almost all muscle groups in just an hour and compete with yourself and other group members.
12 kcal / min. burn out during crossfit training. This is 720 kcal / hour - twice as much as in intensive yoga.
Daria: The lesson surprised me, I didn't expect that I would like it so much! When I went to Arma CrossFit, I was absolutely sure that I could not bear the load and would run out of the gym. But everything turned out to be not so scary: although I sometimes suffocated from the speed with which I had to switch from one exercise to another, I simply did not have time to get bored or tired. For an hour of dynamic lifting of the bar, jumping rope and push-ups, I managed to stop the internal dialogue and forget about office affairs. All I was thinking about was how to withstand a couple of push-ups or not drop the barbell. And then the head was completely empty. Nice feeling!
Verdict: I had enough energy reserve for midnight in the club, and I felt muscle tone right away.
Artem: I almost died! Although it was an interesting experience: I realized that I knew nothing about fatigue. Unlike conventional fitness, the main thing here is endurance and speed. I got into the middle-level group, and there were enough girls - almost all with broad shoulders, small breasts, stocky. We did not have time to warm up, when all of a sudden everyone blew up, rushed, rushed to some kind of weight and let’s pull it. I can hardly breathe, and these girls easily grab the barbell, and lift 50-60 kilos! I look at them and think: "Crazy, I can't do that!" All this reminded the army very much: there you also run a 10-kilometer cross-country, every 500 meters you “fall-push-up”, you run further. Legs no longer hold, and nowhere to go. In CrossFit, all participants compete with each other, and on the scoreboard, like in bowling, the results of each are recorded. And this is where the whole passion lies: you, of course, can philonite, but this is how you show cowardice and do not grow.
Verdict: The essence of CrossFit is to find the fighter within you. I have no problems with this comrade after the army, so it was not very interesting to compete.
Ashtanga yoga
The main principle of Ashtanga yoga: no matter how weak you seem to yourself, you will have to forget about indulgences. This direction was created in the last century and differs from other types of yoga in that it does not adapt to the practitioner's imperfections. Asanas quickly alternate one after another in a strict sequence, and this develops endurance.
Daria: Before morning yoga, I honestly thought that I could take a nap there. It was not so! A stream of incomprehensible mantras and a cycle of very intense exercises fell on me, requiring in high-speed mode to portray a dog with its face up or throw a leg behind its back. I cannot say that I experienced any pleasure from this. At the end of the lesson, meditation awaited us, but for these five minutes I thought about anything but relaxation. I only got some fresh energy in the lobby of the club after drinking a cup of coffee. If I suddenly go to Ashtanga yoga again, I will first study the theory in order to understand the meaning of mantras and perceive yoga as a unity of the physical and spiritual.
Verdict: After class, I really wanted to sleep all day, I did not feel any response in my body.
Artem: I came to the Yoga Federation in the morning before work. Seemingly simple exercises cost me incredible volitional and physical efforts. Out of habit, the muscles hummed, the joints creaked, the breathing was interrupted. I was even scared: it turned out that I do not know my body at all, I do not know how to control it. So here, unlike CrossFit, my arms, legs, back and brain were one team, and I was not working in a group. By the end of the workout, I already dreamed of lying on the rug and listening to “Feel the warmth spreading …” During the final meditation, my head was completely empty, and I felt every joint and muscle. It was an amazing feeling, almost unfamiliar to me. All day I was full of energy, and in the evening at hockey practice I even determined my "dimensions" - for the first time in all the time of training.
Verdict: It was so amazing - to get to know your body from a completely new side, this is what I, perhaps, lacked in sports.
