Fitness Yoga

This 20-Minute Yoga Flow for Strength Targets Your Tiniest Muscles

Tehrene Firman

August 7, 2020

When you're trying to improve your strength, your first thought is probably to add a bunch of weight training or bodyweight sweat sessions to your weekly workout schedule. How can you not build strong muscles with the help of deadlifts and jump squats? One thing you might not realize, though, is that a yoga flow is an incredibly effective way to increase your strength, too.

Experts In This Article

Traci Copeland, Nike Master Trainer, yoga instructor, and fitness model

In the latest episode of Good Moves, Nike Master trainer Traci Copeland shared a yoga flow for strength that increases your muscle strength and offers relaxation all at the same time. Maybe the best two-for-one deal you'll get all week. "I like a lot of different types of workouts—running, dancing, yoga, HIIT, and strength—but I feel like yoga is a great combination of strength and balance," she says. "Today, we're doing yoga for strength."

In the yoga flow for strength workout—which runs a little over 20 minutes long—you'll start with all the energizing stretches that release tension in your body and make you feel great again after sitting all day, every day. Then comes all the poses that will give you yogi-level toned muscles without even realizing it, like half moon (stronger abs, butt, and legs), forearm downward dog to forearm plank (stronger arms, legs, and core), and triangle pose (stronger obliques, back, and legs). You hit even the tiniest muscles as you move from pose to pose.

According to Copeland, this yoga flow for strength only needs to be done a couple times a week to reap the muscle-boosting benefits. "It's great as a standalone workout, and it's also great to do before or after you run," she says. When you're ready to work your body from head to toe, press play on the video above. It won't be long before you're feeling stronger than ever before.