Hail the sun salutation
I can’t remember when I started doing the Sun Salutation or indeed why I started but I now do it religiously every morning. Mid life athletes, particularly runners tend to grumble about stiffness after runs, which sometimes necessities taking days off which in turn prevents building volume. Since doing the Sun Salutation consistently I’ve felt my flexibility improve and I’ve noticed less niggling injuries, particularly from running. I also feel it’s helped maintain form on the bike. It’s one of the main reasons why I included flexibility as a core component of the mid life athlete framework.
What is sun salutation?
Sun Salutation, also known as Surya Namaskar in Sanskrit, is a popular sequence of yoga postures performed in a flowing, dynamic manner. It is a traditional practice that combines a series of asanas (yoga poses) with synchronised breathing. The sequence typically consists of 12 poses that are performed in a specific order, each coordinated with either an inhalation or exhalation of breath. The regular practice of Sun Salutation is believed to improve flexibility, enhance muscle strength, increase endurance, promote relaxation, and boost overall well-being.
Am I imagining this or is there something to it?
Well it seems these days there’s always research into the most niche areas. In this case a team from the Sports Medicine Research Center at Tehran University of Medical Sciences aimed to investigate the effects of Sun Salutation practice on muscle strength, general body endurance, and body composition in undergraduate students over a period of 24 weeks.
Seventy-nine subjects (49 males and 30 females) participated in the study. Individuals with medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, asthma, tuberculosis, or recent major surgery were excluded. Sun Salutation training was conducted by a certified yoga instructor following the guidelines of Yoga Vidya Dham in Nashik, Maharashtra, India. The sessions were held between 5.00 p.m. and 6.00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, for 24 weeks. The participants gradually increased the number of Sun Salutation cycles from 6 on the first day to 24 over the next 15 days. They then practiced 24 cycles daily for 6 days a week for the remaining 24 weeks.
The study assessed upper body muscle strength using the one repetition maximum (1RM) technique for bench press and shoulder press exercises. Muscle endurance was evaluated through various exercises like leg dynamometry, back dynamometry, push-ups, and sit-ups. Body composition parameters such as body weight, BMI, percentage of body fat, and percentage of lean body mass were also measured before and after the 24-week Sun Salutation practice.
What did they find?
The study found significant improvements in muscle strength among the participants. Here are the specific findings regarding the improvement in muscle strength based on the study results:
Bench Press:
Male and female subjects showed a significant increase in bench press strength.
Shoulder Press:
Both male and female subjects exhibited enhanced shoulder press strength.
Leg Dynamometry:
Male participants experienced a significant increase in leg muscle strength.
Female participants also showed a substantial improvement in leg muscle strength.
Back Dynamometry:
Both male and female subjects demonstrated a significant increase in back muscle strength.
Overall, the study's results indicated that regular practice of Sun Salutation led to notable enhancements in muscle strength, particularly in the upper body (bench press and shoulder press) and lower body (leg and back muscles). Many of its poses build strength because they require sustained contractions of many muscle groups of the entire body, which is comparable to resistance training.
Conclusion
The great thing is that Sun salutation does not require any tools or gadgets, limited space is enough to perform it and it only takes a few minutes to perform a given number of cycles. Typically I do 3-4 cycles on each side and it takes no more than 10mins.
So if you’re suffering from post exercise stiffness and/or lack of flexibility give the Sun Salutation a go and do it consistently every day for 10 mins.
Here’s the routine: