The Best Supplements for Your Activity: Hot Yoga
Hot yoga is not your mother’s yoga class. Unless, of course, your mother’s yoga class happens in a 35-40 degree (Celsius) room and she leaves drenched in sweat. Hot yoga is an invigorating, high energy, intense workout unlike anything else.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of joining a hot yoga class yet, imagine a boot-camp-style workout class performed in the heat. Replace the boot camp workouts with fast-paced yoga pose sequences, and you’ve got the idea.
Most athletes can benefit from using supplements to support their performance and recovery. Like any other activity, yogis that like it extra hot can benefit from a specific set of supplements.
Before we talk about the supplement stack that will benefit hot yoga participants, let’s talk about the benefits of performing a high-paced yoga practice in a blazing hot room.
The Benefits of Hot Yoga
Yoga, in general, is good for the mind, body, and soul. If you’re up for the challenge and the heat, hot yoga can intensify those benefits.
Regularly practicing hot yoga can:
- Improve your flexibility.
- Burn tons of calories.
- Build bone strength and density.
- Reduce stress and improve mental health.
- Improve your cardiovascular fitness and health.
The heat is the main reason that all the benefits of yoga get amplified. The heat warms up your muscles, so they are more malleable, forces your body to burn more calories, and work significantly harder. After one class, even if it’s challenging, you will feel emboldened and empowered.
Are There Risks Involved in Hot Yoga?
Any time you are working out in intense temperatures, there is risk involved. In the heat, you are more prone to dehydration, so it’s essential to be well hydrated before, during, and after your hot yoga class.
If you have pre-existing conditions, are prone to fainting, or are pregnant, you should discuss it with your doctor before you sign up for your first hot yoga class.
You might find that during your first class, you feel lightheaded or dizzy. While some people’s bodies need to adjust to the intensity in the heat, you still should stop immediately and get out of the heat until you’re feeling better.
When your body becomes acclimated to hot yoga, and you’re taking a class a couple of times a month, you might benefit from supplements targeted to benefit hot yoga participants.
BCAAs with Electrolytes for Hot Yoga
As you’ve probably gathered, hot yoga most likely makes you sweat more than anything else you’ve ever done. With excessive sweating comes the risk of dehydration and the need for replenishing fluids and electrolytes.
BCAAs are an excellent option for any athletic activity, including yoga, because they help fuel your muscles and improve your recovery. Many BCAA supplements include a hydration factor with electrolytes that benefit anyone pushing their body to the limit and sweating excessively.
Hot yogis can benefit from taking a BCAA supplement with electrolytes before, during, or after their practice. Taking a BCAA supplement before yoga means that BCAAs, or branched-chain amino acids, will rush to your muscles and offer an additional energy source.
Drinking your BCAA supplement with electrolytes during your practice ensures you stay hydrated. Because BCAAs bypass the liver and go directly to your muscles, you can still feel the benefit of an additional energy source.
After your workout, drinking your BCAAs with electrolytes replenishes your hydration, helps your muscles switch out of muscle catabolism, and improves your recovery.
TC Nutrition HydraMino EAA:
This BCAA supplement with electrolytes offers eight grams of essential amino acids, including all three BCAAs. The addition of 600 mg of electrolytes offers superior hydration through your intense workout. The secret to a good electrolyte supplement is ensuring that it has sodium, magnesium, and potassium. HydraMino has all of these important electrolytes.
Protein Supplements for Hot Yoga
All athletes can benefit from protein supplementation if they struggle to hit their protein goals regularly. Using a mix of whey protein and casein protein can ensure that you hit your protein goals and improve your body composition through your workouts.
Whey protein is easily and quickly absorbed by the body, making it the ideal option for a post-workout recovery drink. Consuming fast-absorbing whey protein following your workouts helps to stop the catabolic process that happens because of intense exercise, meaning you’re able to maintain and grow lean muscle more efficiently. Whey protein also plays a crucial role in recovery.
Casein protein is great for hitting daily protein goals, but it’s best consumed before bed or for times when you won’t be able to eat for several hours. Casein protein is whey protein’s slower digesting brother, and it can play a significant role in maintaining and increasing muscle mass. Increased muscle mass not only helps to achieve an ideal body composition, but it also will make hitting those tricky yoga poses easier over time.
Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey Protein:
Optimum Nutrition has the most popular whey protein on the market, and for a good reason. This is the gold standard of whey protein. One serving delivers 24 grams of 100% whey protein quickly and easily to your muscles.
Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Casein Protein:
Not only does Optimum Nutrition have the highest quality and most popular whey protein, but their line also includes a quality casein protein supplement. One serving of Optimum Nutrition’s casein protein delivers 24 grams of 100% pure, slowly digesting micellar casein protein. Many people enjoy their casein protein as a before-bed snack by mixing it with a small amount of liquid to achieve a pudding-like consistency.
The combination of casein protein and whey makes it easy to hit your daily recommended protein goals and for your muscles to recover, so you’re feeling your best even following the toughest workout.
Omega Fatty Acids for Hot Yoga
Omega fatty acids are a foundational supplement that every person should consider adding to their daily supplement regimen. Omegas are especially beneficial to those who participate in intense activities, like hot yoga, which can benefit from joint health and improved mobility.
Omega supplements help with joints and mobility, and also help improve brain health and mental health. This means that while you’re benefiting your mental health by practicing yoga, you can see an even bigger improvement with the simple addition of an omega supplement that can improve both your physical and mental performance all-in-one.
ANS Performance Fresh1 Omega-3:
Now, even if you adhere to a vegan diet or the thought of fish oil grosses you out, you can still get all the benefits of an omega supplement with these vegan omegas. Quality omega-3 fatty acids from algae oil are the only vegan source of omegas that includes both DHA and EPA.
Hot yoga is an excellent way to stay in shape, meet fitness goals, and improve mental and physical health. By adding supplements like omegas, casein protein, whey protein, and BCAAs with electrolytes, you can ensure you’re meeting all your nutritional requirements to keep you looking and feeling your absolute best.