Yoga and Strength — 12 Weeks
Five sessions a week combining yoga practice with basic strength work. Range of motion first, then load through that range, then longer holds and heavier lifts.
- GOAL
- Mobility & Yoga
- LEVEL
- Beginner
- LENGTH
- 12 weeks
- SESSIONS
- 5 per week
Twelve weeks for someone who practises yoga and wants to be stronger, or who lifts and cannot reach the positions they need. Three yoga sessions and two strength sessions a week, built so the two support each other rather than compete. Weeks 1 to 4 establish the practice and teach basic barbell and dumbbell patterns at light load. Weeks 5 to 8 load those patterns through fuller range and add strength-based yoga sessions with longer holds. Week 9 is a restorative week. Weeks 10 to 12 combine both: longer holds, heavier lifts, and a hybrid session that runs them together.
- →Practises yoga and wants a strength base underneath it
- →Lifts, but cannot get into a deep squat or an overhead position
- →Can train five days a week, most sessions under 45 minutes
- →Prefers a practice to a programme, but wants the progression written down
- →Can hold a plank for 30 seconds
- →Can get to and from the floor unassisted
- →Comfortable with basic yoga vocabulary, or willing to learn it in the first two weeks
Establish the five-day rhythm, build baseline range in hips, shoulders and thoracic spine, and learn the strength patterns at light load.
- MondayMorning Flow20 minutes. Start of the week, keep it light.
- TuesdayBeginner Full Body A — Squat and PushSquat to the depth you can hold position, not the depth you want.
- WednesdayHips and HamstringsUse blocks. Range you can control beats range you fall into.
- ThursdayBeginner Full Body B — Hinge and Overhead
- FridayShoulder and ThoracicOverhead position work. Directly supports Thursday's pressing.
- SaturdayEasy 45 min walk
- SundayRest
PROGRESSIONYoga: hold each shape for 5 breaths in week 1, adding one breath per week to 8 by week 4. Strength: 3 sets of 10 at a load you could do 15 with, adding 2.5 kg only when full range is held for all 30 reps. Range before load, every time.
Put load through the range built in phase 1. Yoga moves from mobility work to strength-based practice with longer holds and more standing work.
- MondaySun Salutation PracticeContinuous. Builds the capacity for phase 3's longer practice.
- TuesdayBeginner Full Body C — Split Stance and CarrySingle-leg strength. Supports Friday's balance work directly.
- WednesdayStrength YogaLonger holds, standing work. This is a training session, not a stretch.
- ThursdayHome Dumbbell Full Body4 × 8, full range every rep.
- FridayBalance and FocusHold each side without putting the foot down before switching.
- SaturdayEasy 45 min walk
- SundayRest
PROGRESSIONYoga: holds go to 8 to 10 breaths, and standing balance shapes are held on each side without setting the foot down. Strength: 4 sets of 8 at 10 percent more than week 4, adding 2.5 kg every second week. Full range on every rep is the standard — a shortened rep does not count towards the set.
Back off load and effort for a week. Practice continues, intensity does not.
- MondayMorning Flow
- TuesdayDeload Week SessionHalf the load of week 8. Movement only.
- WednesdayRestorative ResetProps under everything. Long, supported holds.
- ThursdayFull Body Mobility
- FridayEvening Wind-Down
- SaturdayEasy 45 min walk
- SundayRest
PROGRESSIONNo added load anywhere. Strength work at 50 percent of week 8 for 2 sets of 8. Yoga holds drop back to 5 breaths with props under everything. Nothing this week should require effort to hold.
Run strength and practice together. Longer holds, heavier lifts, and one hybrid session a week that moves between the two.
- MondayFull Practice60 minutes. The longest practice of the block.
- TuesdayBeginner Full Body A — Squat and Push3 × 6, heaviest of the block. Depth held from phase 1.
- WednesdayYoga and Strength HybridLoaded and unloaded work in the same session.
- ThursdayBeginner Full Body B — Hinge and Overhead3 × 6. Overhead lockout should be easier than in week 1.
- FridayBackbends and Chest OpeningWarm up thoroughly. Do not chase depth on a cold spine.
- SaturdayEasy 45 min walk
- SundayRest
PROGRESSIONYoga: full 60-minute practice once a week, holds at 10 breaths, and inversions or arm balances introduced against a wall if the shoulder position allows. Strength: 3 sets of 6 at the heaviest load of the block, adding 2.5 kg each week. Week 12 retests the range-of-motion measures from week 1.
- →Week 9 is a mandatory restorative week. Practice continues, load and effort do not.
- →Range before load, always. If a rep shortens, that is the end of the set regardless of the number written.
- →Never place a strength session and a deep-range practice on consecutive days for the same joint — that is why the split is written as it is.
- →Use props. A shape held well with a block trains more than the same shape reached for without one.
- →Add breath count within a phase, add load between phases. Do not raise both in the same week.
- →Any sharp or pinching sensation ends the shape immediately. Working range only, never end range under load.
- →Deep squat hold with heels down, time held, week 1 and week 12
- →Overhead reach against a wall with the lower back flat, distance from wall to wrist, week 1 and week 12
- →Single-leg stance with eyes closed, seconds per side, week 1 and week 12
- →Sit-and-reach or a fingertip-to-floor measure, week 1, week 5, week 9 and week 12
- →5-rep max goblet squat and dumbbell press, week 1 and week 12