"It's about time!" More and more Green Bay Packers players are realizing the benefits of yoga
MILWAUKEE/GREEN BAY (WITI) -- For decades, athletes have known that conditioning and nutrition are vital to their success, but a new trend is unfolding -- and a number of Green Bay Packers players are leading the way.
"What we do here is natural training, restoration yoga and then a whole food, plant-based diet. That's pretty much what sums us up," Jeffrey Winzenried with Monkey Bar Gym in Milwaukee said.
The goal at the Monkey Bar Gym -- located in Milwaukee's Third Ward is similar to many other gyms: Getting folks in better shape.
But Winzenried takes a unique approach.
"We train here with no machiners, no shoes, no mirror and no egos. That's our tagline," Winzenried said.
Everyone who trains at the Monkey Bar Gym has the same baseline.
"One of the ways we do that is introducing them into yoga. Yoga is very important, not just to stretch the body out, but really kind of teaching you to be in tune with your body, conscious breathing, bringing you back to alignment," Winzenried said.
"That's a huge, huge part of preventing injury and gaining strength. When you have yoga as a baseline, you have a great understanding of your body and how it moves and the way it should work. Then you're going to be a better athlete as a whole," Laura Maly, a yoga instructor at the Monkey Bar Gym said.
It's something Packers punter Tim Masthay began during his senior year in college. Now, his understanding of yoga is much different.
"This past off-season I ramped it up big time and started reading more about it and learning more about it -- so I've become more of a Yogi than I have in years past," Masthay said.
"You get these big, tough, strong guys out on the mat and they're willing to learn new things. They're willing to try," Maly said.
Masthay isn't the only Packers player adding yoga to his workout regimen.
"Number 1 it's going to strengthen the joints. You're going to be able to move properly and progress to a lot higher performance level," Winzenried said.
Along with helping movement, there are other benefits Masthay is able to take from yoga.
"I learned a lot more about the breathing this off-season and how that can help both physically and mentally," Masthay said.
"Having that understanding of yourself, that looseness of yourself, is going to sort of set you up in your strength of mind, strength of body to really hone in on what you need to do to get where you need to go in sports," Maly said.
For Green Bay Packers players, that's being healthy out on the field -- something yoga is allowing them to do much more easily.
"It helps guys prevent injuries. It helps reduce fatigue," Masthay said.
"Those couple athletes who are taking the first steps to do Yoga on a regular basis, they're really setting the path for everybody else to follow," Winzenried said.
That includes more and more Packers players -- like Randall Cobb, Tramon Williams and Clay Matthews -- to name a few.
"It's about time!" Maly said.
The yoga instructors at the Monkey Bar Gym say athletes can get more in tune with their bodies by taking yoga classes -- and that can help them to notice possible injuries before they get worse.
CLICK HERE to learn more about the Monkey Bar Gym in Milwaukee.