Yo-Wei: Yoga, Weights Combine For New Workout

There is a new type of exercise to choose from that mixes the flexibility of yoga with resistance training.

Soft, colorful weights are the reason some people, like Nancy Dolce, come to the new

Yo-Wei

exercise class at the Raleigh YWCA.

Osteoporosis led to a new hip and two knee replacements for the 78-year-old.

"Weight-bearing exercise is one of the only things that's going to combat osteoporosis and build bone," Jolene Puffer, an instructor and inventor of Yo-Wei, tells a class.

"This is with the weights, which is helpful. If it were just yoga I probably wouldn't be here," Dolce said.

Puffer said the exercise combines yoga and weights to serve the needs of a more diverse group of people.

"The problem has been that a lot of people are intimidated by yoga and won't come inside a yoga class because they look inside and they go, 'I can't stretch like that,'" she said.

Dolce does the ground portion of the routine from a chair.

Others can make the workout as intense as they want it to be.

"I've had two C-sections and I was having just chronic back pain because of the lack of strength in my abdominal area. That's what got me into yoga," said Lisa Padgett.

Now, Padgett's back pain is gone.

"It's amazing how quickly you see a change in your own flexibility and strength doing these kinds of exercises," she said.

This is not the only way to strengthen bones and muscle, but some in this class said it is a good way to get both done at the same time.