Yoga and burning calories

teribealemccauley

I'd like to know if there is a way to find out how many calories are burned in an hour of Yoga. I realize there are many different styles of Yoga. Hot Yoga or Bikram Yoga would burn more then Hatha Yoga. Kundalini Yoga is very energetic.

gfroniewski

Wear a chest strap HRM. It will give you the most accurate caloric burn reading.

iWillGetCrowSomeday

Wear a chest strap HRM. It will give you the most accurate caloric burn reading.

^^^Yup!

KatieEstle

i use a Polar chest strap HRM as well- love that thing! It's interesting how taking hot yoga from 2 different instructors gives me a totally different burn!

phjorg1

there is no way to know. hrms are completely useless for yoga. different energy pathways.

iWillGetCrowSomeday

there is no way to know. hrms are completely useless for yoga. different energy pathways.

If you're doing Bikram or vinyasa flow -fast sequences in a hot environment- yeah, you're gonna get your HR up. So a HRM is actually useful. Unless by "different energy pathways" you mean chi. In that case you're right- HRMs don't do chi :laugh:

phjorg1

your heart rate has zero bearing on calorie burn while doing yoga. thats why hrms are useless. hrms are only somewhat accurate while doing cardio. yoga is not cardio.

in addition, heat increases your heart rate due to thermal stress from cooling the body. so even if you were doing cardio, its an inflated value due to your heartrate being artifically high

iWillGetCrowSomeday

So the cardiovascular system knows when someone's heart rate reaches 150 while running versus yoga? I'm pretty sure cardio is any exercise that gets your heart rate to reach 65-85% of your max HR. If HR is "bunk," how do you objectively measure intensity?

Azdak

So the cardiovascular system knows when someone's heart rate reaches 150 while running versus yoga? I'm pretty sure cardio is any exercise that gets your heart rate to reach 65-85% of your max HR. If HR is "bunk," how do you objectively measure intensity?

Yes it does. Heart rate is only an indirect measure of intensity. During steady-state cardio, there is a relatively fixed relationship between heart rate and oxygen uptake, HRM calorie estimating algorithms are based on that relationship (although, even then, variations in individual heart rate response and not knowing one's actual VO2 max account for the significant error that HRMs experience even when estimating steady-state aerobic calorie burn).

However, during non-cardio or non steady-state cardio exercise, or under other conditions such as thermal stress, anxiety, illness, cardiovascular drift, etc., there is NO fixed relationship between heart rate and oxygen uptake. Heart rate increases with little or no corresponding increase in cardiac output or oxygen uptake. Therefore, under those conditions, calorie estimates that are based on heart rate are wildly inaccurate.

How do you "objectively" measure intensity? Without a metabolic cart, you don't. One has to rely on general estimates derived from research studies during which people doing those exercises were directly measured.

CoderGal

So the cardiovascular system knows when someone's heart rate reaches 150 while running versus yoga? I'm pretty sure cardio is any exercise that gets your heart rate to reach 65-85% of your max HR. If HR is "bunk," how do you objectively measure intensity?

Yes it does. Heart rate is only an indirect measure of intensity. During steady-state cardio, there is a relatively fixed relationship between heart rate and oxygen uptake, HRM calorie estimating algorithms are based on that relationship (although, even then, variations in individual heart rate response and not knowing one's actual VO2 max account for the significant error that HRMs experience even when estimating steady-state aerobic calorie burn).

However, during non-cardio or non steady-state cardio exercise, or under other conditions such as thermal stress, anxiety, illness, cardiovascular drift, etc., there is NO fixed relationship between heart rate and oxygen uptake. Heart rate increases with little or no corresponding increase in cardiac output or oxygen uptake. Therefore, under those conditions, calorie estimates that are based on heart rate are wildly inaccurate.

How do you "objectively" measure intensity? Without a metabolic cart, you don't. One has to rely on general estimates derived from research studies during which people doing those exercises were directly measured.

Listen to this old dog, he is wise. Nothing he says raises any red flags...

melindasuefritz

ths says yoga 1 hour - 226 ........ not good...................