HRM and Hot Yoga.

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123Allyxox
123Allyxox Posts: 112 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I took a Bikram class with my HRM for the first time today. For the 115 minutes I was using the HRM it said I burned over 600 calories. That seems high, I do feel like I got a good workout in but I definitely don't think the class was that intense- was unusually long..

Does anyone have any insight on how working out in a heated room affects the accuracy of a HRM?
(Sorry if this is a dumb question, I know the heat elevates your heart rate so I guess I'm trying to figure out if my HRM is just totally useless in hot yoga)

Thanks!

Replies

  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    HRM would be totally inaccurate for yoga. They're made for steady elevated heartrate cardio.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    Ready2Rock206 wrote: »
    HRM would be totally inaccurate for yoga. They're made for steady elevated heartrate cardio.

    This. Heated room or not, HRMs aren't made to calculate yoga burns
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    123Allyxox wrote: »
    I know the heat elevates your heart rate so I guess I'm trying to figure out if my HRM is just totally useless in hot yoga)

    Yes totally useless!

    These are some METS values I found:
    2.0 yoga, Nadisodhana
    2.5 yoga, Hatha
    3.3 yoga, Surya Namaskar
    4.0 yoga, Power

    As a comparison:
    2.0 walking, less than 2.0 mph, level, strolling, very slow
    4.3 for walking at 3.5 mph, level, brisk, firm surface, walking for exercise.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,394 Member
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    No, it doesn't work like this. You don't burn more because your heart rate is elevated. Imagine you live in northern Europe and run 5km at a moderate 15 degrees C (convert that to F if you need to). Then your work brings you to Abu Dhabi where it might be 35C, and you also run 5k. Your heart rate will certainly be higher there due to the heat and maybe a bit of jetlag, yet you still move the same mass (your body) over the same distance = same calorie burn.
  • MlleKelly
    MlleKelly Posts: 356 Member
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    Bikram Yoga keeps you at a steady elevated heart rate for most of the class (standing series is almost 50 minutes). If you've never done it, you should absolutely try it. It's not like a yoga class at the YMCA or at a studio with incense and candles...it's an intense cardio and strength workout. In 90 minutes, you can very easily burn anywhere from 600-900 calories.

    That being said, Bikram yoga is not about the calorie burn. It's more about the discipline, healing your spine, and improving your overall strength, flexibility, and balance. The calorie burn just happens to be a bonus ;)
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    MlleKelly wrote: »
    Bikram Yoga keeps you at a steady elevated heart rate for most of the class (standing series is almost 50 minutes). If you've never done it, you should absolutely try it. It's not like a yoga class at the YMCA or at a studio with incense and candles...it's an intense cardio and strength workout. In 90 minutes, you can very easily burn anywhere from 600-900 calories.

    What are basing your assertion on? While an elevated heart rate may be beneficial to cardiovascular health it does not result in a significantly increased caloric expenditure.

    Imagine 2 runner, one fit, one not but both are the same wight and run the same distance. The less fit runner would have a higher heart rate but would not have burned many more calories.

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