Rant

RunningRichelle

See quote below. Facepalm. Seriously, this dude usually pushes my buttons for multiple reasons, and I have just realized why.

Nitpicking, posturing, and thinking you know something about an exercise you have never tried.

I'm sorry, but if your heart rate is raised, and you are breathing properly, Bikram is cardio.

I know you guys know this, I just needed to rant so I don't completely fly off the handle on this guy in the main forums and make us look bad, haha.

All the websites and teachers agree it is a cardio work out. Trust me, your heart is beating out of control during it. If you haven't done it, I would understand not thinking it was cardio.

The high heart rate doesn't translate to it being aerobic exercise. Yoga is isometric exercise and isometric exercise is anaerobic. This isn't disputed by any journals of medicine, science or physiology.
A good example of a racing heart rate not always relating to cardio is watching a scary movie or the "fight or flight" feeling one gets when anxious.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

True, but during the style of yoga OP is referring to, you're not just sitting there doing gentle stretches in the heat. You're placing a pretty heavy load on a succession of different muscle groups and basically working them to failure- in conjunction with challenging breathing techniques.

One does the same in an intense weight lifting session. And it's still not a cardiovascular exercise. Aerobic metabolic pathway for energy use is different than that of anaerobic. Again not disputed by any journals of medicine or science. Research how the two are different. It's more than just getting one's heart rate up.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I guess I'm just not too worried about the classification of the Bikram as cardio exercise, just that it gave me awesomely toned muscles, shot my energy levels through the roof, and burned me some serious calories!

I doubt that most would be worried about classification if they're meeting goals they want. It's is important though if someone is looking for an aerobic program and some saying that hot yoga is aerobic. That would lead that person down the wrong direction.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

namaste62

Here's the thing about Bikram (or even an active vinyasa style, like ashtanga):

In the West, the idea that we tune our heart muscle is limited to the concept of pushing it to succeed (sound familiar). Yoga is an Eastern practice; that means that the entire paradigm shifts and the heart muscle is tuned from within. The combination of the heat, the use of the breath, the management of the stresses associated with changes in blood pressure (think: camel/ustrasana) and the import of proprioception in balancing all work the heart. Just not by 'pumping it up' but tuning it from regulating the breath.

Typical credentialed fitness/personal trainers simply don't get it. The paradigm is inaccessible to them. Forget their ridiculous rants about it and just keep to your mat.

I have been practicing since the 1970's - Bikram was my first teacher - and, at 51, even with 15-20 pounds excess my heart rate is lower than it was when I was running marathons, my blood pressure is perfect and from thermoregulation (ie. menopause) to glowing skin the results are clear.

I hate having these conversations with conventional personal trainers...they just don't get it!

Namaste62

(ps...in addition to being a 51 year old 30 year practitioner, I am an MD. )

Rosplosion

That guy bugs me too, but he's right. Bikram is strength training, not cardio.

kjm3579

If Bikram was just strength training you wouldn't have any times of accelerated heart rate and you wouldn't need to learn to control your breathing. Bikram is an overall conditioning exercise in that it works all of the muscles which includes the heart, forces you to learn to control breathing, and compresses and relaxes the internal organs in a way other exercises don't accomplish. Bikram heals and conditions from the inside out so that by the time a Bikram student looks good on the outside their internal components are already in great condition.

Rosplosion

kjm - do you lift weights? In my experience weight lifting I get sweaty, out of breath and need to control my breathing. There is NOTHING wrong with strength training. In fact, I prefer it to cardio and feel there are limited benefits of cardio. Strength training not only improves your figure by increasing Lean Body Mass (see: Squat butt) and therefore increases one's BMR (basal metabolic rate, or the amount of calories burned just sitting on your *kitten*) it also makes you feel like a FREAKIN BADASS. That's how I always felt after an especially difficult Bikram session.

I agree, Bikram works all the major muscle groups in the body, that's friggin amazing and it's also something that cardio generally can't offer. That's most often a claim made by strength training exercises. I also agree that Bikram has benefits that can't be achieved by most other forms of exercise, cardio or not. Bikram certainly is unique.

Lyerin

I don't think of Bikram as cardio. I just know it is a great workout for my body and my mind. I guess I like thinking of it as "other." Like I run for cardio, lift weights for strength and do Bikram for *me*.