bikram yoga

carro585

I'm trying bikram (hot) yoga for the first time this afternoon. A calculator on everydayhealth.com says I'll burn 885 calories in 90 minutes...is this for real? Anybody know of any other good ways to calculate calories burned, since MFP doesn't have a category for this?

I'm kind of intimidated by the thought of doing yoga for 90 minutes in a heated room, but everybody I know who has tried it says it's awesome. Any tips for first-timers?

mahidac

First time I did Bikram I felt like I was dying - but it gets exponentially easier everytime you go, I would beleive that you burn that many calories, I found it very challenging the first couple of times.

Just bring lots and lots of water and as little clothing as possible - I like taking two towels, the yoga towel and an extra hand towel just to wipe down every now and then throughout the session. Needless to say drink tons of water - and I don't know about other ppl but I definitely didn't want to go back after the first time but the second and third time were far more enjoyable for me

Dave198lbs

Bikram is great. You will sweat a bunch and lose some water weight. I would be very surprised though if you burn thant many calories. It isnt a real cardio workout for 90 minutes but it isnt easy by any means. I used to log about 400 cals for the 90 minutes but that was oretty much just a safe estimate.

acciomuscles

I am 5'1 and 121 lbs and I read somewhere (can't remember the site now, sorry!) that I burn almost 400 in 60 minutes.

I always go to an 8am class and find that eating beforehand makes me feel sick. Make sure you are well hydrated BEFORE you get there and bring a big water bottle with you to drink from during and after class. I'd recommend wearing spandex shorts and a tight tank top or cami with a good sports bra.

Have fun!

nancycola

Hiya, I happen to be a Bikram yoga teacher. Your first time will be challenging but mostly b/c of the heat. Don't worry! After the first few times you'll get used to it & after a few months of regular practice you won't notice it much.
I'm no calorie burning expert but I do believe you can burn that much in a class. There is a lot of water weight sure. But to disagree with another poster here there is a lot of cardio happening here. You don't move around much but you're holding some challenging poses for 30-60 seconds at a time. Your heart rate will shoot up just as it would if you were running. If that's not happening in your Bikram class and you'd like it to, tell the teacher. You can work harder.
Two more tips: one is to drink at least 4 glasses of water about an hour BEFORE class. It takes 20 minutes for your body to absorb water once you've drunk it so drinking water during class is mostly feels refreshing and provides a distraction but it's not necessary for most people. Also please do not chug a bunch of water during class. Little sips else that water sitting in your belly might make you nauseous. Lastly, wiping off sweat with hand towels is also a habit to distract & pointless since it's just going to come back anyway. Sweat is the body's cooling mechanism. Wiping it off makes you feel hotter. Hope this helps!

RisyaLifsheTova

BIKRAM YOGA BECOMES AN ADDICTION!!! Youll Love to hate it type relationship. To get there is the hardest part, and its not easy at first, But you feel so new and rejuvenated after youre done with each class I gaurentee youll love it, But be sure youre going toa certified Bikram Yoga Center, and not one of those chain places.


Hope you enjoy it! I know I do!

nancycola

Then there is that. It's a wonderful, blissful feeling you have after class that you carry with you the rest of your day. Thanks for reminding me Risya!

ninerbuff

400 calories is average burn in just about any 90 minute yoga class.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

mznisaelaine

I am definitely going to have to try this

carro585

Thanks for the tips, everybody. I just got back and really enjoyed it. I think I was the sweatiest person there! Luckily I knew to drink plenty of water beforehand. As a guesstimate I logged 500 cals burned, just because I feel like I worked harder than my usual treadmill workout, when I burn around 400.

nancycola

Like I said before, I'm no calorie-burning expert but with the Bikram yoga room heated to an average of 105 degrees I think this 90 minute experience would be an exception.

Btw, the few times I've done it I've LOVED kickboxing.

nancycola

Congrats on your first Bikram class! Go back soon! Let me know if you have any questions.

Azdak

Hiya, I happen to be a Bikram yoga teacher. Your first time will be challenging but mostly b/c of the heat. Don't worry! After the first few times you'll get used to it & after a few months of regular practice you won't notice it much.
I'm no calorie burning expert but I do believe you can burn that much in a class. There is a lot of water weight sure. But to disagree with another poster here there is a lot of cardio happening here. You don't move around much but you're holding some challenging poses for 30-60 seconds at a time. Your heart rate will shoot up just as it would if you were running. If that's not happening in your Bikram class and you'd like it to, tell the teacher. You can work harder.
Two more tips: one is to drink at least 4 glasses of water about an hour BEFORE class. It takes 20 minutes for your body to absorb water once you've drunk it so drinking water during class is mostly feels refreshing and provides a distraction but it's not necessary for most people. Also please do not chug a bunch of water during class. Little sips else that water sitting in your belly might make you nauseous. Lastly, wiping off sweat with hand towels is also a habit to distract & pointless since it's just going to come back anyway. Sweat is the body's cooling mechanism. Wiping it off makes you feel hotter. Hope this helps!

The heart rate increase is almost entirely due to thermal stress--there is no increased calorie expenditure involved over the modest burn that one achieves with regular yoga. As a responsible instructor, I'm sure you want to give your students accurate physiological information.

And, depending on the relative humidity, wiping off sweat can actually have a transient cooling effect. If humidity is high, then sweat is not evaporating as quickly , and the accumulation can begin to act as a thin layer of insulation. Wiping the sweat off allows the cooling process to "recharge" albeit briefly. In any case, the effect is very small, but overall, there is no negative effect to wiping off sweat.

nancycola

Hello Azdak,
Sorry I don't exactly know what 'thermal stress' means. Are you saying the heart rate is only increasing because of the heat? I disagree. Have you taken a yoga class? Have you taken a Bikram yoga class? With either but especially with Bikram there's a lot more than just passive stretching happening. Students are asked to use their muscle strength to facilitate the stretching that happens in these postures. And not for a single 'inhale, exhale' either but for 20-60 seconds.

I will agree however that sometimes the room is so humid it may feel better to wipe the sweat. However a major component of this yoga class is treating it as a meditation. The class feels less overwhelming the more the student is able to focus. It's a point I always stress when I teach. The more one is able to refrain from wiping, fidgeting, stopping to drink water, the more fluid the class will be & the greater the reward to the student's mental well-being. The more excuses the student finds to break his/her concentration from the stillness in the mind, the more unnecessarily difficult it will be.

Does that make sense?

ninerbuff

Like I said before, I'm no calorie-burning expert but with the Bikram yoga room heated to an average of 105 degrees I think this 90 minute experience would be an exception.

Btw, the few times I've done it I've LOVED kickboxing.

Since there is no real heart rate raise from aerobic exercise (yoga is anaerobic) the calorie burn is correct. If you ran in desert heat or on a cool day, the calorie burn is approximately the same (maybe a little more in colder weather). Sweating is NOT and not always an indication higher calorie burn.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

Hello Azdak,
Sorry I don't exactly know what 'thermal stress' means. Are you saying the heart rate is only increasing because of the heat? I disagree. Have you taken a yoga class? Have you taken a Bikram yoga class? With either but especially with Bikram there's a lot more than just passive stretching happening. Students are asked to use their muscle strength to facilitate the stretching that happens in these postures. And not for a single 'inhale, exhale' either but for 20-60 seconds.

But again this is anaerobic exercise. Strength training with weights is anaerobic. The calorie burn for about an hour of strenuous weight lifting is between 300-400 calories in an hour. Since you're only using body weight (resistance is lower than the overload from a weighted exercise), you would burn less calories than strenuous weight lifting.Cardio is aerobic and burns more calories per hour than both yoga and weight lifting. I'm sure that you won't dispute that.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

nancycola

Hi ninerbuff,
You folks are really making me work for it.
Just because the students are not jumping around does not mean the heart is not pumping faster. I would argue there is much happening aerobically with the heart as with running.

We're holding strenuous poses in 100+ degrees of heat. The breaks between postures can seem painfully short.

Let's take one example. Utkatasana, Awkward Pose. It comes in 3 parts, each about 20-30 seconds long. The whole time your arms oustretched in front of you and students are instructed to continuously stretch them forward to counterbalance the other movements in this posture. With the feet hip width distance they first sit down in a squat and then arch the upper body back. The abdominals must be contracted the whole time to get into and out of this posture safely. Second part they rise up on their toes and then sit into another full squat (thighs parallel to the floor) while staying on the balls of the feet. Hold 20 seconds. The spine is straight (there's a tendency to lean forward), arms stretched outwards. Third part they bring their knees together and in a slow count of ten slide all the way down with a straight spine until their hips hover a half inch from their heels. To get the thighs parallel they must pitch their knees forward a bit (squeeze the knees!) and lean the upper body back, core strength is crucial to stay balanced here. On the second set they are asked to bounce with big, "juicy" bounces a few times, freeze at the upswing and come up slowly. We do 2 sets of all the postures.

Again I don't have the advantage of a fitness certification or degree of physiology and I'm growing weary of this argument but I'm glad this was brought up. If anyone's paying attention I would gladly go back to my books to find more solid evidence of the efficacy of this class for cardio and strength (as well as meditation and overall health). Suffice it to say that this is not your average hatha yoga class and I would encourage you to try a few to see for yourselves.

This class will kick your *kitten* in the very best way.
Namaste!!!

Azdak

Hello Azdak,
Sorry I don't exactly know what 'thermal stress' means. Are you saying the heart rate is only increasing because of the heat? I disagree. Have you taken a yoga class? Have you taken a Bikram yoga class? With either but especially with Bikram there's a lot more than just passive stretching happening. Students are asked to use their muscle strength to facilitate the stretching that happens in these postures. And not for a single 'inhale, exhale' either but for 20-60 seconds.

I will agree however that sometimes the room is so humid it may feel better to wipe the sweat. However a major component of this yoga class is treating it as a meditation. The class feels less overwhelming the more the student is able to focus. It's a point I always stress when I teach. The more one is able to refrain from wiping, fidgeting, stopping to drink water, the more fluid the class will be & the greater the reward to the student's mental well-being. The more excuses the student finds to break his/her concentration from the stillness in the mind, the more unnecessarily difficult it will be.

Does that make sense?

Thermal stress is, simply, a physiologic response to heat. In this case, an external heat source or increase in core body temperature causes the heart to beat faster. Unlike aerobic exercise, the increase in heart rate that occurs with thermal stress does not result in an increase in oxygen uptake. It's the increased oxygen uptake that leads to the increased caloric burn, not the increased heart rate itself. This has become a more common misunderstanding because people rely so much on heart rate monitors, and, in the case of thermal stress, heart rate monitor calorie estimates are useless.

My comments about sweating were directly solely at the physiological mechanisms. They were not intended to be a value judgement or address the meditative aspects of yoga.

As you so well describe, yoga is more than just physical--the mind/body interaction is an essential part of the experience.

Azdak

Hi ninerbuff,
You folks are really making me work for it.
Just because the students are not jumping around does not mean the heart is not pumping faster. I would argue there is much happening aerobically with the heart as with running.

We're holding strenuous poses in 100+ degrees of heat. The breaks between postures can seem painfully short.

Let's take one example. Utkatasana, Awkward Pose. It comes in 3 parts, each about 20-30 seconds long. The whole time your arms oustretched in front of you and students are instructed to continuously stretch them forward to counterbalance the other movements in this posture. With the feet hip width distance they first sit down in a squat and then arch the upper body back. The abdominals must be contracted the whole time to get into and out of this posture safely. Second part they rise up on their toes and then sit into another full squat (thighs parallel to the floor) while staying on the balls of the feet. Hold 20 seconds. The spine is straight (there's a tendency to lean forward), arms stretched outwards. Third part they bring their knees together and in a slow count of ten slide all the way down with a straight spine until their hips hover a half inch from their heels. To get the thighs parallel they must pitch their knees forward a bit (squeeze the knees!) and lean the upper body back, core strength is crucial to stay balanced here. On the second set they are asked to bounce with big, "juicy" bounces a few times, freeze at the upswing and come up slowly. We do 2 sets of all the postures.

Again I don't have the advantage of a fitness certification or degree of physiology and I'm growing weary of this argument but I'm glad this was brought up. If anyone's paying attention I would gladly go back to my books to find more solid evidence of the efficacy of this class for cardio and strength (as well as meditation and overall health). Suffice it to say that this is not your average hatha yoga class and I would encourage you to try a few to see for yourselves.

This class will kick your *kitten* in the very best way.
Namaste!!!

This is always one of the more difficult discussions when it comes to fitness. Trying to separate fact from assumption, trying to define common meanings for words, and trying to work through the defensiveness that can arise when the presenting of facts is perceived as denigrating the activity as a whole.

Just the facts:

increased heart rate does not always equal either cardiovascular (aerobic) training or increased caloric burn; neither does increased sweating; neither does muscle fatigue.

an activity or class can "kick *kitten*" without achieving significant calorie burn or cardiovascular training.

Cardiovascular training/high calorie burn are not the only criteria for determining the overall effectiveness/benefit/enjoyment of a fitness activity. Saying an activity does not have a high cardiovascular training component is NOT a perjorative statement.

"Fitness", "well-being" are terms that mean different things to different people. The physical effects of a particular exercise or program mean different things to different people. Our ability to function physically is affected by our cardiovascular fitness level, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility. A person's individual physical and psychological makeup has a significant influence on the types of physical activity they will enjoy and find rewarding. The efficacy of a program is ultimately determined by the person doing it.

Every activity evokes a set of physiological responses. Again, there is no moral value associated with this. It just is.
People need to match the specific effects of the activity to their needs.

Yoga, for the most part, has a modest cardiovascular component (I am referring to typical yogic poses, not some hybrid); the strength and flexibility training adaptations are also unique as well. The physiologic responses that occur during yoga are not the same as those that occur during running or during traditional weight lifting. Doesn't mean yoga is better or worse, just different.

The physiology is the physiology. The only problem I see is that if a proponent of a particular type of exercise (whatever type that is--yoga, pilates, HIIT, super slow, marathon training, you name it) overpromises what that particular activity will achieve and tries to make all exercise activities equivalent.

yoginimary

As a fellow yoga teacher, I would like to illustrate Azdak's point:

If you hold a 2 minute Utkatasana in a 70 degree room, it does not burn more calories than in a 100 degree room. Just like jogging outside in the summer does not burn more calories than jogging in the winter.

While I agree Utkatasana is a strenuous pose, weight lifting is strenuous as well - neither burns that many calories.

In the interest of full disclosure: I have never taken a Bikram class, but I'm familiar with the series and have taken Ashtanga (92 degrees and a different series).

ninerbuff

Hi ninerbuff,
You folks are really making me work for it.
Just because the students are not jumping around does not mean the heart is not pumping faster. I would argue there is much happening aerobically with the heart as with running.

We're holding strenuous poses in 100+ degrees of heat. The breaks between postures can seem painfully short.

Let's take one example. Utkatasana, Awkward Pose. It comes in 3 parts, each about 20-30 seconds long. The whole time your arms oustretched in front of you and students are instructed to continuously stretch them forward to counterbalance the other movements in this posture. With the feet hip width distance they first sit down in a squat and then arch the upper body back. The abdominals must be contracted the whole time to get into and out of this posture safely. Second part they rise up on their toes and then sit into another full squat (thighs parallel to the floor) while staying on the balls of the feet. Hold 20 seconds. The spine is straight (there's a tendency to lean forward), arms stretched outwards. Third part they bring their knees together and in a slow count of ten slide all the way down with a straight spine until their hips hover a half inch from their heels. To get the thighs parallel they must pitch their knees forward a bit (squeeze the knees!) and lean the upper body back, core strength is crucial to stay balanced here. On the second set they are asked to bounce with big, "juicy" bounces a few times, freeze at the upswing and come up slowly. We do 2 sets of all the postures.

Again I don't have the advantage of a fitness certification or degree of physiology and I'm growing weary of this argument but I'm glad this was brought up. If anyone's paying attention I would gladly go back to my books to find more solid evidence of the efficacy of this class for cardio and strength (as well as meditation and overall health). Suffice it to say that this is not your average hatha yoga class and I would encourage you to try a few to see for yourselves.

This class will kick your *kitten* in the very best way.
Namaste!!!

There have been clinical studies done by the ACSM on yoga. A lot of the poses are isometric. Isometric exercises don't burn that many calories. I know it seems like your working hard enough to burn high calories, but again anaerobic exercise just doesn't.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition