Calories burned in a Saunas

YukonJoy

Wow... Maybe you guys could help answering the question WITHOUT being total *kitten*?|

Twilighttabby, there are a lot of sources that differ about this subject. Research as much as you can... But if it comes down to it, maybe getting an HRM and finding out for yourself is the best way to go...? After all, calories burned is unique to the person, their weight, and their level of fitness.

To me, it doesn't seem like a very efficient way to burn, simply because it does nothing to really increase overall fitness... :happy:

Thankyou also for wording it that way...lol..this is what I was thinking. I really wish it could be more postive on this site instead of trying to...gosh i can't even find the right words. Just been ecouraging for goodness sakes.

^^^^ yup, its a question guys, wtf are you replying as if someone sat you in a sauna and force fed you lard *rolls eyes* it is not cool

Did anyone say that saunas are bad or could cause one to gain weight? No -- we answered the question. Sitting in a sauna will not help one lose weight.

maybe you did, let me clarify that i am not talking about everyone

GUYS PLEASE CHILL OUT! this place is supposed to be a helping community! if you don't like a question or it's beneath you or you take offense to it, then DO NOT TAKE THE TIME TO REPLY. And there is no law against posting a question twice and wanting more responses to make a judgement. If we were all smart and had all the answers, we wouldnt need a site like this!!! I remember many years they said Carbs, then no carbs, then cardio, then no cardio, the run then don;t run it's bad for your knees, then have sweet and low, then dont have sweet and low, so all you very smart people who want to take the time to answer a question and help, please leave the degrading comments to yourself and be happy for yourself that you are so advanced that you are above asking such questions...BUT KEEP IT TO YOURSELF. I am disgusted by this thread. GEEZ.

This wasn't hypocritical at all. :indifferent:

Fashionista012

sorry, I quoted the wrong people. I meant to quote the nasty ones...not nice

WarriorMom2012

GUYS PLEASE CHILL OUT! this place is supposed to be a helping community! if you don't like a question or it's beneath you or you take offense to it, then DO NOT TAKE THE TIME TO REPLY. And there is no law against posting a question twice and wanting more responses to make a judgement. If we were all smart and had all the answers, we wouldnt need a site like this!!! I remember many years they said Carbs, then no carbs, then cardio, then no cardio, the run then don;t run it's bad for your knees, then have sweet and low, then dont have sweet and low, so all you very smart people who want to take the time to answer a question and help, please leave the degrading comments to yourself and be happy for yourself that you are so advanced that you are above asking such questions...BUT KEEP IT TO YOURSELF. I am disgusted by this thread. GEEZ.

So, the OP can ask the question but unless we are smart and we keep our opinion to ourself unless it's nice and agrees with the OP?! I'm really, really, really confused.

To the OP, sitting in a sauna is still sitting. I'm sitting in my office right now, only it's freezing in here. I'm more than likely burning just as many calories as you are in your sauna, if not more as my body is working harder to bring up my temperature.

ericabrothers

I completely agree too. There is no need to be a *kitten*. In the words of Thumper "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all." People come here for support, not to be talk down to because some people who happen to lift weights and have read some internet articles think they know everything there is to know about losing weight and getting into shape.

Wow... Maybe you guys could help answering the question WITHOUT being total *kitten*?|

Twilighttabby, there are a lot of sources that differ about this subject. Research as much as you can... But if it comes down to it, maybe getting an HRM and finding out for yourself is the best way to go...? After all, calories burned is unique to the person, their weight, and their level of fitness.

To me, it doesn't seem like a very efficient way to burn, simply because it does nothing to really increase overall fitness... :happy:

Thankyou also for wording it that way...lol..this is what I was thinking. I really wish it could be more postive on this site instead of trying to...gosh i can't even find the right words. Just been ecouraging for goodness sakes.

^^^^ yup, its a question guys, wtf are you replying as if someone sat you in a sauna and force fed you lard *rolls eyes* it is not cool

lizziebeth1028

Sauna for calorie burn and weigh loss - NO! But for relaxation and a overall feel good experience - YES! My boyfriend and I go to a Korean Spa Sauna near Chicago, it's like a vacation. It has 8 different exotically decorated infrared sauna's all touting different properties (salt, charcoal, amethyst ect). And a wet spa and steam sauna too. All I know is it smells wonderful there and it's sooooo relaxing!!!!

loombeav

My gym has a Sauna, when I took a tour I was told about it and how it could be used after a workout for relaxation. At no point did anyone mention I could get a workout from using it. It's not exercise, therefore not burning enough calories to track.
If you enjoy the Sauna by all means use it, but I surely would not be relying on it to meet my fitness goals or weight loss ones.

njean888

I wonder how much I can burn sitting at my desk with the heater in my face? Just kidding, but seriously I doubt you burn anything at all. If it were that easy everyone would be thin.

ymhand

My uncle's brother's sister's friend's baby sister Tracy told me it was 300 calories per 1/2 hour!!

gsxrchick

I just went to Bikram Yoga yesterday and wore my heart rate monitor. I burned on 571 calories in the 90 minute session. I have been doing bikram for about two months and trust me when I say that its one hell of a workout. I don't do it by itself for weight loss, but it has helped to tone my muscles and increase my flexibility.

Sweet_Potato

A few comments on the bikram yoga:



3. I don't own a HRM but my heart rate DEFINITELY gets up there when I do bikram. In that respect it's probably equivalent to aerobics or running.

No. It's. Not.

Whoa, I didn't realize you were following me around, secretely monitoring my heart rate while I was doing various forms of exercise. That's creepy; please stop.

Sweet_Potato

I just went to Bikram Yoga yesterday and wore my heart rate monitor. I burned on 571 calories in the 90 minute session. I have been doing bikram for about two months and trust me when I say that its one hell of a workout. I don't do it by itself for weight loss, but it has helped to tone my muscles and increase my flexibility.

Thanks for sharing that info; I was really curious about what a HRM would say. The numbers I've seen on various fitness websites have been closer to 800, which seemed too high. 571 is still great though!

trishajo82

reading through threads like this just reinforces my decision to not frequent the MFP message boards too often....:noway: thanks for reminding me of that yet again!

Nopedotjpeg

You're losing water weight. That's all.

gsxrchick

I just went to Bikram Yoga yesterday and wore my heart rate monitor. I burned on 571 calories in the 90 minute session. I have been doing bikram for about two months and trust me when I say that its one hell of a workout. I don't do it by itself for weight loss, but it has helped to tone my muscles and increase my flexibility.

Thanks for sharing that info; I was really curious about what a HRM would say. The numbers I've seen on various fitness websites have been closer to 800, which seemed too high. 571 is still great though!

Yep. I have actually burned over 700 during a session. Just depends really on how long you can hold the poses, and put up with the burning muscles. Yesterday my shoulders and quads were on fire! Believe me, it gets your heart rate up there. I've actually hit about 160. Its not as cardiovascularly demanding as a 2 mile run or doing insanity, but its something!

Azdak

I just went to Bikram Yoga yesterday and wore my heart rate monitor. I burned on 571 calories in the 90 minute session. I have been doing bikram for about two months and trust me when I say that its one hell of a workout. I don't do it by itself for weight loss, but it has helped to tone my muscles and increase my flexibility.

I have to keep bringing this up because too many people see this information and think it is correct.

HRMs CANNOT be used to estimate calorie burn in a thermal stress environment. (HRMs are only rough estimates to begin with --even during aerobic exercise, but that is a different topic). In this type of situation, they are useless and the numbers are meaningless.

HRMs do not measure calories burned. They measure heart rate. HRMs are programmed so that, under a limited set of conditions (steady-state aerobic exercise in a normal environment of heat/humidity), their algorithms can use heart rate to estimate calorie expenditure to within about 80% accuracy.

That's it.

During other conditions -- e.g. like during Bikram Yoga -- the HRM senses the elevated heart rate that occurs due to thermal stress. It reflexively spits out a "calorie" number, as it is programmed to do. However, the HRM does not know that you are exercising under a set of conditions that render its calculations meaningless. Just because an HRM displays a calorie number, that does not mean you are actually burning that many calories. An increase in heart rate that occurs during thermal stress is not associated with an increased calorie burn.

I could strap an HRM to a fence post, use a pulse-signal simulator, and would tell me that the fence post was burning 800 calories in an hour. That would be just as accurate as the number one gets wearing a heart rate monitor during something like a bikram yoga class.

For some reason, people insist on treating this information as though it was an attack on Bikram Yoga --or saunas, or weight training, or whatever.

It is not. The intention is to make people view their HRM numbers with caution; to understand what they can and cannot do; and to not use HRMs as some type of mythical "gold standard" for estimating calories--which they most certainly are not.

toffee322

to be honest, i think very little... it helps you detox and lose some water weight.. it's a good relaxation.. but i wouldn't rely on it to burn calories.

CaptainGordo

to be honest, i think very little... it helps you detox and lose some water weight.. it's a good relaxation.. but i wouldn't rely on it to burn calories.

No detox. Please read previous comment, with info from a doctor.

rjt1000

EXACTLY. We used to use the sauna to do quick weight loss before weigh ins for wrestling tournaments. Wrestling coaches can give you lots of methods for losing 5 pounds overnight. My coach's favorite was to chew gum and spit. Over and over and over and over and over. 5 or 6 of us tried it and, yep, we could spit away 4 or 5 pounds in 8 or 10 hours of gum chewing and spitting. Our jaws hurt from spitting 25,000 times. But soon as you drink some fluids, you gain the weight back.

rjt1000

I just went to Bikram Yoga yesterday and wore my heart rate monitor. I burned on 571 calories in the 90 minute session. I have been doing bikram for about two months and trust me when I say that its one hell of a workout. I don't do it by itself for weight loss, but it has helped to tone my muscles and increase my flexibility.

I have to keep bringing this up because too many people see this information and think it is correct.

HRMs CANNOT be used to estimate calorie burn in a thermal stress environment. (HRMs are only rough estimates to begin with --even during aerobic exercise, but that is a different topic). In this type of situation, they are useless and the numbers are meaningless.

HRMs do not measure calories burned. They measure heart rate. HRMs are programmed so that, under a limited set of conditions (steady-state aerobic exercise in a normal environment of heat/humidity), their algorithms can use heart rate to estimate calorie expenditure to within about 80% accuracy.

That's it.

During other conditions -- e.g. like during Bikram Yoga -- the HRM senses the elevated heart rate that occurs due to thermal stress. It reflexively spits out a "calorie" number, as it is programmed to do. However, the HRM does not know that you are exercising under a set of conditions that render its calculations meaningless. Just because an HRM displays a calorie number, that does not mean you are actually burning that many calories. An increase in heart rate that occurs during thermal stress is not associated with an increased calorie burn.

I could strap an HRM to a fence post, use a pulse-signal simulator, and would tell me that the fence post was burning 800 calories in an hour. That would be just as accurate as the number one gets wearing a heart rate monitor during something like a bikram yoga class.

For some reason, people insist on treating this information as though it was an attack on Bikram Yoga --or saunas, or weight training, or whatever.

It is not. The intention is to make people view their HRM numbers with caution; to understand what they can and cannot do; and to not use HRMs as some type of mythical "gold standard" for estimating calories--which they most certainly are not.

THANK YOU. Excellent explanation. And gives me some factual info to back up what has always seemed common sense to me.

gsxrchick

I just went to Bikram Yoga yesterday and wore my heart rate monitor. I burned on 571 calories in the 90 minute session. I have been doing bikram for about two months and trust me when I say that its one hell of a workout. I don't do it by itself for weight loss, but it has helped to tone my muscles and increase my flexibility.

I have to keep bringing this up because too many people see this information and think it is correct.

HRMs CANNOT be used to estimate calorie burn in a thermal stress environment. (HRMs are only rough estimates to begin with --even during aerobic exercise, but that is a different topic). In this type of situation, they are useless and the numbers are meaningless.

HRMs do not measure calories burned. They measure heart rate. HRMs are programmed so that, under a limited set of conditions (steady-state aerobic exercise in a normal environment of heat/humidity), their algorithms can use heart rate to estimate calorie expenditure to within about 80% accuracy.

That's it.

During other conditions -- e.g. like during Bikram Yoga -- the HRM senses the elevated heart rate that occurs due to thermal stress. It reflexively spits out a "calorie" number, as it is programmed to do. However, the HRM does not know that you are exercising under a set of conditions that render its calculations meaningless. Just because an HRM displays a calorie number, that does not mean you are actually burning that many calories. An increase in heart rate that occurs during thermal stress is not associated with an increased calorie burn.

I could strap an HRM to a fence post, use a pulse-signal simulator, and would tell me that the fence post was burning 800 calories in an hour. That would be just as accurate as the number one gets wearing a heart rate monitor during something like a bikram yoga class.

For some reason, people insist on treating this information as though it was an attack on Bikram Yoga --or saunas, or weight training, or whatever.

It is not. The intention is to make people view their HRM numbers with caution; to understand what they can and cannot do; and to not use HRMs as some type of mythical "gold standard" for estimating calories--which they most certainly are not.

Thank you for this information. What I will ask is if you are arguing the limits of measuring calories burned during workouts... is there something else that can be better used to estimate this? If no... then what else do you suggest we use? Im not trying to give you a hard time.. my military thinking is if you say something doesn't work, or has its faults, then what does the job better? I dont think anyone in here expects the HRM to be some kind of miracle worker or give false hopes....at some point common sense does have to come into play.....