Calories Burned in Headstand

elisheva
elisheva Posts: 11 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I do a 5 minute (about) headstand every morning as a part of my abs routine. However on days that I skip the abs routine I still do headstand. I've tried searching for how many calories a headstand burns, but can't find anything. I know it's a very intense pose, but the short amount of time might make it more strength building than calorie burning. I try not to take it all too seriously, but I'm very interested to know.

Does anyone have even a guess at how many calories are burned in 5 minutes of headstand (120 breathes)?

Replies

  • Hendrix7
    Hendrix7 Posts: 1,903 Member
    Not sure if serious.

    Very few, not enough to even factor in.
  • OmNickiShivaya
    OmNickiShivaya Posts: 2
    Hendrix7 had obviously never done headstands. Haha, I was wondering the same thing as elisheva. It works a great deal on your core, upper body (duh), and all of your concentration because you're literally holding yourself up upside down. Good for you doing it for ~5 mins! Wow!

    Does anyone else know?
  • benol1
    benol1 Posts: 867 Member
    The answer is wear a heart rate monitor and set it running for the time you are doing your headstand. The calorie burn indicated by your heart rate monitor will be a fairly accurate estimate of actual calories burned.
    But I have to agree with Hendrix, it won't be very much.
  • kirkor
    kirkor Posts: 2,530 Member
    An actual headstand, like no hands used for balance?
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Usain Bolt burns less than 20 calories running 100m faster than any other human.

    A headstand isn't going to burn enough over base to make any noticeable difference.
  • phjorg1
    phjorg1 Posts: 642 Member
    The answer is wear a heart rate monitor and set it running for the time you are doing your headstand. The calorie burn indicated by your heart rate monitor will be a fairly accurate estimate of actual calories burned.
    But I have to agree with Hendrix, it won't be very much.
    HRM do not work if you're doing something other than cardio. so in this case, you can change fairly accurate to not even remotely accurate.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    More than pilates, I'd say. More than they usually give for yoga, because so many muscles are used harder than in other poses.

    If you do them against a wall, bump it down to pilates, I'd think. A headstand is as strenuous as a handstand, I think (or more so, because the center of gravity feels funny for me). I don't know handstand calories, either, though!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,028 Member
    Figure no more than 30 calories max. The average weight training session burns about 350 calories in an hour.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    On what planet is a headstand difficult?
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    On what planet is a headstand difficult?

    :laugh:
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    I would think that it would be roughly equivalent to 5 minutes of standing upright ... maybe a calorie or two more due to the unnatural stabilization required.
  • benol1
    benol1 Posts: 867 Member
    The answer is wear a heart rate monitor and set it running for the time you are doing your headstand. The calorie burn indicated by your heart rate monitor will be a fairly accurate estimate of actual calories burned.
    But I have to agree with Hendrix, it won't be very much.
    HRM do not work if you're doing something other than cardio. so in this case, you can change fairly accurate to not even remotely accurate.

    Actually, it would be a very reliable indicator.
  • m00tmike
    m00tmike Posts: 248 Member
    Isn't a headstand a strength exercise? Yes your heartrate does increase with strength exercises but I wouldn't think it would be enough to even worry about. I log "strength training" but that's only when I lift for 30+ min. Just my thoughts on it.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    I would think that it would be roughly equivalent to 5 minutes of standing upright ... maybe a calorie or two more due to the unnatural stabilization required.
    The thing is, once you do it a handful of times, balancing becomes easy and effortless. So you're most likely not really burning any useful number of calories, unless maybe you're doing something like this for reps.
    headstand2_zpsd1c38ba3.gif
  • OmNickiShivaya
    OmNickiShivaya Posts: 2
    I am referring to a forearm supported (yoga, shirsasana) headstand.
    Holding* it for something like 1-5 minutes is challenging and is not as easy as standing, since we stand all the time and have the leg strength built up from doing so. Tripod headstand are easier but I've been doing those since I was 3.

    This is why headstands/handstands aren't introduced in the world of yoga for quite sometime, because it works almost all of your body to hold for a period of time, sans wall. I may have to investigate this one on my own. Thank you to those that replied, and happy headstands!
  • norcal_yogi
    norcal_yogi Posts: 675 Member
    Not sure if serious.

    Very few, not enough to even factor in.

    ...wrong.....
  • jonrcrowley031264
    jonrcrowley031264 Posts: 1 Member
    In the RunKeeper app, a one-hour meditation burns 78 calories. A 5-min headstand is way more physically vigorous.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    benol1 wrote: »
    The answer is wear a heart rate monitor and set it running for the time you are doing your headstand. The calorie burn indicated by your heart rate monitor will be a fairly accurate estimate of actual calories burned.
    But I have to agree with Hendrix, it won't be very much.

    HRM can be considered a useful tool for training but are hardly accurate for calorie burn in general.

    Current evidence does not show one's heart rate as a accurate estimate for ccalorie burn across the board of activity.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,304 Member
    LiftAllThePizzas wrote: »
    On what planet is a headstand difficult?

    Mine.



  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    @jonrcrowley031264

    You have resurected a thread that is over 7 years old!
    Hopefully the original poster will have worked it out by now.

    Welcome to MyFitnessPal by the way.

    PS - need to be careful to differentiate between gross calorie estimates (like Runkeeper) that include the calories you burn just existing and net calories (the extra calories burned just from exercising).
    An hour of meditating or an hour of sitting on the sofa are most likely both 78 gross cals for that person.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    @jonrcrowley031264 How in the world did you even find a thread about handstands from 2013? :lol:

    This site (Myfitnesspal) uses the Mifflin St Jeor calculation - so just be aware of how it calculates things like your BMR and additional exercise and daily activity. Here:

    https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032625391-How-does-MyFitnessPal-calculate-my-initial-goals-

    That will make a big difference in individual calorie goals.

    The Runkeeper is telling you what calories you would use just by sitting and breathing. MFP accounts for that in its calorie calculation.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    LiftAllThePizzas wrote: »
    On what planet is a headstand difficult?
    paperpudding wrote: »
    Mine.

    And mine. And that was back when I was a full time yoga teacher. Headstands have been out of my rotation for quite some time.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,679 Member
    I held one this morning for sixty seconds and let me tell you, it’s a workout. I felt in my core, arms, toe to head, so to speak.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Although a headstand requires more strength than a foot stand, I don’t see where you’re doing any “activity” that would burn significantly more calories. Someone above pointed out a headstand takes a lot of concentration, but unfortunately, concentration doesn’t burn calories.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,028 Member
    This is how I headstand.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xt6b4L02gU

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,679 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    This is how I headstand.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xt6b4L02gU

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    😮
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    My favorite inversions video. Clearly as easy as standing on your feet. (Thanks @springlering62)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loszrEZvS_k

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