hot yoga

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  • kennethmgreen
    kennethmgreen Posts: 1,759 Member
    Hot yoga can give falsely high calorie burn readings using a HRM. (smarter people than me have explained this well - I believe the heat raises the heart rate, which is measured by HRM as more calories being burned.)

    Go with regular yoga when recording your calorie burns.

    Bikram yoga is a strict set of poses in a hot room. Hot yoga can be Bikram, but not "officially" so if the teachers and place haven't been certified or learned the secret handshake or something. It takes a few sessions before getting used to the heat. That heat is a mofo at first. Make sure you hydrate throughout the day before, during and after a session. You will sweat. A lot.

    The heated room can help with stiff joints and muscles. It can also cause some people to overstretch and injure themselves. There is definitely a lot of hooey around Bikram yoga (flushes toxins!), but the dangers aren't anything beyond common sense to avoid: hydrate, don't overstretch, stop if you feel dizzy, etc.

    I like Bikram yoga and want to get back to it. It works for me - seems to help my joints. The benefit over regular yoga could be marginal. But I like the idea of practicing the same 26 poses over and over and improving on them, and the heated room works for me.

    I think yoga of any kind is beneficial to the body in many ways. It's probably not a great weight loss exercise, though.
  • yocando
    yocando Posts: 101 Member
    PRECISELY PRECISELY PRECISELY!!:smile: to Jenny_Topaz..

    Hot yoga is awesome for many, many things... I improve my practice by just keeping at it. And as I presumed, it's in that range of 500 calories, more or less. I know I'm burning calories in there...my breathing is notable and intense with some poses.
    If I'm excreting extra sweat because of exertion, I'm burning calories.. It helps with flexibility, circulation to the all areas of the back, extremities, joints, blood flow.... they way I feel afterwards--- and how I look from it-- I know it's great for me.

    I know the difference between Bikram and hot yoga- I do hot yoga.. and there is a big difference between hot yoga and regular yoga..
  • lesliev523
    lesliev523 Posts: 366 Member
    Personally, I love Bikram. I would love to get back into it, but it is expensive in my area. I have been to hot yoga classes, and they are quite different. I preferred Bikram myself..... but I would not do it for the calorie burn, I just love how it makes me feel.
  • Anna800
    Anna800 Posts: 639 Member
    HRM's do not accurately measure calories burned for yoga. Their calorie burned equations are based on steady cardio and, from my understanding, yoga is more similar to strength work.

    The heat is for flexibility. You do not burn more calories in hot yoga than you would doing the same work in normal temps.
    Exercising in the heat does burn more calories since your heart is pumping harder.

    I don't know if the HRM would get an accurate reading since your heart is only beating faster due to the heat?
  • Savbomb
    Savbomb Posts: 17 Member
    so I'm no PRO, but I've done the Hot yoga thing or Bikram yoga as it's really called, and this is just my experience with the class.

    1. it helps you with your daily water intake because if you DONT drink enough water you're gonna get sick and pass out in class.
    2. tons of people in the class wear barely any clothes seeing people looking sexy and sweating motivates you. and encourages.
    3. JUST DO IT. afterwards you just feel so different in comparison to yoga without the heat. I only did it a couple times but for reals.

    give it a try before you talk ****.
  • yocando
    yocando Posts: 101 Member
    I just added hot yoga to the database... never knew I could do that... it's there now!

    hot yoga is awesome... and my instructor Natalie is a rock star yoga instructor... she's terrific at what she does.
    As we age, it gets tougher for things to stretch and move... I've had lower back issues most of my adult life.
    With hot yoga, they've almost completely dissipated... I'm a runner, too.. And the ability to stretch more due to the heat in the room is awesome for a runner... hot yoga counteracts the compression and tightness of the running.
    Plus, there is no way I'd get those deep stretches into all areas of my body and joints without that heat and the two sets of poses in the hot yoga room... if you want to grow old gracefully.....hot yoga is a wonderful path to do so.... I can do things now that I never thought I'd be able to do a year ago..... believe me, my body loves me for doing hot yoga!

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