hot yoga

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yocando
yocando Posts: 101 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I noticed no option exists for the entry of hot yoga, which is really the Bikrim style yoga class, held for 90 minutes in a 105 degree room...26 poses, twice through. It would be nice to have that as an option as currently, I entered just regular yoga in twice to equal the approximate number of calories burned in a hot yoga class..give or take 50 calories.

Anyone else out there long for this as an exercise entry to select from from the exercise category on the MFP site?
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Replies

  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    Why would hot yoga burn any more (or less) calories than normal yoga?
  • Skych123
    Skych123 Posts: 96
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    yeah this should definitely be an option - i hear you burn 400-1000 calories depending on how much effort you put in....
  • Plates559
    Plates559 Posts: 869 Member
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    What heat burns calories? I'm moving to the equator where everyone is skinny! [/sarcasm]

    Thermal stress doesn't burn any significant amount of calories. Example: sitting watching tv you burn 5 calories, sitting in a sauna you burn 7.
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
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    I was quite seriously thinking about this the other day... What actually is the point of Hot Yoga? Honest question, not trying to be a ****, but as someone relatively new to exercise, I just don't understand it. Sweating in a 68 degree room is enough to make me angry :)
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    Why would hot yoga burn any more (or less) calories than normal yoga?

    Several scientific studies have proven that it doesn't, but people continue to believe it does.
  • Skych123
    Skych123 Posts: 96
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    http://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/Pittsburgh-Magazine/March-2011/Does-Hot-Yoga-Burn-More-Calories-than-Regular-Yoga/

    nose.gif

    that was the first google result
    196.jpg
  • yogagirl1111
    yogagirl1111 Posts: 45 Member
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    Hot power yoga I burn around 550. Bikram I burn 350 ish. I usually wear a HRM in yoga classes. for core yoga (warm but not hot room) I burn like 150-200ish cals.
  • ecw3780
    ecw3780 Posts: 608 Member
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    Just because you sweat, you don't necessarily burn more calories.
  • ecw3780
    ecw3780 Posts: 608 Member
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    It is so terrible for you. It brings your internal body temperature well beyond safe levels. You don't receive any benefits from it. You may get a rush, but that is more likely from dehydration and heat exhaustion.
  • scottg1024
    scottg1024 Posts: 224
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    I thought hot yoga was just where the people were hot.
  • Plates559
    Plates559 Posts: 869 Member
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    Supposedly you get a better stretch, but I like to think that the people who created yoga do it for flexibility and relaxation, I don't find heavy sweating very relaxing.
  • Le_Joy
    Le_Joy Posts: 593 Member
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    My hot yoga class isn't Bikram style. It is "power" yoga so I use that. I don't remember if I made the exercise for myself or found it on here but it shows up when I search for it. at 165lbs it says I burn @375 cals an hour...
  • mcrowe1016
    mcrowe1016 Posts: 647 Member
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    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.
  • felice03
    felice03 Posts: 2,732 Member
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    I am going to start cold yoga...if your muscles are frozen it will take more effort to move them, therefore burning more calories! whose with me?? Since you will all get in on the ground level on this new program I will offer you all special rates too!
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    I am going to start cold yoga...if your muscles are frozen it will take more effort to move them, therefore burning more calories! whose with me?? Since you will all get in on the ground level on this new program I will offer you all special rates too!

    We can sell my green M&M diet at the studios. We'll make a fortune!
  • BAMFMeredith
    BAMFMeredith Posts: 2,829 Member
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    It is so terrible for you. It brings your internal body temperature well beyond safe levels. You don't receive any benefits from it. You may get a rush, but that is more likely from dehydration and heat exhaustion.

    False. Totally false. Instructors will specifically tell you to be well hydrated and to drink water throughout class, and the room is only heated to like 95 degrees. I take it all the time, and it enables you to work deeper into the muscles. I absolutely love it. And I've never gotten so hot it was unbearable---I'm more uncomfortable outside in the summer time (it gets up to 110 degrees here every summer) than I am in a hot yoga class. In fact, I'm more uncomfortable and hot when I go running on a treadmill in the air conditioning than during hot yoga. You're encouraged to take breaks, listen to your body, and don't push yourself harder than is reasonable. Not to mention the last 5-10 minutes of class is laying in savasana centering yourself.

    I feel better after taking hot yoga classes than I do after normal-temperature hatha classes. Every time I've had a bad eating weekend or something, a hot yoga class (accompanied by a LOT of hydration ahead of time, during, and afterward) makes me feel like a brand new person. As for calorie burn, I'm not sure it burns more than traditional yoga unless you're doing a vinyasa practice, which tends to be faster paced and more challenging, but your 26 pose hatha class might not burn much more (although it sure as hell feels like it since you're working a bit harder in the warm room). I'd say just log it as regular yoga and if you burn more, great, if not, no biggie since the benefits of yoga in general are much greater than just a calorie burn :smile:
  • LovePBandJ
    LovePBandJ Posts: 288 Member
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    I really like Bikram and fit it into my schedule whenever I get a chance. People don't understand the practice and the burn unless they've experienced it. My Yogi has quite large and nicely defined muscles from doing nothing more than her regular Bikram practice.

    On the internet sites suggest one can burn 800 - 1,000 calories in a session. I wore my HRM to one session and my burn was 700. Since wearing a watch and a band is not conducive to the practice, I only wore it once, so I don't have several session results to compare.

    In order to represent my experience here on MFP I had to create my own exercise at the "Add Exercise" section and put my number in. Whenever I do Bikram, I just count it as 700.

    Also, Bikram is not the only hot yoga. There is now some offshoot, Moksha, started up in Canada when a Bikram yogi spun off and created his own version. So, people are doing different things. But Bikram is Bikram, wherever you go.

    Anyhow, I hope this helps!
  • Springfield_Rocks
    Springfield_Rocks Posts: 289
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    i am starting hot yoga next week. not dangerous at all from what i hear. nice to get the muscles stretched out in the heat. go at your own pace, no pressure. i guess it depends on where you go. my studio is relaxing not killer.
  • dlashawn5
    dlashawn5 Posts: 28 Member
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    I thought about doing the Hot Yoga thing, but classes are not offered in my community...Not sure I want to travel across town to sweat like crazy. I think I will stick with my dvd videos in my cool front room!
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    i love hot yoga. and by hot yoga, i mean regular yoga, just me doing it without my shirt on.

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