Hot Yoga question

Have you checked to see if lost inches. Sometimes you gain muscle and scales shows that you are up, but your size is smaller.

Also check, you may be undereating for your activity level.

I've been a yoga instructor for 8+ years now and I still advise people not to expect yoga to be there end-all-solution to weight loss. The centering and peace of mind really help to make you more conscious of your dietary choices and increasing bodily awareness. Also I have many clients who come in with various aches and pains that keep them from pursuing an exercise routine -or- they exercise regularly but as such deal with various muscle tensions. Yoga is a wonderful addition to the weight loss routine. Keep in mind the orginal roots of yoga asanas (the postures) was to get into padmasana (lotus posture) with a still mind and steady breath, free of pain, and ready for meditation. These sages were strict vegetarians who ate very little due to their climate and social position. The asanas were not -necessarily- meant to help us fit into size 6 jeans. Not to say it isnt integral however!

You will definitely burn calories via vinyasa yoga but hot yoga just makes you loose a bunch of water weight. I'm not a strong proponent of hot yoga actually. Since the popularization of hot yoga, there has been a surge of yoga related injuries. Hot yoga followers believe they can get a deeper stretch because the extreme heat facilitates elasticity in the muscle tissue however this deep stretching can easily cause tears because muscles that are stretched beyond 20 to 25 percent of their resting length and begin to damage. This causes some intense tearing (more than just the "good" micro tearing). The extra heat can be allusive and cause people to think they can get a deeper stretch but the after effects might just cause reduced range of motion.

If your looking for a "work-out" look into vinyasa style yoga or a personal favorite: Ashtanga Vinyasa. Also - get familiar with surya namskra (sun salutations) . It's a wonderful cardio/strength exercise that also is very "warming". The idea is you are raising your own body temperature.

I would of thought you would burn more calories in hot yoga as your body working harder to cool you down?

I know my heartrate seems to increase more than in regular yoga but it's too sweaty in there to wear at HRM.

I thought you actually burned more calories in a cold room as your body uses energy for thermal regulation.

It does feel like something of a cheat not to burn more calories in the heat. My hikes in hot weather feel so much harder! Like I did twice the work.

I would of thought you would burn more calories in hot yoga as your body working harder to cool you down?

I know my heartrate seems to increase more than in regular yoga but it's too sweaty in there to wear at HRM.

Heart rate increase due to thermal stress is not the same as heart rate increase during aerobic exercise. The increase is driven by different physiologic mechanisms. One (aerobic) is associated with increased oxygen uptake and increased calorie burn; the other (thermal stress) is not.

HRMs are not accurate when used under conditions of thermal stress because the HRM can't tell the difference between the two conditions described above. HRMs are programmed under the assumption that the heart rate increase is occurring during aerobic exercise conditions.

Interesting. Thank you. Won't bother with the HRM in future. :drinker:

Still don't think Hot Yoga / Bikram burns as much as Ashtanga Vinyasa, just from a "perceived effort" perspective.

well said jett