FYI - Bikram yoga calories burned

Yes I have. 2 years ago... was between 400 and 600. worn on several different occasions. so i stuck with 400 for piece of mind.
Dont do Bikram anymore.... My electrolyte balance cant handel it anymore Practiced for 18mths before having to give up.
Oh and i did full pose.... so really does not seem a huge diff between us.

Love Bikram! Did it last summer and am starting again in a few weeks

Thanks for the info!

I will wear my HRM and let you guys know as well!

I burned 750 cals in 90 minutes of Bikram yesterday, and lost a pound and a half today. I wear my hr monitor. But I might weigh more than you. My hr stayed at 143. My question is....can I do this for three consecutive days? Saturday, sunday, Monday? I've done 5 sessions. My stomach went from a pooch to flat, my butt is flatter, my legs are getting toned. I'm going to do pilates every day I can, and hot yoga when it's there. My allergy meds raise my hr anyway, so it tends to run high, and I sweat tons.

Agreed - your heart rate will be highly elevated sitting in a sauna doing nothing at all - doesn't mean you are burning calories. Also rapid weight loss in Bikram will be largely water loss.

i consulted with my mother (a family practice doctor), a nutritionist and a fitness instructor who works a lot with numbers. they all agree that HRMs are NOT ACCURATE for bikram for the reasons already stated. also, water weight is a large part of the immediate weight loss.

don't get me wrong; i'm a huge fan of bikram. i've been doing it off an on for a decade. i would say it's great for detoxing and muscle toning. if you are quite obese it can help with some weight loss. if you are somewhat overweight to very fit, i would say this is NOT the best activity for weight loss.

i've seen a lot of overweight people in bikram class who more or less stay that way after months and months. when i talk to them, they tell me all they do is bikram. conversely, the really slim/fit people seem to be joggers, cross trainers, gym rats who use bikram as a supplement.

conclusion: bikram is not an aerobic activity. the heat can be misleading.

I think there is significant calorie burn in Bikram (but ignore the immediate body weight effects because the fluid loss and replenishment can easily subtract or add a couple of pounds). I would say taking a conservative end HRM estimate for this would be fine (to compensate for the heat effect on HR which alone doesn't burn calories).

I think the reality is that Bikram comprises many exercise forms beyond "stretching and breathing" including strength (esp. legs, core, lower back but some upper body too if you do the poses more fully), cardio (though not as much as HRM's say because the heat raises your heart rate also) and detox (due to compressions and sweating). I do think there is something to the compressions of the organs / joints in terms of detoxing / cleansing but I think strengthening of in particular knees is due to muscle development rather than than cleansing. I am a skeptic of the claims to cure any real diseases.

If you are overweight and trying to get in shape:

- You must have a daily average net calorie deficit by monitoring food intake e.g. with myfitnesspal. Make sure it is a small deficit over only 200 calories or less to avoid drama / lose weight steadily.

- You should consider body composition (body fat %, body muscle %) as well as just weight (for both health and cosmetic reasons). You tend to lose muscle as well as fat if creating a net deficit with minimal exercise. To address this strength training (such as dumbell circuits) for 20-25 minutes 3x per week should make a big difference. This will inhibit the loss of muscle and therefore increase the proportion of fat lost and you will look trimmer / more toned for a given body weight as a result.

- You may (optionally) do cardio but it is optional for weight loss (though it has cardiovascular health benefits). Cardio may help you hit your target daily calorie deficit but this can be done without cardio. Be careful to eat nearly all the calories you burn whilst maintaining the target daily deficit (using e.g. myfitnesspal) as long cardio sessions can create a larger than ideal calorie deficit which it is hard to replenish and you risk putting your body into starvation mode making it retain fat. If you do cardio make sure you find something you enjoy doing otherwise you will find it difficult to maintain.

To illustrate from my experience: I recently lost 24 pounds in 6 months and went from 19% to 14% body fat and then maintained it for 5 months by eliminating the calorie deficit. I did Bikram 2x per week and did weights 2x-3x per week to get there and during the maintenance. Had I not done the weights I believe my body fat % would have ended up more like 16%. In the recent 1.5 months I stopped doing weights and Bikram but maintained the calorie deficit and also did cardio 2x per week (e.g. soccer, kayaking) . This has resulted in my body fat % rising to 15% whilst keeping the same weight. My conclusion: the weights improve body fat % the calorie deficit loses the weight the cardio is good for your heart and lungs but doesn't directly help once you've eaten the burned calories.

Between 300-450 on average. Higher weight and intensity will result in the higher burn.

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

Thank you for the posts. Isn't what determines aroebic vs aneroebic the heart rate itself! Some one needs to check the scienceThe rate determines the state no? So the HRM would certainly vary depending on the factors asked by the manufacturer.
ie age weight male female etc. BUT STILL THE RATE DETERMINES THE STATE. Bikram is mor like EPOC or HIIT training with rates above and below an aerobic state. Witch creates a burn that lasts longer than steady state cardio. It's published science. PUBMED. GOV the science is out there. EPOC and high intensity interval training are the new terms to look for when trying to achieve more results with less work. It's been proven that these states create a 24 to 48 hour burn window which does not happen with steady state cardio.

The "science" has been "checked" for at least 50 years. Heart rate per se without context is meaningless as a predictor of calorie burn.

You can't just drink water after the class; you have to replenish your electrolytes and potassium. They recommend coconut water because it's natural but you can just do Gatoraide etc (watch out for those extra calories). Always eat a banana for the Potassium. I guess some people may be more sensitive to the loses but I never really had a problem. Just stay hydrated all day.