Bikram / hot yoga - calories burned?
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Yay! Finally some truth to lots of exaggerated claims from many Bikram yoga takers and instructors.I am a recent graduate of the Bikram Yoga teacher training. At my training we got a very informative lecture from a Dr. who has been running tests to scientifically prove the benefits of Bikram yoga. He has people attached to all sorts of machines to test the VO2; to see which muscles are used; testing heart rate and yes, to test the caloric expenditure. He debunked all the information floating around that one class of Bikram yoga burns 1000 calories. He said the average caloric expenditure is around 350, of course it depends on the persons weight, as with any other exercise; the heavier you are, the more calories you will burn. I have found a scientific calculation that gives me a pretty accurate of calories burned based on the Dr's stats. The formula is: (2.73 * 3.5 * weight kg/200) *90. You have to calculate your weight in kilograms, therefore, you have to multiply your weight by 0.45359237 to plug in your weight. My personal calculations using my weight in kilograms looks like this: (2.73 * 3.5 * 74.842741/200)*90 which gives me 321 calories burned. It's a little more than the regular hatha yoga on myfitnesspal but it's not the exaggerated number of 600-1000 calories. At 165 pounds it's just not happening unless I take 3 classes a day...lol...I hope this information helps. Namaste
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The formula is: (2.73 * 3.5 * weight kg/200) *90.
Thanks! Congrats on teacher training! One question- is that his estimate of how much you burn total over the 90 minutes or your incremental burn from the class? Because most people would burn 100 or so just sitting home on the couch. I'm thinking it's the incremental burn.
Just a comment- Why doesn't he simplify that formula down to (weight in kg/200) * 860? LOL
I knew I'd found the right studio for me when I looked at the web site and the owner had on there that you could burn 300 calories a class. So refreshing to see honesty.0 -
The formula is: (2.73 * 3.5 * weight kg/200) *90.
Thanks! Congrats on teacher training! One question- is that his estimate of how much you burn total over the 90 minutes or your incremental burn from the class? Because most people would burn 100 or so just sitting home on the couch. I'm thinking it's the incremental burn.
Just a comment- Why doesn't he simplify that formula down to (weight in kg/200) * 860? LOL
I knew I'd found the right studio for me when I looked at the web site and the owner had on there that you could burn 300 calories a class. So refreshing to see honesty.
Thanks for the congratulations. It was not easy buy SO worth it! The calculation is not the Dr's that gave us the lecture. I found it on another website and I found that this formula gave me numbers that correlated with the information he gave us. If you want to check his work you can find him on FB. His name is Brian L Tracy. He showed us the different stages of heart rate changes and he did confirm that Bikram yoga is definitely a cardiovascular workout but you don't burn as many calories as some people profess. I'd chalk that up to overzealousness for the practise Now, I will say this: without a doubt it is fantastic for weight loss and losing inches! 0 -
Congratulations on teacher training! What an accomplishment!
I count a 90 min. Bikram class as just 90 min. of "yoga" on MFP. I sort of don't care how many calories it burns - I do yoga for *me* because it is good for me and makes me feel good. I get my calorie burn from running, Zumba, etc.0 -
THIS. Exercise of any type is for focus on health and fitness. If someone is using it strictly for calorie burn, then maybe their relationship with food needs to be addressed.Congratulations on teacher training! What an accomplishment!
I count a 90 min. Bikram class as just 90 min. of "yoga" on MFP. I sort of don't care how many calories it burns - I do yoga for *me* because it is good for me and makes me feel good. I get my calorie burn from running, Zumba, etc.
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I completely agree with you. I have tried multiple types of "workouts" for years that I just have hated. I hated going to the gym and was so bored and miserable and didn't enjoy it. I went to a hot yoga class and absolutely loved it and I get so disappointed on nights I can't go. I went from going to the gym once a month to going 5x a week. As a result, I have discovered more things that I actually enjoy, like weight lifting and HIIT workouts. Yoga, however, is my main workout. I recognize I could probably see quicker results if I were to engage in a more intensive workout plan, but the fact of the matter is that I am doing something I look forward to and enjoy, not doing it to solely to see results (which I feel like wouldn't be a lifestyle change.) All this to say, if you find a workout that you actually enjoy that takes you from sedentary to non-sedentary, do it. Don't be concerned if it's not the top calorie burner. If you find something you love, it will more than likely become a lifestyle change, and the goal is permanent lifestyle changes, not quick fixes. Additionally, like I said earlier, as hot yoga has been incorporated into my every day life, I have gained motivation to engage in other activities as well, that have actually helped me in my yoga practice (i.e. weight training and high intensity interval training).
To sum up-find something you love and do that.0 -
My instructor last night told me that you can burn 600 to 1200 cal in an hour and a half.0
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Yoga is great exercise. Never stated that it wasn't. The information I've given is about calories burned. Your personal experience is yours (since I have no idea what your parameters for weight loss were actually set at) and doesn't trump actual science. People will state that boxing did it for them, running did it for them, pilates did it for them, HCG did it for them, etc. and we all know one thing for sure....................it came down to how well whatever they did for them worked with calorie deficit. And math is part of that equation. If you don't believe that, then you're somehow a special snowflake to the law of thermodynamics.
It's ANAEROBIC due the fact that poses are isometric. For instance, stand in a door way, put your hands on opposite sides of the wall and push in with all your might for say 30 seconds. You'll huff, you'll puff and if you do it enough times you'll even sweat. Calories burned in that 30 seconds......................about 2.5. Now multiply that by and you're looking at about 450 calories.For people saying it is not a cardio exercise have you seen to a bikram yoga class? Just like anyone workout you can phone it in some days but when your focused and doing the postures and really pushing yourself...I think 600 is fairly accurate.
There's no dispute that isometric exercise is anaerobic by any fitness counsil or Journals of study in physiology or sports training/conditioning. And math doesn't lie.
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Math?!? What are you talking about? Since when is fitness a math science?!? :laugh:
"Math doesn't lie"? Neither do our bodies: I've been through personal training for over 6 months (started twice a week and then three times a week) and I couldn't see much difference in weight: from 154 to 148 lb. Then, I supplemented the training with Bikram Yoga. My personal trainer used to laugh at me; big surprise: he didn't believe in Yoga... He was so wrong! After only 4 weeks of Hot Yoga (the 26 postures) I lost a few pounds (141 lb) and my body definitely looked slimmer. Right now I'm only going to Hot Yoga (no personal training scam whatsoever) and I'm still losing weight (136 lb).
Researcher
PhD in Biochemistry
MSc in Physics and quite a few scientific publications that requires real MATH... :flowerforyou:
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All of what Niner said...0 -
My instructor last night told me that you can burn 600 to 1200 cal in an hour and a half.
Your instructor is wrong. Just know that going forward.0 -
You're instructor would be incorrect. It's more in the 350-500 range.My instructor last night told me that you can burn 600 to 1200 cal in an hour and a half.
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For strength and balance type exercises like this, I compute gross calorie burns based upon perceived exertion as compared to cardio.
For me, when I'm doing cardio, as in running, I tend to burn about 12-14 calories a minute (as its relative, I'm 190 pounds). That puts my maximum at about 840 an hour. My perceived exertion is about 40-75% of that when strength training depending on how hard I'm pushing myself. When I'm doing basic yoga I'd guess it'd be around 30-40% or 4-5 calories per minute. So an hour of yoga I'd expect to be 240-300 calories. Varying types of yoga may go up or down from there, but should be in a relative range.
The figures above are gross calculations. So then I have to convert to net to figure out what to eat back here on MFP. In general, the lower the intensity, the less net calories. For intense cardio, that 840 number would turn into something more like 750. The 240-300 calories for yoga would become 150-220.0 -
Anyone who thinks that Bikram yoga is solely an isometric, anaerobic exercise is sorely mistaken. While that may be true of many Hatha yoga classes, what sets Bikram apart is not just the temperature of the room, but also the rapidity of the movements. 26 postures are crammed into a 90 minute session, and most postures are performed twice. There is no resting in child's pose or the like in this class. This keeps your heart rate pumping at a steady pace from start to finish, and for a good 30 minutes thereafter. Compared to running outdoors, the effects are very similar, if not more intense. I would estimate a calorie burn of 600-750 per 90 class (performed to completion).0
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I do Bikram yoga, and when I first started last year, I was burning about 600 cals (used my hr moniter). Just used HR monitor again about a month ago, and I was burning 520. I'm 5'4 and weigh 128. I had to add it as an exercise because it wasn't in the database.
The hot room does make your heart beat faster, not to mention all the asanas - especially the dreaded triangle! Wowee!
And neither the heat nor the fater heart rate means you burn more calories. A HRM will assume you burn more if you HR speeds up, but that does not mean you do. HRM's are only accurate for steady state cardio, not for yoga, not for strength training etc. It will over estimate the burn for all other activities.
That said you may only burn a couple extra cals due to the heat, sweating more does not mean you burned more calories, usually in heat you burn less because you cannot push as hard.0 -
I just have to chime in and say that absolutely, positively, not all yoga is strictly isometric. In one posture of my 60 minute hot yoga class, we are asked to use ~20% effort. Otherwise, it's full-on contraction of the muscles. And it is HEAVEN ON EARTH, imo. It's the sweatiest, loveliest thing I've ever done. It feeds my mind, body, spirit... I just came from a class so I'm feeling extra dreamy about it... It strengthens, stretches, and wrings you out like a washrag. If you let it, it can release old emotions stored in the body, especially in tight hips and shoulders. You get from yoga what you put in. You can go to your edge and burn cals like hell or you can just hang out and burn less. But do it for your SOUL!0
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Not mistaken. If one did 26 weight lifting exercises with no rest, their heart rate would be up too. Doesn't mean they'd burn more calories compared to someone doing a cardio workout for the same duration. There's a reason why exercise is distinguished as aerobic and anaerobic.Anyone who thinks that Bikram yoga is solely an isometric, anaerobic exercise is sorely mistaken. While that may be true of many Hatha yoga classes, what sets Bikram apart is not just the temperature of the room, but also the rapidity of the movements. 26 postures are crammed into a 90 minute session, and most postures are performed twice. There is no resting in child's pose or the like in this class. This keeps your heart rate pumping at a steady pace from start to finish, and for a good 30 minutes thereafter. Compared to running outdoors, the effects are very similar, if not more intense. I would estimate a calorie burn of 600-750 per 90 class (performed to completion).
I'd say if you can eat back that 600-750 calories per class and still lose weight, you may have something to stand on. I'd like to see it.
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Contraction of a muscle without lengthening it is isometric. So holding a posture, regardless of intensity, is isometric. Sorry, but that's the definition.I just have to chime in and say that absolutely, positively, not all yoga is strictly isometric. In one posture of my 60 minute hot yoga class, we are asked to use ~20% effort. Otherwise, it's full-on contraction of the muscles. And it is HEAVEN ON EARTH, imo. It's the sweatiest, loveliest thing I've ever done. It feeds my mind, body, spirit... I just came from a class so I'm feeling extra dreamy about it... It strengthens, stretches, and wrings you out like a washrag. If you let it, it can release old emotions stored in the body, especially in tight hips and shoulders. You get from yoga what you put in. You can go to your edge and burn cals like hell or you can just hang out and burn less. But do it for your SOUL!
Everything else that one experiences from it is personal and great, but if we're speaking about calories BURNED, then correct information is that an yoga class from 60-90 minutes will burn on average about 350-450 calories.
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wow! thanks for the inspiration!0
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No chance that it is correct.0 -
It is a challenging workout for sure. But, so many people believe because they are sweating, they are burning a lot of calories. Therefore, they overestimate. It is a great workout but It is very misleading to the public. I count my power yoga as about 200 calories max and I weigh 119 lbs.0
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I don't think its 900 calories, but a certified trainer does not make you a doctor. Plus, the poses are much more difficult in bikram than in most general yoga classes. If I walked for 90 min it would be at least 600 calories.0
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What does being a doctor have to do about it? And do you walk 90 minutes in bikram yoga? So what is your point?I don't think its 900 calories, but a certified trainer does not make you a doctor. Plus, the poses are much more difficult in bikram than in most general yoga classes. If I walked for 90 min it would be at least 600 calories.
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Lol, totally an overestimation of calories.
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This might help - article in Time Magazine about overestimating Bikram Calories "Is Bikram Yoga Good For You - And For Weightloss?" http://time.com/2967716/you-asked-is-hot-yoga-good-for-you-and-for-weight-loss/0
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The concept that sweating equals caloric burn is so pervasive that it is hard to get past when addressing the general public. That coupled with marketing hype create images of these intense calorie shredding events when science keeps showing that is a fallacy. Walking and yoga are great physical activities but they are not huge net calorie burners.This might help - article in Time Magazine about overestimating Bikram Calories "Is Bikram Yoga Good For You - And For Weightloss?" http://time.com/2967716/you-asked-is-hot-yoga-good-for-you-and-for-weight-loss/
The one issue I have with the article, and it is a common train in calorie related stories and most tracking devices, is the failure to differentiate between net calories burned through exercise and total calories burned including exercise and metabolic processes. Using 400 calories as a hypothetical burn ... if that's net, great ... if it's total then we have to subtract out the BMR/RMR leaving a significantly lower number after 90 minutes of activity. It comes out to around 100 fewer net calories for a person with a 1600 cal per day RMR.0 -
Well, a 'brisk walk' METs value would be 4.3 gross or 3.3 net, so for my BMR of around 1 cal/min., a 90 min. brisk walk would burn around 300 (net) or 390 (gross), which is right around their 330 for women estimate.
https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/Activity-Categories/walking
I did a lot of BY for a year and I figured from my weight change it probably burned about that much.
There was often a mother and teen daughter practicing with HRMs on. Even ignoring the inflated burn from heat, I wondered why you'd bother wearing it for dozens of classes, since each class is identical.0 -
I wore my heart rate monitor to class 3 times in the last 2 months. Each time it reads a burn between 550 and 600 for the 90 minutes... therefore, I log as such. (I'm 5'5.5" and lost weight throughout the 3 times i've worn my monitor 175-161lbs)
Regardless of the calorie burn - I HAVE to eat right to last through class so, it keeps me "on track" even the hours of the day I'm not in the studio.0
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