Bikram / hot yoga - calories burned?

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  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    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 done this 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.

    HR Monitor's aren't designed to track exercises such as yoga.
  • kmbweber2014
    kmbweber2014 Posts: 680 Member
    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.

    This. I don't even log it sometimes. It feels good and my muscles hurt afterwords but calories burned is the same as any other form of yoga.
  • shawna48
    shawna48 Posts: 15 Member
    "Heart rate monitors" do exactly as their name suggests, regardless of activity. If your heart rate goes up, it associates an oxygen exchange and "calorie burn" number. I realize that they don't track well under 80 beats per minute, however I can tell you that for most of bikram, I exceed that threshold.

    The number I provided was merely MY findings and what I track for myself. I wear my gps tracker/heart rate monitor consistently through all other of my various training methods (ie. outdoor cycling, running, weight training, and lake swimming) and I feel pretty confident in it's tracking of my fitness exertions.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Never mind, I posted the same info on the prior page last fall. :tongue:
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    "Heart rate monitors" do exactly as their name suggests, regardless of activity. If your heart rate goes up, it associates an oxygen exchange and "calorie burn" number. I realize that they don't track well under 80 beats per minute, however I can tell you that for most of bikram, I exceed that threshold.

    You are right. I should have worded it differently. HRMs are not designed to estimate calories burned during exercises such as yoga.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,021 Member
    "Heart rate monitors" do exactly as their name suggests, regardless of activity. If your heart rate goes up, it associates an oxygen exchange and "calorie burn" number. I realize that they don't track well under 80 beats per minute, however I can tell you that for most of bikram, I exceed that threshold.

    The number I provided was merely MY findings and what I track for myself. I wear my gps tracker/heart rate monitor consistently through all other of my various training methods (ie. outdoor cycling, running, weight training, and lake swimming) and I feel pretty confident in it's tracking of my fitness exertions.
    Ever wear it to a scary movie? Guaranteed raise in heart rate................calories not so much.

    Muscles (fast/slow twitch) used are different for cardio and strength training and dictates how calories are burned. Which is why HRM's aren't accurate for exercises that deal in anaerobic training.

    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
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    "Heart rate monitors" do exactly as their name suggests, regardless of activity. If your heart rate goes up, it associates an oxygen exchange and "calorie burn" number. I realize that they don't track well under 80 beats per minute, however I can tell you that for most of bikram, I exceed that threshold.

    The number I provided was merely MY findings and what I track for myself. I wear my gps tracker/heart rate monitor consistently through all other of my various training methods (ie. outdoor cycling, running, weight training, and lake swimming) and I feel pretty confident in it's tracking of my fitness exertions.

    Sorry, but they don't. There are a number of conditions (and bikram yoga is a classic example) under which an increase in heart rate IS NOT associated with an increase in oxygen uptake, and therefore does not reflect an increased calorie burn. The HRM doesn't know the difference. It is programmed to automatically display a number according to the heart rate detected. You can strap the chest strap to a fence post, use a simulator to send a signal, and the HRM will tell you the fence post burned 500 calories.

    Bikram yoga is a fine workout that has many loyal adherents. I don't understand why so many people can't just enjoy it's for what it is and feel the need to ascribe it magical powers that it doesn't have. Even though it's a lower-burn activity, if you do it for 90 minutes, you will accumulate a decent number of calories.
  • justinemiddleton
    justinemiddleton Posts: 1
    I'm going to be the dummy wondering how much you burn doing heated power yoga, not Bikram specifically, which, in my experience, has the whole flow aspect meaning that you're moving around more. I'm completely frustrated with trying to track yoga at all, because yoga varies from class to class, let alone style to style. That will be my useless input. Namaste.
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