Bikram Yoga

RisyaLifsheTova
RisyaLifsheTova Posts: 305 Member
edited November 11 in Fitness and Exercise
I have returned to Bikram yoga for 2 days in a row now. The last time I went was back in September. Recently I have been doing Boot camp and running and decided to return to do some Bikram Yoga.

Im not sure how to log Bikram, and why am I more sore doing Bikram Yoga, then I am when I do boot camp?

Replies

  • grapenutSF
    grapenutSF Posts: 648 Member
    the best way is to use an HRM to get the closest estimate. otherwise, just use the yoga entry. personally i burn about 200 cals with 1 hr of yoga, but it's not hot yoga.
  • cantstopthepop
    cantstopthepop Posts: 6
    If anybody does have any details on this and how much it does burn, I'd really love to know. I'm starting this next week after a recommendation from a friend and I really want to know how this will effect my calories (its an expense and a commitment, so I'm abandoning some of the more cadio exercises to fit this in)

    Thanks

    C
  • CrazyDaisysMommy
    CrazyDaisysMommy Posts: 472
    I'm not surprised that you're sore from Bikram. It is intense! The heat lets you get deep into poses that normally you couldn't do with such ease. You might not be feeling it in the heat, but your muscles remember it! If you google "yoga calorie calculator," you'll probably find several that differentiate between the different types of yoga. If I'm doing Hatha, I just log it with the yoga in the MFP database, but if I'm doing Vinyasa or another butt kicking one, I know I'm burning a lot more calories.
  • vlsalvaggio
    vlsalvaggio Posts: 63
    In bikram you usually burn between 600 to 800 calories for a 90 min session.
  • rfordesr
    rfordesr Posts: 1 Member
    Here's an article on the LiveStrong website on this topic: http://www.livestrong.com/article/366291-bikram-yoga-calories-burned/?utm_source=popslideshow&utm_medium=a1
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,328 Member
    the best way is to use an HRM to get the closest estimate. otherwise, just use the yoga entry. personally i burn about 200 cals with 1 hr of yoga, but it's not hot yoga.

    If I have my yoga types right, Bikram yoga is hot yoga, and due to the heat it will throw off HRM calculations from what I have read. I wish I had bookmarked that info. If it is not hot yoga, then HRM may do fine.

    EDIT:

    I found this with a little googling.
    Advice here is good. Bikram Yoga or hot yoga burns about as much as regular yoga (Bikram is simply the formal 26 copyrighted yoga poses of founder Bikram Choudhury - hot yoga can be similar, or even the same, but the teachers and studio haven't been licensed). I think you'll sometimes see inflated calorie burns for hot yoga because it can increase your heart rate, which then gives inflated calorie burn readings from a heart rate monitor.

    I'm going by memory and from things I read. Please do your own research. There are more knowledgeable people on here that could probably answer this better. But here's my general grasp of things: Heart rate is only one indicator of caloric burn. It's a good one, and probably fine for most people and most exercises. That's why heart rate monitors are so popular. But most HRMs don't measure oxygen burn, which is a more accurate indicator of calories burned.

    The heated rooms in Bikram and hot yoga elevate the heart rate. Just standing still in a room that is 105 degrees will raise your heart rate. So it can appear that you are burning a lot more calories during heated yoga than you actually are. When you see 1500-2000 calories burned for a 90 minute yoga class, I would doubt the accuracy of that, unless the person was 300+ pounds. I think numbers like that may be inflated.

    The MFP calorie burn for 90 minutes of "Yoga" is 340 calories for a 200 pound man. That seems pretty low to me, based on calorie burns for walking and running that I've done. I would feel comfortable entering up to 500, maybe 600 calories for a 90-minute yoga class, especially if I did all the poses (little resting).

    So just use standard yoga numbers.
  • RisyaLifsheTova
    RisyaLifsheTova Posts: 305 Member
    Yes Bikram is Hot Yoga! The class is for 90 minutes. I love love love love with a side of love hate relationship with Bikram Yoga lol. It's pricey and its an addiction all at once lol

    Make sure that when your attending a Bikram Class that it is an official certified class. There are a lot of chain yoga centers that claim they have Bikram yoga but its not the same thing. ie Core Power yoga......
  • RisyaLifsheTova
    RisyaLifsheTova Posts: 305 Member
    I'm not surprised that you're sore from Bikram. It is intense! The heat lets you get deep into poses that normally you couldn't do with such ease. You might not be feeling it in the heat, but your muscles remember it! If you google "yoga calorie calculator," you'll probably find several that differentiate between the different types of yoga. If I'm doing Hatha, I just log it with the yoga in the MFP database, but if I'm doing Vinyasa or another butt kicking one, I know I'm burning a lot more calories.

    I love the burn!
  • RisyaLifsheTova
    RisyaLifsheTova Posts: 305 Member
    If anybody does have any details on this and how much it does burn, I'd really love to know. I'm starting this next week after a recommendation from a friend and I really want to know how this will effect my calories (its an expense and a commitment, so I'm abandoning some of the more cadio exercises to fit this in)

    Thanks

    C

    There is actually a Bikram Yoga Calulator

    http://www.my-calorie-counter.com/Calories_Burned.asp

    It depends on your weight, and how long the class is. Typically classes are 1.5 hrs. So it says for my weight I burn about 1418 calories :) Not sure how true this is. But every site Ive gone to. Seems to say the same thing.

    Your going to love it!...and hate it, then love it again lol. The best money saver is getting an unlimited month. Check their website. sometimes they have a newbs pricing special. My place had 69 for an unlimited month. Some places even have a 30 day challenge that you will get a free month or a large discount for your next month. I just recently paid $149/unlimited month, or $17 drop in fee. So it pays for itself even if I only go 9 times in that month.
  • RisyaLifsheTova
    RisyaLifsheTova Posts: 305 Member
    Not sure how accurate that site is, but Ill take it! lol
  • litlpineapple
    litlpineapple Posts: 63 Member
    Hey, after being surprised at being sore from vinyasa I found this

    http://www.everydayhealth.com/Calories-Burned-Yoga.htm

    Though I don't know about accuracy it gave me +100 calories to MFP's number.
  • katiebythebay
    katiebythebay Posts: 611 Member
    I'm doing Bikram this week. It feels great, but I am skeptical of the calories burned (being so high) also.

    Would love an accurate way to count them.

    ~katie
  • omyhealth
    omyhealth Posts: 4
    I do Bikram Yoga weekly- on average I burn about 700 for the 90 minutes (wearing my heart rate monitor) but have burned over 1100 before if I work really really hard at the poses. I think that's accurate for me because it's 90 minutes. I burn 600 ish for an hour of zumba and about 850ish for an hour of running so since this is 90 minutes and lower intensity it seems about right.
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