Doing Bikram Yoga for weight loss! Feedback needed!!

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anahita84
anahita84 Posts: 44
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey Everyone

I used to do Bikram Yoga and am recenty intending to go back to it. I however have no real information on how much calories will a 90 min bikram yoga practice will burn.

I am 5'8 in height an am about 159 lbs. Has anyone worn a heartmonitor/calorie counter in the class and observed how much calories they actually burn?

Would love to get some feedback :)

Replies

  • tobielauren
    tobielauren Posts: 184 Member
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    http://www.everydayhealth.com/Calories-Burned-Yoga.htm

    I had been using this when I was doing Bikram. (I stopped going because I think the people who run the one by me make me angry and so I get super aggravated and aggressive and mad when I leave)
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,639 Member
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    Yoga, regardless of type, isn't a high calorie burner. Since most of it is isometric training, you'll build strength, but the average burn for about 90 minutes is 400-500 calories.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,639 Member
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    http://www.everydayhealth.com/Calories-Burned-Yoga.htm

    I had been using this when I was doing Bikram. (I stopped going because I think the people who run the one by me make me angry and so I get super aggravated and aggressive and mad when I leave)
    Calculator here way over estimates calorie burn. It states that I burn 1218 calories for 90 minutes of yoga. Sorry, but I don't get that doing a hard run in that time and yoga isn't a cardio workout it's a strength workout.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • lesliev523
    lesliev523 Posts: 368 Member
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    I did Bikram Yoga three to four times a week a couple years ago and I do believe that it burns the calories! (Had to stop because I just couldn't afford the classes anymore)

    I actually took my son who is an extremely talented hockey player, in great condition..... and he couldn't make it through a class. I really believe the Bikram is not like your average yoga class.....

    Enjoy! I am hoping to get back to Bikram shortly!
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
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    Is Bikram heated? I was doing heated hatha yoga for a while and loved it. I think it was around 500/hour. I know Vinyasa can go higher, because it's a constant movement practice instead of stationary poses.
  • vfnmoody
    vfnmoody Posts: 271 Member
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    http://www.everydayhealth.com/Calories-Burned-Yoga.htm

    I had been using this when I was doing Bikram. (I stopped going because I think the people who run the one by me make me angry and so I get super aggravated and aggressive and mad when I leave)

    i have ask ...What do the yoga people do to P$$$ you off?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,639 Member
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    I actually took my son who is an extremely talented hockey player, in great condition..... and he couldn't make it through a class. I really believe the Bikram is not like your average yoga class.....
    Lol, so from the ice to the hot room.....................

    Any person put into a physical workout they aren't accustomed to won't do as well as people that are. Take a marathon runner and have them do ballet and it would kill them. Same with taking a wrestler and having them do a swim workout. Conditioning for a sport is usually sport specific.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
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    I wore a HRM in Bikram and it said over 800 calories which I KNOW is exaggerated. I was going 3 times a week for 12 weeks while doing strict WW. I lost 2 lbs. I should've lost like 8 lbs. alone from the yoga if it burned that much. It IS intense and I think it's great for you but it not such a huge calorie burner as a HRM or a yoga studio would have you believe.
  • jaimealison
    jaimealison Posts: 23
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    I recently did a calorie calculator and it states at 115 for 90 minutes of Bikram I burn 696 calories, I've done other research and see that its pretty average to burn around 650.
    http://www.everydayhealth.com/Calories-Burned-Yoga.htm
    http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/cardio/calories-burned-for-yoga-is-it-enough-for-weight-loss.html
  • jackieatx
    jackieatx Posts: 578 Member
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    I don't know about you guys but I can hear my heart pounding in my ears halfway through. Those standing positions are no joke, and its constant. I have heard 600-700 calories per workout. I believe it. It's all about getting your heart rate up.
  • ehunte
    ehunte Posts: 125 Member
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    I love Bikram Yoga! In the past I've worn a HRM and have only burned around 380 calories in the 90 minutes. I am 5' 2" and 160 lbs. so IMO the website calculations are vastly over estimated.
  • PaveGurl
    PaveGurl Posts: 244 Member
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    I wore a HRM in Bikram and it said over 800 calories which I KNOW is exaggerated. I was going 3 times a week for 12 weeks while doing strict WW. I lost 2 lbs. I should've lost like 8 lbs. alone from the yoga if it burned that much. It IS intense and I think it's great for you but it not such a huge calorie burner as a HRM or a yoga studio would have you believe.

    You may have been losing fat and building muscle - which wouldn't make a huge scale difference. I've lost very little weight, really, but the inches is where it's at. Losing fat isn't always reflected on the scale if you're increasing lean body mass.
  • EuroReady
    EuroReady Posts: 199 Member
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    I plan on signing up for a 30 day trial at a local bikram studio as soon as I get my next paycheck. I have no insight on calorie burns yet but i am going to wear my hrm when I go.

    What did you think of the class? I have no balance or grace so I am ridiculously intimidated.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
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    I wore a HRM in Bikram and it said over 800 calories which I KNOW is exaggerated. I was going 3 times a week for 12 weeks while doing strict WW. I lost 2 lbs. I should've lost like 8 lbs. alone from the yoga if it burned that much. It IS intense and I think it's great for you but it not such a huge calorie burner as a HRM or a yoga studio would have you believe.

    You may have been losing fat and building muscle - which wouldn't make a huge scale difference. I've lost very little weight, really, but the inches is where it's at. Losing fat isn't always reflected on the scale if you're increasing lean body mass.

    The bodybuilder crowd assures us it's impossible to gain any significant muscle while eating at a deficit. I don't think my body changed much, either. Who the heck knows what happens inside us. Anytime I start a new exercise regimen, I plateau for months. Maybe I go into camel mode and start storing water in every cell.
  • RiverDancer68
    RiverDancer68 Posts: 221 Member
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    I do Vinyasa Flow yoga in a heated room (100 degrees). I also dance (Irish), but that mainly works on my lower body. All of my muscle definition and lowered body fat % comes from yoga. I started here on MFP two years ago (under a different name) and went from around 155 to 126...I then intentionally gained 10lbs (too skinny for my frame-I'm 5'9"). And, am focusing on maintaining! So, yes, even though I think that websites grossly exaggerate the calorie burn, you will lose weight and get stronger! I like Flow better than Bikram because I like to move and have really bad balance :smile:

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