Bikram Yoga

Ok so i took my first class of Bikram Yoga today and it was so intense! It had to be about 200 degrees in there lol so humid! The class was 1 hr and a half long, with hard poses to hold and a lot of stretching, but i feel so good and everyone in there was dripping sweat as soon as it started. Does anyone know about how many calories it burns?

I'm sorry I don't but i'm curious too..I just finished my third class last night.. I was intense to say the least, I guess once you get over the feeling that you're goign to pass out from the heat and concentrate more on acheiving the poses it's great. I feel amazing after every class, whatever stress I had from the day or week is completely gone and I have the greatest, deepest sleeps .. If anyone has any info i would like to know how much calories you're actually burnign as well

Try these... enter your weight & number of minutes.

http://www.bikram-yoga-noosa-australia.com/we ight-loss-and-yoga.htm

http://www.my-calorie-counter.com/Calories_Bu rned/Calories_Burned_B13737E4-518C-404C-A6B6- 734283A082EE.asp

 

 

intense yoga sessions burn past the 200 calories in only 40 minutes. I can bet anything you burned more than  500 calories in that yoga class :) I want to take up Yoga but am a bit scared to do so? hehe Im doing pilates and its fun

Use calorie calculators that will allow you add your weight in kilos or pounds, and the minutes/hours you performed.

I found this one, though mewapiti did her part in sharing one with you too :)

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

here's mine!

-xo

Those calculators are ridiculous over-estimations of the impact of Bikram, unfortunately - the heat is deceptive and tricks you into thinking that you worked harder than you really did.

 Log it as Pilates if you're feeling adventurous - the heat limits your body's capacity for exertion so while it's beneficial for stretching deeper, your body's muscular systems overheat and limit the amount of calories you burn to what your body can transfer to the environment.

 In general, unless you're SkinnYogi and live the practice every day of your life, yoga is not a good calorie burner tool and is not a complete workout solution. It can form a valuable part of a workout regime, but it's not a complete health/fitness solution unless you really make it your lifestyle.

Original Post by melkor:

Those calculators are ridiculous over-estimations of the impact of Bikram, unfortunately - the heat is deceptive and tricks you into thinking that you worked harder than you really did.

 Log it as Pilates if you're feeling adventurous - the heat limits your body's capacity for exertion so while it's beneficial for stretching deeper, your body's muscular systems overheat and limit the amount of calories you burn to what your body can transfer to the environment.

 In general, unless you're SkinnYogi and live the practice every day of your life, yoga is not a good calorie burner tool and is not a complete workout solution. It can form a valuable part of a workout regime, but it's not a complete health/fitness solution unless you really make it your lifestyle.

 That's so weird, everyone in the class is super lean and toned. Holding those poses is tough! I'm doing it for 30 days straight so ill see how that goes lol its was my 2nd day today

Original Post by melkor:

Those calculators are ridiculous over-estimations of the impact of Bikram, unfortunately - the heat is deceptive and tricks you into thinking that you worked harder than you really did.

 Log it as Pilates if you're feeling adventurous - the heat limits your body's capacity for exertion so while it's beneficial for stretching deeper, your body's muscular systems overheat and limit the amount of calories you burn to what your body can transfer to the environment.

 In general, unless you're SkinnYogi and live the practice every day of your life, yoga is not a good calorie burner tool and is not a complete workout solution. It can form a valuable part of a workout regime, but it's not a complete health/fitness solution unless you really make it your lifestyle.

 I totally respect and value your opinions... You seem to be a top notch athlete with your advice on lifting, etc.  I admire your responses.... However, I totally disagree with you on this one.  You probably aren't familiar with the different types of yoga.  Bikram happens to be one of the most vigorous.  You are doing alot of "calesthenic" type things in the class.... such as plank, lowering down from plank... stretching up first then coming down.  These movements use most of the muscles in your body and take alot of energy to perform.  Most people cannot do this class straight up.

 I haven't taken a Bikram class, but several of the yoginis who hang out here are into Ashtanga or Vinyasa which are nothing at all like the gentler forms of Hatha yoga that the popular image of yoga as gentle meditative movement is based on.

 We've had several go-rounds on it, and yes, if you make Ashtanga or Vinyasa your life to the extent that you live the practice every day there's considerable training potential there from the volume of activity. Taking 1-3 classes a week does not qualify for that level of dedication though, and individual sessions are not particularily good calorie burners.

 Bodyweight-based exercise has inherent limitations on the resistance you're using, and while you can do things with leverages to place yourself at a biomechanical disadvantage so your muscles need to work harder, it can't compensate for the lack of graduated resistance. This isn't specific to yoga, it's a function of all bodyweight-based exercises - and if you're satisfied with the limits of what bodyweight can do for you, by all means stick to it.

Original Post by melkor:

 I haven't taken a Bikram class, but several of the yoginis who hang out here are into Ashtanga or Vinyasa which are nothing at all like the gentler forms of Hatha yoga that the popular image of yoga as gentle meditative movement is based on.

 We've had several go-rounds on it, and yes, if you make Ashtanga or Vinyasa your life to the extent that you live the practice every day there's considerable training potential there from the volume of activity. Taking 1-3 classes a week does not qualify for that level of dedication though, and individual sessions are not particularily good calorie burners.

 Bodyweight-based exercise has inherent limitations on the resistance you're using, and while you can do things with leverages to place yourself at a biomechanical disadvantage so your muscles need to work harder, it can't compensate for the lack of graduated resistance. This isn't specific to yoga, it's a function of all bodyweight-based exercises - and if you're satisfied with the limits of what bodyweight can do for you, by all means stick to it.

 I don't do Bikram - I have started to lift heavy using the nrolfw book.  However, I used to do Ashtanga and Power yoga 3-4 X per week and had a wonderful body!  Doing handstands & some very long plank and side planks, I was lifting more than I am now since I am new to lifting. 

As with anything - the best exercise is one you will continue doing.  One thing that I am concerned with is what happens after I am done with the nrolfw program?  Do I start over, continually do more and more weight?  Is there a "maintenance" phase?  Once I hit my "ideal" form or my genetic best, then what?

Maintenance is generally considerably easier than building up is - though if you're planning to be at your absolute genetic peak potential for the Olympics 2012 you've got some planning to do.

 The razor's edge of peak performance is generally not sustainable over the long haul, but you can maintain at a surprisingly high level of achievement with relatively simple 'maintenance' workouts performed 2xweekly.

 Though when you've worked your way through NROLW, you should be familiar enough with your body's responses and the exercises that you shouldn't have much trouble deciding what to do next ;)

I am just saying... I wouldn't poo poo Bikram - that is all.  Everything has limitations..... including lifting heavy. LIke you said above... lots of work and planning to do to be at genetic best...  That in itself is a limitation.  That is why I posted my questions about what is next.  Some of those Bikram people as stated above in this post have some great looking bodies.

Like I said, I admire and respect your opinion on lifting! 

Oops - & PS - Bikram and pliates are totally different animals.

Oh, I know - but the thing is, the heat limits the ability of your body exert itself, while it makes you sweat deceptively much. In reality, Bikram isn't more strenuous than Ashtanga or Vinyasa, it can't possibly be. And as Taranimator's experience will tell you - holding a pose and the static strength endurance you develop does not translate into burning a lot of calories.

 This is not to say that you won't be burning more calories doing Bikram than hatha, just that the figures from that calculator is wildly optimistic. Which is why using Pilates to log it makes for a generally correct outcome - it gives you a fair approximation of the calories burned.

 There's no reason to drop yoga from your schedule - in general we don't do enough flexibility work and mindful movement. It's just that there's no one exercise that does everything, and your results will be better if you choose appropriate tools for your goals. Bikram is good for a lot of things, but calorie burning isn't one of them. Just like weight training is good for many things, but flexibility is not its strength...

all i can say is that when i did Bikrams (and i really did try my hardest and went about 3x / week, plus went to the gym 2x/week) , i was really thin. maybe even a little too thin (at that point, i didnt have much of a booty anymore).the only reason i stopped is because summer came and the thought of the heat was unbarable.

disclaimer: please dont conclude that bikrams makes u thin just by my comment, as i am but one person and there could be other factors that contributed to my skinniness. when i start doing it again, though, i will report back to this forum to report any weight/fitness changes that have occured.