bikram yoga

So I've started bikram yoga.

Does anyone else do this and how do you count it in your daily activities? I'm a runner and I'm taking Bikram Yoga mainly for muscle lengthening and mental healing (as cheesy as it sounds).

I'm not really using it as "exercise" or a calorie burner... I don't even know if it burns a lot? I mean, I sweat a ton... but its 90-100 degree in there fr 90 minutes... today was my rest day, so I only did Bikram. I'm thinking of doing it 3 times a week on top of my normal running (30-40 miles a week).

Just curious on other's experience with bikram... thanks~!

HI!

I am a dedicate yogini and have to tell you that yoga is so great for you for many reasons. I practice vinyasa flow, a fluid vigorous form of yoga that is also called power yoga.  I have taken Bikram, but I dont like the humidity.  I read that depending on you weight and build you can burn between 500 and 800 calories in a vigorous yoga session.  Plus it really helps to reshape your body by lengthening and toning muscles.  It also really helps me stay centered and create balance in my life.  Good luck with your exploration of yoga and dont be afraid to try different types of yoga to find the right one for you.

I wonder if a fitness monitor would gauge your calories during your session (with no beeps or alarms sounding off). I've tried Bikrams, and I don't mind it but my work schedule usually puts everything in the backseat (bad).

Good luck and post if you find a solution to the activity log. I may need to do the same sometime. Oh, and by the way, 30-40 miles p/wk? I admire you for your dedication!

500-800 calories? oh my. I'm glad to learn that, as I was not planning on even counting it in my activity log for more than 200 calories. Thanks for your input Swidasky.

Teyna... Thanks for the compliment!!!

..and 500-800 calories would probably be wrong. We've had this debate several times, and it always ends with the same conclusion - if you're doing one of the more vigorous versions of yoga you can log it as Pilates and have a figure that's in the right neighbourhood of being accurate.

 This may or may not include bikram depending on the quality of your instructor - although hothouse yoga makes you sweat like anything, so does lying on the beach getting a suntan or sitting in a sauna. How much you sweat is a poor indication of your calorie expenditure, and people who've worn heart rate monitors into yoga class have found out that even Ashtanga isn't as much of a workout as it feels like.

  Static strength and flexibility are important fitness qualities which yoga helps you develop, and yoga as a lifestyle has many benefits (Hey, SkinnYogi, your turn next!) - weight loss isn't one of them though. Well, if you've only got a few pounds to lose it can help, but it's not where yoga's strength lies - there are other, better tools for pure fat loss.

 Running, for one :)

Melkor...

Thanks for that post.

Today was my second class, and to be quite honest with you... I took a good look around...

I noticed not many people "looked" fit. In fact, a lot of them looked slightly overweight. However, they were "flexible." So I suppose using Bikram as a tool to develop flexibility, lengthen muscles, mind clarity, detox, etc is realistic for me. I don't think I am going to even count it as a "work out" to be honest (meaning I'm not going to eat more or less on days I do it).

I think that comparing Bikram (or any other vigorous vinyasa yoga) to pilates in terms of caloric burn is totally inaccurate.  Vinyasa is a fast paced, challenging practice.  According to Bikram Yoga of Winston, and Self Magazine:

"How many calories does one yoga class burn?*Based on the calculator on Self Magazine, we burn between 550-1000 calories per class. The amount of calories burned depends on many factors--your gender, size, weight, body type, and present condition. There are devices available that can help you determine how many calories you burn in an exercise session."

So, for someone who is in good condition, an estimate on the low side of that range would probably be in the ballpark.

 So's Pilates if you do it right, with the right instructor. But chances are, you don't have the right instructor - the level of competence required to make Pilates, Yoga, calisthenics or any other bodyweigth-based exercise method a good fat loss exercise is not as widespread as you'd think.
 
 And the heat your work out in is deceptive. it's still bodyweight based exercise. The upper limit for what you can burn doing bodyweight-based exercise is fast running; roughly the speed for a competitive 5K or 10K.

 If you log it as calisthenics/circuit training you're more than likely overestimating your burn by an appreciable amount since that's based off the kind of circuit training you'd be doing in military basic training with a drill seargeant screaming in your ear to work harder. Hardly the appropriate model for yoga, no matter how vigorous!

 And don't forget that the activity calculators here take into account your age, height and weight when calculating the calorie burn for the activity; which is why Pilates will give you an estimate in roughly the right neighbourhood for you. It might be off by 50 calories either way, not enough to concern anyone.

 (And on a personal note, it's my opinion that Self magazine is .. well, I can't state my opinion of them in a public forum, too much swearing involved.)

I'm still confused.

Should I adjust my calorie intake for days with bikram? If it's only burning 200 cals in 90minutes... I don't see the need to alter my diet. But some people are saying it burns 500+?

Ugghh!

I guess the real answer would be to calculate it with a heart rate monitor watch like the Polar monitors.

Peachy-

I practice Bikram too. Anywhere from 3 to 6 times a week.  One of founding people in Bikrams circle of teachers states that the AVERAGE person will burn about 600 cals a class. A woman in one of my classes wore a heart rate moniter and afterwards determined she burned around 850. Ive seen calculators that state you burn 1000. I never count the highest of all the calorie expenditures- I put my Bikram sessions down for 600 cals. If i feel like i kicked some crazy ass and held everyone the whole time and went to my edge- then I'll count it for 700. 

Hope i helped- and please no one jump all over my for this- I'm simply reiterating what has been my collective research over the past year. 

itzbubble

thank you so much for that. youre the only person that has actually given a real calculation based on a real experience... thanks!:)

Well, you do what you want to obviously, though I think you're going to be disappointed in your results if you actually use some of the wildly inflated figures from the marketing material designed to make you think Bikram's anything special as far as exercise is concerned.

From the database:

 Calisthenics - (e.g Pushups, Situps, Pullups, Jumping Jacks), Heavy, Vigorous Effort)

This is the equivalent of military PT with the drill seargeant shouting in your ear to work harder. 90 minutes of that would probably burn 900-1200 calories for the average person, assuming you survived.

Pilates

Given Taranimator's experience wearing a heart rate monitor into yoga class - and that was Ashtanga yoga at that, you're not far wrong if you use Pilates. 90 minutes of that would be 350-500 calories for the average person, a very reasonable estimate for any activity that is less vigorous than Army PT.

Running - 6 mph (10 Min/mile)

That's fast of course - probably not a speed you could keep up for 90 minutes, but if you could, the average person would burn 1000-1500 calories doing it.

 Bikram yoga absolutely will not be the equivalent of running or military PT no matter what the marketing material says. It's not physically possible that an activity that centers around slow movements and static poses will use calories equivalent to running hard for 90 minutes or doing Army PT.

 Log it as Pilates if you're feeling adventurous - the heat you work in is deceptive and will make it appear that you've worked harder than you've actually done.

(fixed links)

Melkor I have a feeling you've never done Bikram Yoga. It's very likely that you would burn 600 calories in 90 min.

Me? Probably. But I'm 207lbs and I'd burn 600 calories in 90 minutes doing just about anything- I frequently burn a lot more just walking, when backpacking uphill with a 30lbs load.

 Actually, when walking uphill I burn about 750 calories an hour because I deliberately weigh myself down - so in 90 minutes of walking I'd burn 1125 calories. I find it completely credible that I'd burn about half that when doing Bikram Yoga.

 This isn't about me, though. This is about what will give you the most accurate picture of your calorie usage. And 90 minutes of Pilates or the equivalent would burn about 500 calories for me, a credible figure for that kind of activity. Think about it, please. This isn't about me - this is about what will give you the most accurate picture of your calorie usage.

I agree that yoga isn't especially designed to burn calories.  Our bodies burn a specific number of calories that is based on the amount of oxygen we consume.  So when you look at an activity like running, your heart rate goes through the roof, you burn through your muscle glycogen, and you start to breathe very, very heavily.  All good signs of caloric burn.  In yoga, by contrast, you are trying to stay relaxed and control your breath, so you never get into that mode of fighting to get enough oxygen.  It's just a different system.

I would certainly log it as a couple hundred calories, but the main benefits will be strengthening and flexibility, not weight loss.  I also tend to agree with Beryl Bender Birch that yoga is a therapeutic exercise that helps our muscles overcome imbalances created by repetitive motion (like running).  So treat it as injury prevention.  ;-)

As for Bikram, I've never done it, but my advice is to bring your own mat and avoid touching anything.  Sorry, but that much sweat from that many people is not sanitary.  I have a friend who got ringworm and blames the Bikram yoga (she still does it, though).

This may or may not include bikram depending on the quality of your instructor

Just as an aside, there is probably less variation in Bikram instruction than in any other kind of yoga.  Bikram is sort of notorious in yoga circles for having trademarked his name, and he sues studios that call themselves "Bikram" without going through the certification program he's established.  It's not cheap (read:  thousands of dollars) and it has made him very, very rich.  But, you do get consistency.

i think if you've never done bikram you should probably stop wasting our space and time. there's so much ignorant, negative, demeaning bull on this site, especially when yoga comes up. i dare you to try bikram yoga. 80% of people could never make it through a class.

Melkor is right - Bikram's yoga might seem hard, but for someone already fairly fit, its really not a huge workout.

The "HRM smuggling" post is illuminating and makes perfect sense to me.  Yoga is a complement to my life, not a weight-loss tool.

 

okay, so i just read all the posts and i want to say that.....i am in good shpae, i work out with a rtainner 1-3 times a week i run about 30-70k a week. i eat semi healthy and i definetly go out and dirnk with my freinds....i am trainning for my first marathon right now as well. tonight i did my first bikrams class....holy eff, it was hard and intense, naturally the heat makes it feel ahrder and i didnt use my abs as much as i could have but if you get good, really good, like the lady infront of me, you can burn endles calories. however, i truley believe that you shouldnt do it as a calori exact workout. just think you are detoxing (amazing) and lenghtening and streching so calories aside it will change your figure. i do believe on days on of bikrams you should alter you diet in the sense that you dont consume more or less calories but make sure you eat a sound amount of food to help you through. drinking a otn of water wil also help......forget the calories, eat healthy and think of the amazing things yoga can do for your phaique as opposed to the scale..

ps. sorry for the typing....im still shaking after the class, 3 hours later

 

Someone in my Bikram Yoga class wore their heart rate monitor during the class and it came out to equaling a 10 mile run. It doesn't matter whether you're "in shape" or not. If you don't push yourself in the class you aren't going to get a great workout. If you push yourself to your limit then you're going to burn a ton of cals. It doesn't matter how in shape you are. What matter is if you push yourself to YOUR max.