Hot yoga doesn’t burn as many calories as you imagine. Find out how many calories does hot yoga burn and how to make the most of your weight loss journey.
You might see hot yoga ads claiming, “Each class burns 1200 calories!” but these can be deceiving, so how many calories does hot yoga burn? A study reported a clear difference between the calories burned after 90 minutes of doing hot yoga between athletes and non-athletes. While athletes can burn up to 1000 calories per 90-minute session, average women between 18 and 40 can only burn 330 calories, and men can burn 460 calories.
Don’t let it discourage you from toning up your desired body. Read on to find out how hot yoga helps you and what you must do to shorten that weight loss journey.
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Hot Yoga Tones Your Body
In a room set up at 105°F, excessive heat and humidity do a little more during the calorie-burning journey compared to a regular yoga studio.
The water weight tucked inside your body begins to drop, your heart rate increases, and you work out a sweat. You initially burn more calories when exposed to heat, but your body can acclimate to high temperatures, so this should not be your only approach to weight loss.
The more you carry on with hot yoga, the faster your muscles begin to take action. For a standard set of 26 hot yoga poses with Bikram, you’re performing a full-body workout with the help of extra heat and humidity.
You might also be interested in our hot yoga vs. regular yoga guide.
Can You Lose Weight From Hot Yoga?
Doing hot yoga the right way contributes to your overall pound-shedding journey, thanks to its intensity. You are expected to shed about 400 to 600 calories during a 60-minute hot yoga session.
To keep track, only start stepping on the scale once a week, ideally at the end of each week’s class. Checking the scale every day does more harm than good. Even if you feel lighter, the drop in pounds you see is likely due to the loss of water rather than fat.
Other than that, practicing hot yoga or any type of intense workout will not promise the best results if you don’t keep a close eye on your diet. Consume nutritious foods that contribute to your calorie deficit rather than solely breaking a sweat.
In my case, I realized that I dropped about ten pounds after one month with four days of practice a week. And after two months, that’s twenty pounds loss for me.
It may sound so tempting to dig your nose in doing hot yoga every day to trim the weight loss journey for faster results. However, I’m totally against this extreme practice. Pace yourself and take it slow but stable by practicing about four times a week without setting back or giving in.
5 Tips To Transform Your Body With Hot Yoga
1. Practice Regularly
Instead of forcing yourself into intense training, pace it with three to five weekly classes for stable and noticeable results.
2. Steer Clear From Food Before The Hot Yoga
Opt for something light such as high-potassium fruits and nuts if you’re really hungry. Better yet, try not to eat anything about two hours before hot yoga to avoid feeling lightheaded.
Heat, humidity, and hot yoga poses can wreak havoc on your digestion. And it goes the same way for other types of exercise and training with a full stomach.
3. Avoid Being Waterlogged
Remember to space out your water consumption before the class starts, or you’ll risk feeling sick to your stomach, especially during the spine strengthening section when you have to lie down on your stomach. Just a few swigs of water will keep you energized during the course.
4. Stay Hydrated After The Session
Gravitate towards room temperature water, coconut juice, or nutritious smoothies to compensate for the fluid imbalance.
5. Pace Yourself And Listen To Your Body
If you ever feel tired mid-way, take it slow and rest in the child’s pose until you’re ready to be up and running. Even intermediate yogis will experience fatigue when barging into different difficulty levels at some specific poses, let alone beginners.
If you feel unwell, get some fresh air and see how you feel before carrying on.
What Should You Expect From Hot Yoga?
Feeling uneasy from your first hot yoga experience is not abnormal at all. Whether you are an immediate yogi or an absolute novice, it’s common to feel lightheaded and nauseous at the first hot yoga class.
If you feel like you can’t take it anymore or almost pass out, back off, stop the pose and the heat, and find some fresh air. Once you’re used to it, each hot yoga class ends on a high note. You’ll ultimately feel calm, centered, and rejuvenated.
