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| Hi everyone,
I've been doing Bikram yoga for about 2 months now (4 times a week) and LOVE it. I would also like to start Pilates. If I did Bikram 3X a week and Pilates 3X a week would this be enough of a workout to stay in shape? I'd like to lose about 5 lbs. I HATE aerobic exercise (running, stepping etc.). Bikram and Pilates are the only forms of exercise that have held my interest.
Thanks!
Uyen |
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| I think something like circuit training is a good idea to keep your bones strong. |
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| That's all you need Uyen.
uyen4570 - 2004-04-25 9:38 PM
Hi everyone,
I've been doing Bikram yoga for about 2 months now (4 times a week) and LOVE it. I would also like to start Pilates. If I did Bikram 3X a week and Pilates 3X a week would this be enough of a workout to stay in shape? I'd like to lose about 5 lbs. I HATE aerobic exercise (running, stepping etc.). Bikram and Pilates are the only forms of exercise that have held my interest.
Thanks!
Uyen |
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| Hey Bruce,
Wouldn't she need someting aerobic to lose the weight? I'm not sure if Bikram sustains the heart rate at an aerobic level for the duration of the class. Sure, your heart rate shoots up when performing some asanas, I'm just not sure if it's enough for weight loss. Anybody???? |
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| I would think that this regimen would help anyone lose 5 lbs. of weight depending on the
amount of food eaten, the amount of weight the persons weighs etc.
I have measured my heart rate during class and it stays above 115 for at least 20 minutes each class. If this is truly aerobic is still an open question. I think the best weight training is probably a circuit course, but the benefits of 3 days of Bikram and 3 days of Pilates would be incredible. |
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| 5lbs? I sneeze and lose 5 lbs. Bikram not aerobic? Lordy, I'm gasping half the time (well, not any more as I'm learning about the breathing). Plus, the weight loss for me comes from a reduced appitite following yoga and drinking lots of water.
Tibard - 2004-04-26 6:37 PM
Hey Bruce,
Wouldn't she need someting aerobic to lose the weight? I'm not sure if Bikram sustains the heart rate at an aerobic level for the duration of the class. Sure, your heart rate shoots up when performing some asanas, I'm just not sure if it's enough for weight loss. Anybody???? |
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| Bruce - 2004-04-26 10:27 PM
5lbs? I sneeze and lose 5 lbs. Bikram not aerobic? Lordy, I'm gasping half the time (well, not any more as I'm learning about the breathing). Plus, the weight loss for me comes from a reduced appitite following yoga and drinking lots of water.
I wish that would happen to me....after a bikram class, I'm ravenous! Can't get home fast enough to chow down. *sigh* sometimes this "individual results may vary" stuff is the pits....... |
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| Well, I do have to admit that after practice today, the teacher and I went to Quizsnos afterwards--the smells were vunderbar and I went crazy as did she--she got soy chips which, after one bite we promptly threw away and got mesquite BBQ chips instead  Sat out in the 80 degree sun just loving life...ahhh, that's living in the Republic of Texas.
Tibard - 2004-04-27 1:34 PM
I wish that would happen to me....after a bikram class, I'm ravenous! Can't get home fast enough to chow down. *sigh* sometimes this "individual results may vary" stuff is the pits....... |
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| uyen4570 - 2004-04-25 7:38 PM
Hi everyone,
I've been doing Bikram yoga for about 2 months now (4 times a week) and LOVE it. I would also like to start Pilates. If I did Bikram 3X a week and Pilates 3X a week would this be enough of a workout to stay in shape? I'd like to lose about 5 lbs. I HATE aerobic exercise (running, stepping etc.). Bikram and Pilates are the only forms of exercise that have held my interest.
Thanks!
Uyen
Neither Yoga (Bikram included) nor Pilates is a complete fitness program. Both can help to build some strength, but their real physical benefits are primarily in flexibility and balance. Pilates also improves the fluidity of motion, which is why so many dancers practice it. Yoga is not really a cardiovascular activity, although, depending on a person's current fitness, it may seem like it. A balanced approach to physical fitness really needs to include some real cardio (like running, cycling, swimming, etc.), some resistance training (weights or machines) and lots of yoga! (Substitute Pilates if you desire.)
An additional benefit of yoga can be more on the psychological or spiritual level. I must admit that I look elsewhere for these benefits, but that does not diminish the physical benefits.
So if someone needs to lose weight, start with a balanced diet (like the USDA Food Pyramid) and a balanced fitness program (cardio, strength and yoga). Then just dial up the fitness part and dial down the total food intake part. It's so simple it almost makes me cry when I see all the hype attached to the weight loss industry. |
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| Zen Clicker - 2004-04-30 8:00 PM
uyen4570 - 2004-04-25 7:38 PM
Hi everyone,
I've been doing Bikram yoga for about 2 months now (4 times a week) and LOVE it. I would also like to start Pilates. If I did Bikram 3X a week and Pilates 3X a week would this be enough of a workout to stay in shape? I'd like to lose about 5 lbs. I HATE aerobic exercise (running, stepping etc.). Bikram and Pilates are the only forms of exercise that have held my interest.
Thanks!
Uyen
Neither Yoga (Bikram included ) nor Pilates is a complete fitness program. Both can help to build some strength, but their real physical benefits are primarily in flexibility and balance. Pilates also improves the fluidity of motion, which is why so many dancers practice it. Yoga is not really a cardiovascular activity, although, depending on a person's current fitness, it may seem like it. A balanced approach to physical fitness really needs to include some real cardio (like running, cycling, swimming, etc. ), some resistance training (weights or machines ) and lots of yoga! (Substitute Pilates if you desire. )
An additional benefit of yoga can be more on the psychological or spiritual level. I must admit that I look elsewhere for these benefits, but that does not diminish the physical benefits.
So if someone needs to lose weight, start with a balanced diet (like the USDA Food Pyramid ) and a balanced fitness program (cardio, strength and yoga ). Then just dial up the fitness part and dial down the total food intake part. It's so simple it almost makes me cry when I see all the hype attached to the weight loss industry.
Wow! This is just such B.S.!! I own a Bikram studio and prior to that I was a fitness trainer for 15 years as well as being an amateur bodybuilder. Yoga is not a complete fitness program? What planet are you from? The USDA Food Pyramid??? I haven't stepped foot into a gym since I started doing Bikram Yoga three years ago and have maintained all of my muscle tone! As far as diet goes - Bikram makes your digestive system so efficient that, dare I say it, I eat what I like, I just don't eat that much of it.
Anyway this person doesn't know what she is talking about. |
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| I believe yoga or pilates is enough for fitness,including cardio fitness and weight loss.
choice of food should be determined by body type...I mean,we all know bad diets,hydrogenated fats containing foods,you need to avoid them to start with.
It has been documented however,that yoga can get you fitter than running and weights.Now,this is the BEST part: To achieve that level of mascular,flexibility and cardio[with high VO2 max] fitness,you need to practice yoga for about 90mins at least 4 days a week.  |
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| So I see some of you have never heard of the 1.5 - 2 hour Ashtanga practice? Done correctly, extremely aerobic and weight bearing -- at least as much as you weigh.
Yoga not complete physical fitness? uh-huh.
I haven't darkened the doorway of a gym since the late 80s. I'm stronger, leaner, more defined, and have a greater aerobic capacity than I did then, 15 years ago. To top it off, I'm 1/2" taller.
Although I wouldn't go so far as to check that person's plantary origins, I'd say they're definitely not in touch.
C. |
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| I am shocked to hear that Yoga is NOT a complete fitness prgram. Just tell me what fitness you wish to achieve, and I shall give you a Yoga Program to follow for 10 weeks each day 1 hour, and you shall know whether it got what you want. This applies to whatever fitness you want. And, we address on issue at a time. This does not include therapeutics work.
And, there is NO doubt that if you do 1 hour Ashtanga Yoga sincerely and correctly, you will get more aerobic fitness than running 20 miles a day. The problem is that only 1 percent are qualified to start it. And, only 5 percent do it correctly. And, only 0.005 percent do it 1 hour continuously each day.
Neel Kulkarni www.authenticyoga.org |
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| YogaDancer, How many weeks/months of practice did it take to notice the height gain?
I'm trying to convince a friend to take this practice to help in height gain? |
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| I have no idea. My situation and someone else's will be different. I've been practicing since 1978, and one day at two doctor's appointments, they both measured me as taller.
So whereas someone just starting yoga could have said, "I started in January and by March I was taller!" I cannot do that.
All I can say is that all things come with time. I practice a yoga that focuses on elongating the spine for freedom in mobility. Bikram (following the thopic of this thread and under which section we're posting) rounds vs. extends. I also do a weight bearing, strength building form of yoga (which is not for beginners), which I believe caused me to build the muscles to support the elongation.
(Begin disclaimer The following is my opinion:
It's not sensible, really, to go into yoga because someone wants to be taller, or lose weight, or some other, really rather shallow goal. On the other hand, it really doesn't matter what brings them to yoga, since if they keep an open mind they can learn to go with the flow/accept/just be. Yoga does many things for many different people, but it's seldom something like "I want to be taller" that happens. I see disappointment all the time in people looking for a quick fix for superficial wants. Things/change takes time. Pain relief from injury, that kind of thing is different. There is also so much more to yoga than asana, that to jump onto that limb of yoga excluding all else is like getting 1/2 the parts in an assemble-yourself Christmas toy.
Let your friend come to yoga by seeing the inner and secondary outer changes in you and your body. Example is the best enticement and best lesson.
Christine
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| I'm a bit suspect of the claim that Bikram is aerobic, since when I do the sequence sans heat, I don't have nearly the elevated heart rate.
However, the proof is in the results: After training (mind you, very extensive, almost 4 hours of Bikram daily), I hiked in the Alps with no problem. We're talking 6-8 hours of hiking in day at pretty high elevations. That takes strength and cardio ability. I had done no other form of exercise for about 6 months. |
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| I dunno Gwyn, aerobic exercise is defined by Dr. Ken Cooper (who tormented me throughout my Air Force career) is exercise that increases the need for oxygen. Even without the heat, or at a reduced heat, I'm in need of that oxygen while doing the basic asanas.
And confess, I KNOW when you were cruising the Alps, at least once you did a Julie Andrews impersenation--twirling around and singing, "The hills are alive....". |
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| Hee hee. Perhaps, rabbit. Perhaps. |
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| I know when I'm out in west Texas on the Harley I'm humming the theme to the "Magnificent Seven" |
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| -Let your friend come to yoga by seeing the inner and secondary outer changes in you and your body. Example is the best enticement and best lesson.
Christine-
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I wish! I dont tell friend I do yoga-they'll laugh thier heads off!I've only been practicing since 2001.Took it up for body awareness/relaxation/rejuvenation and basically to get to know myself once again.My friend says there's something very diferent about me phyically in the last 7 months.Plus I've gotten taller by an inch in the last year- I dont understand how it happened.
I shall take your advice though,and not try to get anyone to take up yoga.Plus I save myself the embarrassment too.
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Bikram and Pilates - Is it enough?
