Hi there,
I was wondering if anyone can tell me if 1 hour of hot yoga a day would be classed as exercise. I do hot yoga every morning and sweat my 'ass' off and feel my heart rate rise. Is this enough to get by for exercise? I love it and my schedule is so hectic that its either hot yoga or gym for 1 hour a day and hot yoga gets me out of bed much easier!!!
Thanks for your help

I have no idea what hot yoga is. However, any movement that causes your heart rate to rise at the extent of 20 minutes or longer should be considered exercise. If you are not actually moving, then it is questionable, but I think I will do a little research and get back to you!

Just a random reply, here.
.
For folks who are short on time, (or hate spending hours at the gym, like me!)
There is an exercise modality for once or twice a week.
.
Power-of-Ten, Super-Slow, and other names, consisting of:
Using only five (complex muscle) machines with only one set on each of only about 6 reps.
at 10 sec up and 10 sec return on each rep, or 2 minutes on each of the five for 12 minutes of
hard exhaustive muscle building work,
About 20 minutes with pre-muscle warm-up and post-exercise static muscle stretch cool down.
You can do this only once or twice per week, with alternate rest days and alternate 20 minute
(Peak 8 or variation thereof) interval work.

So, my quick research found that hot yoga is basically yoga done in a room that the heat is cranked up above 100.

This is probably a beneficial exercise for strengthening and relaxation. I am not sure I would count it as aerobic exercise, but it is likely going to benefit in some way. Just don't get overheated, and make sure you are drinking water to replace the fluid losses.

Thanks guys. I love hot yoga. My concern was just if I am doing it every day and no other exercise what amount of activity do I put down in the zone calculator?
Thanks!

I you're doing a class every day, say 45 to 60 min and the poses are challenging, use "Active" in the calculator..

Thanks Sue! Yes its 60 mins and its hard work!

OK, I am kind of "dumb" when it comes to yoga.

But, my concern about hot yoga (from what I learned) is that the HR is elevated due to the warmth of the surroundings, rather than because of the exercise that is happening.

And, regular yoga is not a cardio activity, right? I guess I am picturing various positions and movements, and that this might be contributing to some strength building, but I would not say that this is cardio activity. Would the activity level be increased if this were considered regular yoga rather than hot yoga?

I am thinking not, and if the heat is what is increasing the HR, rather than the activity, then the weight being lost is water, not fat.

Cranberry, it's not aerobic. It's intense strength training. As I understand, adding the high temperature has an effect of making it more intense on the muscles. Daily strength training for 60 minutes warrants at least using the "Active" level.

Whether its aerobic or not, doesn't matter. The heat is likely not making it any more intense. If that were the case, I would be installing a sauna tomorrow!

If you want to make it equal to strength training, that is fine, but I would not recommend increasing the activity level just because the activity is done in a hot room.

As explained by my yogi, part of the reason for the high heat and humidity in Bikram yoga (aka "hot yoga") is precisely to give the result of more flexibility than if the workout had done at cooler temperatures. Regardless, 60 minutes of intense yoga daily would be considered to be the "Active" level for the calculator whether or not it is "hot yoga".

For the sake of clarification, I did not recommended to increase activity levels for hot yoga. I simply stated, from the beginning, to use the "Active" level on the calculator for 60 min. strenuous yoga per day.

My use of the word "increase" was probably not the best choice of words.

The intent of my post is that the activity level for yoga should be that of yoga (and its frequency/intensity). Doing yoga in a hot room is not going to change the calculation of the activity level. Yoga is yoga.

Or, is it? (I told you all that I am kind of dumb when it comes to yoga)

The addition of the heat makes it easier to achieve some of the muscle movements/positions, and so perhaps the workout is intensified by the fact that the workout became more intense by adding the ability to achieve those movements/positions. But, lets keep it clear that the level of the workout depends on the intensity of the workout, and not on the fact that the workout is being done in a hot room.

Adding heat to any activity is going to cause the body to respond in different ways. But, if I am sitting in a comfortable room vs. a hot room, am I going to burn more calories sitting in the hot room? Well, I am going to sweat, I am going to have an increased pulse, but I didn't do anything more strenuous than sitting. Did I burn more calories?

My "Active" level suggestion for Victoria is based only on the amount of yoga being performed. The fact it is hot yoga was not a factor I used when determining that activity level. As per Zone principles, my recommendation and the recommendations of the body fat calculator are not based on calories burned, but rather on the amount of protein that is needed for muscle maintenance.

Thanks for clearing that up. For awhile, I thought that you were judging the intensity of the workout by the fact that it was done in a hot room. Like I said, yoga is yoga. The intensity of the exercise should be used to calculate the activity factor.