Grab your mat and get ready to sweat! Like other exercises, yoga sculpt burns calories, but how many depends on a number of factors. However, in general, you'll just about double the amount you'd burn in a traditional yoga class.
While it's nice to know how many calories you are burning toward your workout, there are other factors to consider when taking up an exercise program. Exercise, like yoga, has a lot of physical and mental benefits. Not only can you connect with others during a yoga sculpt class, but you can feel stronger and feel more confident in yourself. Feeling better both mentally and physically can be more energizing than worrying about calories!
Average Calories Burned During Yoga Sculpt
Before you hop on the calorie train, it's important to know what yoga sculpt is. Yoga sculpt combines yoga postures and weight training, according to Sculpt Yoga. You can do yoga sculpt in person or through online classes. Depending on the class you take, you can find varying intensities of the workout.
Unfortunately, current calorie calculators and charts fail to include this type of yoga class. Since yoga sculpt is similar in intensity and duration to circuit training or high-intensity interval-style workouts, which provide a combination of strength and cardio exercises, you can use these to get an average of your calorie burn.
According to the Harvard Medical School, a 125 lb. person will average about 240 calories burned in 30 minutes of circuit training. Individuals who weigh more burn more calories.
Factors That Affect Calories Burned During Yoga
During any workout, several factors can make you burn more or fewer calories than average, according to evidence found in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. These elements contribute to the number of calories you burn during yoga sculpt.
Yoga Sculpt Exercises
The specific number of calories you burn during your class will depend on the exercises the instructor includes that day. Exercises might include a number of activities, including pushups, squats, planks, and other movements, according to Core Power Yoga on Demand.
Compound movements, or movements that incorporate more than one muscle group (i.e. pushups and squats), and exercises that work larger muscles (i.e. glute bridges) burn more than those that work smaller muscles (i.e. bicep curls and lateral raises), according to the American Council on Exercise. Since many yoga sculpt classes have you holding yoga poses while lifting weights, you usually get the best of both worlds.
Modifications
If the basic exercises are a bit challenging and you find yourself modifying, this will reduce the intensity and lower your calorie burn. Examples include completing pushups on your knees, choosing to keep both feet on the floor during a single leg glute bridge, or using dumbbells that are lighter than recommended.
Progressions
If you pick up the intensity of each exercise by choosing more challenging versions, the intensity increases and the number of calories burned rises. Completing a pushup on one leg versus two or holding weights during a lunge instead of performing them bodyweight style are great examples.
Plyometrics and Cardio
Some yoga sculpt classes include more plyometrics (movements that involve jumping) and cardio than others. Included in this category are lunge jumps, squat jumps, mountain climbers, jumping jacks, and a variety of cardio kickboxing moves. They burn more calories per minute than their strength-based counterparts.
Individual Differences
Everybody burns calories a bit differently. While calculators can make an estimate, your body is unique. So, you have a few individual factors that can affect the calories you are burning.
- Age: The Mayo Clinic notes that your age can affect calorie burn. This is due to a shift in hormones as you age that decreases the amount of muscle mass you have over time. The result is less energy output as you get older, which equates to fewer calories burned.
- Current activity level: A 2016 study by the Canadian Institute of Health Research shows individuals who are currently active naturally expend less energy performing the same workout as their classmates who may be new to the yoga sculpt format. Over time, as you get used to the exercises, you will need to increase your intensity in order to keep your levels of calorie burn high.
The best way to know for sure how much you're burning is to wear an activity tracking device or use a calorie counter.
Remember that you gain substantial benefits by including yoga sculpt into your weekly routine. But if calories are your primary focus, you will likely build muscle, sweat more, and burn more calories during yoga sculpt than in your typical yoga class. Add it to your schedule once a week to challenge yourself physically through a combination of strength work and cardio. Your local studio may offer it under this name or something similar, such as yoga chisel or yoga burn. You can also find a variety of classes that you can do online at home.
