janey

To poster #6,

I find that the combination of running and yoga is excellent for muscle building and fat burning. I’ve been practicing steadily for four years. Bikram by itself does not help me lose weight, but the combination of running and Bikram makes the fat melt like butter. I have studied this and believe it is for a number of reasons:

1. Bikram makes you gain muscle, thereby speeding your metabolism. However, since muscle weighs more than fat you may gain weight and experience changes in your shape. I tend to bulk up when I practice Bikram by itself because of the muscle gain, but it provides the sculpting for a beautiful body. Running combined with poses focused on thyriod and metabolism (like standing head to knee) will help you burn off the fat so you can see those amazing muscles! Without running my muscle and layer of fat just makes me look bigger.

2. I find that if I practice in the morning, I end up eating more all day long because I’m ravenous all day. For this reason I practice 3-4 times a week at 5:30pm. I run in the morning 3-4 times a week, which I feel burns more fat, but doesn’t make me as hungry. I try to run and do Bikram on the same day at least twice a week. On these days, I usually wake up the next morning with slight weight loss. I’m not sure if this is water weight or due to 2.5 hours of exercise on a given day. I’ve read you must do aerobic exercise for at least 45 minutes before you begin burning fat. Before that you are just burning glucose in the blood from whatever sugar or carbs you ate that day or the previous day.

3. I can run longer distances at a faster speed when I practice Bikram. I believe this is due to strength I’ve gained as a result of Bikram, but also because I experience fewer body aches and pains from pounding away at the cement or asphalt. All of the poses will increase your flexibility and thereby prevent injury–we know from research that stretching is an absolute necessity if you are a runner who wants to continue running for life. Several poses are critical in avoiding overuse injuries frequently caused by running. Our yoga doctor can probably provide more info here, but I find the following poses most helpful with the knees and hips: tree, fixed firm, camel, and spine twisting; however, any of the poses that build leg strength and flexibility contribute to my injury free running–this includes most Bikram poses!

I hope this helps! Running and Bikram are better together. IMHO 🙂

Janey