Is hot yoga a cardio workout? Partly. A 90-minute class lifts your heart rate to about 72 to 80% of its maximum, but it uses only a modest share of your oxygen capacity. So it counts as light-to-moderate cardio, and it will not replace a run or a football match.
If you play five-a-side on a Tuesday and run on a Saturday, you already know what a hard heart rate feels like. So here’s the fair answer for you. A hot class raises your pulse like a tough session, yet it asks far less of your legs and lungs than a match does.
Is Hot Yoga a Cardio Workout? The Short Verdict
Many UK players ask is hot yoga a cardio workout because their watch shows a high number halfway through class. The number is real, but it overstates the work your body does. Four facts sit behind that answer:
- A busy heart. In a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse study, men averaged about 80% of predicted maximum heart rate and women about 72% across a 90-minute class.
- A quiet engine. A 2025 systematic review put the oxygen cost of a Bikram class at roughly 25 to 31% of VO2max, which sports medicine rates as light to moderate.
- Little travel. You stay on your mat, so your legs and lungs never meet the repeated sprints of a match.
- Heat, not fitness. In a small 2020 crossover trial by Lambert and colleagues, a heated class and a room-temperature class gave similar heart rates, 113 and 109 beats per minute.
Asking is hot yoga a cardio workout is fair, but the better question is what you want from the class. That doesn’t make hot yoga a poor workout. It builds balance, strength endurance and flexibility, and it asks your heart to work. It’s simply a different kind of effort. This article is general information, not medical advice, so please consult a healthcare professional before you start if you have a heart or blood pressure concern.
How Hot Yoga Heart Rate Zones Work in Plain English
A heart rate zone is a band of your maximum heart rate. A common rule of thumb says maximum equals 220 minus your age. It can be out by 10 beats or more, so treat it as a rough guide, not a lab result.
Here we use three easy bands, with a 42-year-old as the example. They help answer is hot yoga a cardio workout in terms your own pulse can check.
| Zone | Share of maximum | Beats per minute (age 42) | Talk test | Where hot yoga sits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chat zone | 50 to 70% | About 89 to 125 | Full sentences | Opening breathing and much of the floor series (our teaching estimate) |
| Push zone | 70 to 85% | About 125 to 151 | Choppy sentences | The class averages in the Wisconsin study: 72% for women, 80% for men |
| Limit zone | Above 85% | About 151 and up | A few words only | Peaks of 85% (women) and 92% (men) in the same study |
Put numbers on it. For our 42-year-old, the average man in the Wisconsin study would sit near 142 beats per minute and the average woman near 128. The peaks reach about 151 to 164. That is push-zone effort with visits to the limit zone, held for 90 minutes. Judged by zones alone, is hot yoga a cardio workout? Yes, a moderate one.
Here’s the catch. The class holds you in the push zone for a long time, while a match swings between jogging and flat-out sprints. The heart sees a different pattern, even when the average looks similar.
Hot Yoga Heart Rate Versus a 90-Minute Football Match
Most UK men judge fitness by match day, so let us use that yardstick. The football figures below summarise match-physiology reviews, including the Physiology of soccer update in Sports Medicine. They vary with position, level and fitness, so read them as ranges.
| Measure | 90-minute hot class | 90-minute football match | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average heart rate | About 72 to 80% of maximum | Roughly 80 to 90% of maximum | A match usually sits one zone higher |
| Distance covered | Almost none, you stay on your mat | Around 10 km for outfield players at elite level | Your legs do far more work on a pitch |
| Oxygen use | About 25 to 31% of VO2max | Much higher, close to the anaerobic threshold on average | A match trains the lungs and big muscles harder |
| Peak effort | Peaks of 85 to 92% of maximum heart rate | Repeated sprints, jumps and tackles | A match is stop-start, a class is steady |
| Heat | About 40°C, core temperature above 103°F in some students | Usually a cool UK pitch | Class strain comes from heat, match strain from running |
So is hot yoga a cardio workout in the way a match is? No. A match builds aerobic fitness through distance and sprints. A class builds balance, strength endurance and flexibility while keeping your pulse up. For a closer look at energy use, see our guide to hot yoga calories burned.
Why Your Watch Can Mislead You in a 40°C Room
Fitness watches estimate effort from heart rate. That works well on a cool pitch. In a hot room, though, your heart beats faster to move blood to the skin and cool you down. The watch reads that as hard training, but your muscles are not doing the matching work. So when you ask is hot yoga a cardio workout, the watch gives a flattering answer.
Colorado State University researchers cautioned that headline claims of 1,000 calories a class were probably too high. Formulas built for cool rooms overstate effort in the heat. So trust the trend across weeks, not the calorie figure. Your own result also depends on four things:
- How fit you are. The 2025 review reports about 86% of maximum heart rate in experienced practitioners and about 72% in novices.
- Time in the room. Lambert’s team measured one hour, while other studies ran the full 90 minutes, when core temperature has longer to climb.
- Your size. Colorado State researchers linked most of the calorie gap between men and women to body size. See also our look at hot yoga for men versus women.
- Your kit. A chest strap, a wrist watch and a lab mask each read a sweaty body differently.
Four Numbers Behind Your Heart Rate
Posture by Posture: Where Your Heart Rate Likely Sits
One caveat before the map. The studies report class or block averages, and none logged all 26 postures one by one. So read what follows as an informed sketch from the 2025 review and our teaching, not a measurement.
Standing postures do most of the heart work
If any part of the class answers is hot yoga a cardio workout with a yes, it is the first half. Your biggest muscles carry you through the standing postures, and many of them ask for balance on one leg. That is why the 2025 review found higher heart rates standing than on the floor. Even so, nothing moves fast, so the pulse rises on effort plus heat.
Floor work: the room keeps heating you
Late in class your muscles ease off, but the room does not. The Wisconsin team watched core temperature climb steadily from start to finish, whatever the posture. A quiet student on the floor can therefore slide into heat strain without anyone noticing.
Breathing exercises: a short spike, then recovery
Fast, deliberate breaths lift heart rate quickly, then it settles. Beginners often tense up and hold their breath in the balance postures, which can leave them dizzy. Mr. Ian Terry, E-RYT 500, trains teachers to watch for that, and to cue slower breathing before a student gets light-headed.
What the Research Says About Heat and Your Heart
Three sources matter most for anyone asking is hot yoga a cardio workout. Read them, and the picture is consistent.
- The 2025 systematic review. Willmott and colleagues pooled 43 studies on hot yoga. They found gains in flexibility and strength, and an oxygen cost in the light-to-moderate range. They also asked for larger trials. Read the review on PubMed Central.
- The Wisconsin study. The American Council on Exercise sponsored it. Seven of 20 regular practitioners passed 103°F core temperature, and the authors flagged the rise in heart rate and heat as a concern rather than a training gain. Read the ACE summary.
- Earlier Colorado State work. The same group earlier reported better flexibility and whole-body strength with regular practice, but little shift in aerobic fitness.
The takeaway on is hot yoga a cardio workout is simple. Hot yoga is good for flexibility, balance and strength endurance, and it keeps the heart busy. If you want strong aerobic gains, add brisk walking, cycling, running or a weekly kickabout on top.
UK Health Checks Before You Chase a Number
A 40°C room puts real load on the heart and on the body’s cooling system. So a quick check before you test is hot yoga a cardio workout on your own pulse is sensible, especially if you are over 40 or you sit all day. In England, adults aged 40 to 74 can usually book a free NHS Health Check, which covers blood pressure and cholesterol.
Speak to your GP before any heated class if any of these apply to you:
- You have a heart condition, an irregular heartbeat or high blood pressure.
- You take blood pressure medicine or a diuretic, because both can change how you cope with heat.
- You are pregnant, or you have had heat illness before.
Sit down and tell your teacher if class brings on any of these:
- Pain or pressure in your chest. Stop and get urgent medical help.
- A pounding or uneven heartbeat that will not settle after a minute or two of rest.
- Dizziness, confusion or a sharp headache, which are early signs of heat strain.
- Nausea, cramps or sweat that suddenly stops. Cool down and drink slowly.
For the wider heart picture, read our guide on whether hot yoga is good for your heart.
How to Pair Hot Yoga With Football, Running or the Gym
If you decide that is hot yoga a cardio workout only in part, you can fill the gap outside the room. You don’t need to push harder in the class to get more cardio. Heat already makes pushing risky, so don’t chase the number. Instead, build the cardio around the class. One simple week might look like this:
- Tuesday: five-a-side or a 30-minute run, your real aerobic session.
- Thursday: a hot class, for mobility, balance and steady effort.
- Saturday: a long walk, a cycle ride or a park run.
- Sunday: rest, or a second hot class once you are comfortable.
Many teachers also suggest not stacking a hard gym session and a 40°C class on the same day while you are new. Drink before, during and after class, and read your watch as a trend across weeks. For how a class sits against a gym session, see is hot yoga a good workout.
What YogaFX Students Say About the Effort
Numbers can’t show how a class feels from inside. These comments come from YogaFX graduates in their public YouTube reviews. Each one describes effort that is more than physical.
Erica (YouTube review, 2025) arrived out of her comfort zone and told her husband she wanted to go home. Then the room won her over. She found it so supportive that she felt she could do it. Watch Erica’s review.
“This is not like physical practice, but our emotion, our mental, our heart, our love.” Arkan, YouTube review, 2023 (translated)
“I feel a lot better, I feel like I can do it.” Malini, YouTube review, 2025. She also thanked Mr. Ian for pushing the body, the mind and the spirit. Watch Malini’s review.
Whatever your answer to is hot yoga a cardio workout, notice that none of them talks about calories. Effort in the heat is about staying calm while your body works, and that’s a skill teachers learn.
From Heart Rate to Teaching: Training With Mr. Ian Terry in Bali
Students ask their teachers, is hot yoga a cardio workout, all the time. A good teacher answers with evidence, not hype. At YogaFX, the teacher is Mr. Ian Terry, E-RYT 500, with more than 12,000 teaching hours behind him. Between 2014 and 2019 he spent five years training with the founder of the method. The academy opened in 2017 and has since certified more than 1,500 graduates from 80+ countries.
For UK applicants, the next step is the 6-day Bikram Hot 26&2 Yoga Teacher Training MasterClass in Bali. It is a hybrid course, so you study online first and then train in person in natural tropical heat, not with electric heaters.
The next batch checks in on Sunday 24 January 2027 at Soham Wellness Center in Seminyak. The Early Bird price is US$1,899 (normally US$1,999), with payment plans from US$250 a month. You finish with Yoga Alliance RYT 200-Hour and Bikram Hot 26&2 200-Hour International Yoga Certification.
Want to compare the heart rate studies side by side? Our online team has set the hot yoga heart rate studies side by side in one table. If you are weighing up a UK course against Bali, start with the complete UK guide to Bikram yoga teacher training.
FAQ: Is Hot Yoga a Cardio Workout?
Is hot yoga classed as cardio?
Not in the way running or football is. Hot yoga raises your heart rate to roughly 72 to 80% of its maximum, yet your oxygen use stays light to moderate. Most coaches would call it a mild cardio effort, with real strength, balance and flexibility work on top.
Can hot yoga replace cardio?
For most people, no. A 90-minute class keeps your heart busy but moves you very little, so your lungs and legs get a gentle workout. Keep one or two brisk walks, runs or cycle rides each week if aerobic fitness is your goal.
What is a normal heart rate during hot yoga?
It varies with age and experience. In one study, the class average was about 72% of maximum for women and 80% for men, with peaks of 85% and 92%. Rely on how you feel as much as on the number, and stop if you feel unwell.
Can I do hot yoga with a heart condition?
Ask your GP or cardiologist first. A 40°C room strains the heart and the body’s cooling system, and blood pressure medicines can change how you cope. Your doctor can tell you whether a heated class is safe, or whether a warm or unheated class suits you better.
Is hot yoga a cardio workout for beginners?
Only a gentle one. Beginners often hold their breath and tense up, so heart rate can run high while the real workload stays low. Start with one or two classes a week, rest when you need to, and add brisk walking or cycling if you want more aerobic work.
Is hot yoga every day too much?
There is no single rule, and the research on daily practice is thin. Heat adds strain, so many teachers suggest two or three classes a week with rest days between while you are new. Build up slowly, drink steadily, and ask a healthcare professional if you are unsure.
Still have questions? Message Mr. Ian and the YogaFX team on WhatsApp and we will answer them personally.
