Ever heard of the EPOC effect?

Want to burn calories even when resting? Try out the EPOC effect.

The advantages of a strength training as a way to lose body fat seems to be increasingly evident. One of the effects triggered in our bodies due to the practice of physical exercise is known as EPOC (Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption) effect, or post workout oxygen consumption.

High intensity or strength training increase the EPOC effect

This is a physiological phenomenon that occurs after exercising and that aims to rebalance our body through replacement of the oxygen levels that fulfils essential functions, as restoring body temperature, collaborating with protein in the regeneration of damaged muscles, or replacing ATP energy consumed during the same.

This effect is seen regardless the activity practiced, but its duration can be longer or shorter, depending on the type of exercises you choose to do. Resistance or strength training reveals itself as the true golden goose of this effect. The EPOC can last for at least 15 hours if you choose a high intensity weight training or an interval training, for example, unlike a miserable hour to moderate and continuous aerobic exercise.

The greater the intensity of the workout, the greater the effect, it can last up to 48 hours after the exercise, in some cases.

The longer it lasts, the better

Why would we want EPOC to last as long as possible? Because while it lasts, the metabolic rate remains high, which means that you will continue to burn fat while this effect extends.

According to some studies, it was shown that work force increases metabolic rate during the rest period, especially in older people.

High intensity training spends more oxygen and the time that the body will take to replace it and to eliminate the lactic acid after exercise will be extended, until the correct levels of operation are met. It forces the body to work harder to accomplish this task, keeping the burning of high calories. Therefore, the longer the duration of the exercise or the intensity reached, the longer it will take to replace the oxygen and the EPOC effect. The more muscle mass we have, the higher our metabolic rate, even when we’re lying on the couch, inert.

In fact, it is after exercise that you begin to lose calories and not while doing it.

Therefore, if you want to be sure that you continue to lose calories even idle, remember the EPOC effect and seek for a strength, or high intensity or interval training.