Continue to Burn Calories After Your Workout

This “afterburn” effect is a huge reason why exercise can speed up weight loss. Research has shown that training with weights and using interval training or anything that pushes the intensity above traditional steady-state cardiovascular exercise (such as walking slowly on a treadmill), can increase the total number of calories that you burn over up to 38 hours following your workout.

While most studies have focused on single session workouts and not on the cumulative effect of EPOC, the fact that single workout studies show an average 10% increase in metabolism for 24 hours post-workout should not be taken lightly. If the question is how many calories do you burn with EPOC? The answer is a lot!

The physiological mechanisms responsible for the increase in metabolism from higher intensity training occurs because the body is disrupted. Oxygen stores must be replenished to various parts of the body, depleted phosphagen levels must be restored to the muscles, and the build up of lactic acid (responsible for the burning sensation in the muscles during exercise) must be removed. In addition, the increased breathing rate, higher blood circulation, and increased body temperature far exceed that induced by steady-state exercises which all raise the body’s metabolism as well. (Borsheim and Bahr, 2003).

Weight training causes EPOC in a unique way because training with resistance causes slight damage to the muscle fibers which places a high demand on the body’s metabolic processes in order to repair. In addition to that, adding muscle to the body’s frame raises metabolism, even if you are just sitting around. A pound of muscle burns between five to ten extra calories daily, so five extra pounds of brawn would thus consume twenty-five to fifty calories per day.

That seems like small change, but over months and years it will become very significant especially because you will not just be wearing the muscle, but you will be using it. While the physiological responses to training with increases intensity are limited, the means of achieving a higher EPOC are not. Progressive strength training, cardiovascular interval training and creative circuit training are some of the many training methods used in the Aviisha Fitness Training program to elicit the afterburn effect.

At Aviisha, our goal is to use the latest scientific research to comfortably expedite your weight loss and fitness goals so your health and well-being reach new heights.