maverickbu
07-05-2007, 01:39 PM
EPOC ? Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption
Sounds fancy doesn?t it? So why do we care about excess oxygen consumption after intense exercise? Well, it helps our body remove lactic acid, regulate circulatory hormones, body temperature, heart rate, and breathing, replenish muscle glycogen/ATP, re-oxygenate our blood, and it burns lots of calories while you are at rest. Do I have your attention now? Good.
Let?s get one thing straight first, this means INTENSE exercise. 30-60 minutes watching ?Oprah? on the treadmill does not qualify as intense exercise. In fact, although EPOC does accompany low to moderate intensity cardio, in many studies, it is shown to be half or less than that of shorter bouts of higher intensity exercise. For example:
Laforgia et al. 1997 study (Treadmill)
Group A ? 70% VO2 max for 30 minutes
Group B ? 100% VO2 max for 20 one minute sprints, 2 minutes rest between each
Group B had a measurable EPOC (15 liters) that was more than twice that of Group A (6.9 liters). This means that Group B was burning over twice as many calories after they were done exercising than did Group A. Not to mention interval training is a lot less boring than the ?hamster on a wheel? feeling of steady state cardio. Another well known study often cited for the superiority of high intensity over steady state cardio is Tremblay?s 1994 study where he showed that short intervals of high intensity output were up to 9 times more effective at removing subcutaneous fat than was longer low intensity cardio. For even more examples, I highly suggest checking out articles and studies by Chantal A. Vella, PhD and Len Kravitz, PhD. They have done a lot of interesting research with respect to EPOC (or ?exercise after-burn? as they sometime call it).
So by now you are probably thinking that this is worth a shot; High intensity is the way to go for fat loss and you are going pedal to the metal aerobically the next time you?re in the gym. And that would be good. High intensity aerobic cardio will generate a great EPOC response, but anaerobic exercise (i.e., weight lifting) is even better. Lifting weights brings intensity and puts your body under stress much faster and effectively than its aerobic counterpart. Think about it. You could run hard for 20-30 seconds and take a 2 minute break for probably a very large number of intervals before you were insurmountable exhausted. Now imagine doing that with lunges. I?m getting a little queasy already.
Of course this isn?t merely an anecdotal observation; there are many studies to support this claim. While you?ll still have many who debate the effectiveness of high intensity cardio vs. steady state, you?ll be hard-pressed to find someone who claims aerobic training will generate more EPOC than will anaerobic. In a study (Elliot et al. 1992) that pitted high intensity cycling vs. only 3 to 4 sets of resistance training, the resistance trainers had almost twice the EPOC as did the cyclists. So we are finding that more intensity and stress equals more EPOC. So the keys so far are working at high intensity and anaerobically; is there anything else we can add to the equation? You bet.
The final piece of this puzzle to maximize intensity and fat burning potential is reducing recovery time. I know, you are going to hate me for this part. Not only am I asking you to work as hard as you can when seeking to maximize EPOC, but now I?m telling you that you need to rest less. At least it?s not unwarranted sadism; check out the following information from a study (Murphy & Schwarzkopf, 1992) where two forms of resistance training were compared:
Murphy & Schwarzkopf, 1992
Group A ? 3 sets, 6 exercises, 80% 1RM to exhaustion, 120 seconds rest between sets
Group B ? 3 sets, 6 exercises, 50% 1 RM for 10-12 reps, 30 seconds rest between sets
Group B, although using less weight and was further from muscular exhaustion on each set, raised their EPOC nearly twice as high as Group A. Is this counter-intuitive? A bit, but it does show that these results don?t exist in a vacuum. Although Group A was working their muscles harder, I can assure you that Group B were probably the ones that looked like they were knocking on death?s door. The amount of cardiovascular output from short rest in conjunction with anaerobic exercise creates a blast furnace in your body. And as shown in these studies, it causes maximal stress and intensity, and in turn, calorie-burning EPOC.
There?s a few other little variables to tweak that can take you even further with EPOC, but for now this lays the ground work. These are the staples: high intensity, anaerobic, short rests. In Part 2, I?ll talk a bit more about one other variable in particular: manipulating exercise (in)efficiency.
Summary:
Manipulating and raising EPOC is going to be your number one tool in efforts to lose fat. Maximal intensity for short, repeated bursts with anaerobic exercise (i.e., weight lifting) and short rest periods is what?s going to keep your body burning calories well after your training session is complete. I?ll leave you with one final study. Schuenke in 2002 showed that the effects of EPOC could be found in subjects 38 hours after intense exercise! So do you want to burn calories for 30-60 minutes with low to moderate intensity cardio or do you want to burn calories for up to 38 hours? Not a hard decision if you ask me.
I want you to sweat a lot. I want your heart to pound. I want your muscles to burn. I want you on the edge of exhaustion. Yeah, I?m evil, but if you stick with the protocol and routines I give you in ?EPOC-alypse, Part 2: The Plan? for a few weeks, those firm, well-shaped masses of tissue called ?muscle? just might make an impressive appearance*.
? Tony Lukasavage
http://www.SavageLook.com
Sounds fancy doesn?t it? So why do we care about excess oxygen consumption after intense exercise? Well, it helps our body remove lactic acid, regulate circulatory hormones, body temperature, heart rate, and breathing, replenish muscle glycogen/ATP, re-oxygenate our blood, and it burns lots of calories while you are at rest. Do I have your attention now? Good.
Let?s get one thing straight first, this means INTENSE exercise. 30-60 minutes watching ?Oprah? on the treadmill does not qualify as intense exercise. In fact, although EPOC does accompany low to moderate intensity cardio, in many studies, it is shown to be half or less than that of shorter bouts of higher intensity exercise. For example:
Laforgia et al. 1997 study (Treadmill)
Group A ? 70% VO2 max for 30 minutes
Group B ? 100% VO2 max for 20 one minute sprints, 2 minutes rest between each
Group B had a measurable EPOC (15 liters) that was more than twice that of Group A (6.9 liters). This means that Group B was burning over twice as many calories after they were done exercising than did Group A. Not to mention interval training is a lot less boring than the ?hamster on a wheel? feeling of steady state cardio. Another well known study often cited for the superiority of high intensity over steady state cardio is Tremblay?s 1994 study where he showed that short intervals of high intensity output were up to 9 times more effective at removing subcutaneous fat than was longer low intensity cardio. For even more examples, I highly suggest checking out articles and studies by Chantal A. Vella, PhD and Len Kravitz, PhD. They have done a lot of interesting research with respect to EPOC (or ?exercise after-burn? as they sometime call it).
So by now you are probably thinking that this is worth a shot; High intensity is the way to go for fat loss and you are going pedal to the metal aerobically the next time you?re in the gym. And that would be good. High intensity aerobic cardio will generate a great EPOC response, but anaerobic exercise (i.e., weight lifting) is even better. Lifting weights brings intensity and puts your body under stress much faster and effectively than its aerobic counterpart. Think about it. You could run hard for 20-30 seconds and take a 2 minute break for probably a very large number of intervals before you were insurmountable exhausted. Now imagine doing that with lunges. I?m getting a little queasy already.
Of course this isn?t merely an anecdotal observation; there are many studies to support this claim. While you?ll still have many who debate the effectiveness of high intensity cardio vs. steady state, you?ll be hard-pressed to find someone who claims aerobic training will generate more EPOC than will anaerobic. In a study (Elliot et al. 1992) that pitted high intensity cycling vs. only 3 to 4 sets of resistance training, the resistance trainers had almost twice the EPOC as did the cyclists. So we are finding that more intensity and stress equals more EPOC. So the keys so far are working at high intensity and anaerobically; is there anything else we can add to the equation? You bet.
The final piece of this puzzle to maximize intensity and fat burning potential is reducing recovery time. I know, you are going to hate me for this part. Not only am I asking you to work as hard as you can when seeking to maximize EPOC, but now I?m telling you that you need to rest less. At least it?s not unwarranted sadism; check out the following information from a study (Murphy & Schwarzkopf, 1992) where two forms of resistance training were compared:
Murphy & Schwarzkopf, 1992
Group A ? 3 sets, 6 exercises, 80% 1RM to exhaustion, 120 seconds rest between sets
Group B ? 3 sets, 6 exercises, 50% 1 RM for 10-12 reps, 30 seconds rest between sets
Group B, although using less weight and was further from muscular exhaustion on each set, raised their EPOC nearly twice as high as Group A. Is this counter-intuitive? A bit, but it does show that these results don?t exist in a vacuum. Although Group A was working their muscles harder, I can assure you that Group B were probably the ones that looked like they were knocking on death?s door. The amount of cardiovascular output from short rest in conjunction with anaerobic exercise creates a blast furnace in your body. And as shown in these studies, it causes maximal stress and intensity, and in turn, calorie-burning EPOC.
There?s a few other little variables to tweak that can take you even further with EPOC, but for now this lays the ground work. These are the staples: high intensity, anaerobic, short rests. In Part 2, I?ll talk a bit more about one other variable in particular: manipulating exercise (in)efficiency.
Summary:
Manipulating and raising EPOC is going to be your number one tool in efforts to lose fat. Maximal intensity for short, repeated bursts with anaerobic exercise (i.e., weight lifting) and short rest periods is what?s going to keep your body burning calories well after your training session is complete. I?ll leave you with one final study. Schuenke in 2002 showed that the effects of EPOC could be found in subjects 38 hours after intense exercise! So do you want to burn calories for 30-60 minutes with low to moderate intensity cardio or do you want to burn calories for up to 38 hours? Not a hard decision if you ask me.
I want you to sweat a lot. I want your heart to pound. I want your muscles to burn. I want you on the edge of exhaustion. Yeah, I?m evil, but if you stick with the protocol and routines I give you in ?EPOC-alypse, Part 2: The Plan? for a few weeks, those firm, well-shaped masses of tissue called ?muscle? just might make an impressive appearance*.
? Tony Lukasavage
http://www.SavageLook.com