EPOC.
I know what you’re thinking: “Oh, no, another acronym!”
Well my fit friends, this is definitely one you want to know about! For it a powerful tool you want to have tucked away in your body recomposition, weight management, or fat loss arsenal.
Let me tell you a little bit more about the EPOC phenomenon and how it works to help you optimize your body composition.
What IS EPOC?
Specifically, EPOC stands for “excess post-exercise oxygen consumption”. This is the sustained oxygen consumption that takes place after exercise, and is more commonly known as “oxygen debt”.
We’ve ALL experienced oxygen debt following exertion. Ever had to stop dead in your tracks from a run or sprint to catch your breath? That’s because you are thick in the throes of an oxygen debt episode, and you were forced to slow or come to a stop so that you could catch your breath. Specifically, so that your oxygen debt could be recovered.
What’s Happening During EPOC?
Your body is scrambling to restore homeostasis following intense exertion! Primarily, there are six physiological events that are taking place during EPOC:
1) Normalization of heart rate and breathing
2) Decrease of body temperature to normal levels from elevated levels resulting from exertion
3) Re-oxygenation of the blood
4) Restoration of homeostasis of circulatory hormones
5) Replenishment of the body’s energy resources including the biochemicals of energy production
6) Restoration of muscle glycogen
What’s EPOC Got To Do With Fat Loss?
As the body is restoring itself to its pre-exercise state with EPOC, it follows that you are consuming oxygen at an elevated rate.
This also means that you are expending energy at an elevated rate. In other words, more calories burned. And we know that the truth about fat loss and weight management is, bottom line, a calorie balance issue.
How Can YOU Use The Information About EPOC?
Research has repeatedly revealed that high intensity exercise results in a steeper energy demand via the EPOC profile.
Energy demand following intense bouts of exercise stays elevated for longer periods of time and at a higher rate than occurs with exercise sessions that are longer and less intense, though their caloric demands may be similar.
In other words, shorter, more intense exercise has an overall greater caloric demand than more moderate sessions of greater duration.
Which spells less time investment (giving YOU more time!) and maximized conditions for optimizing your body composition. It is important to note that the caloric expenditure during exercise itself is not as dramatic as that which the EPOC phenomenon presents.
In EPOC Part 2, we’ll take a closer look at details of some of the research on EPOC. That way you can strategize to take advantage. Stay tuned!
© Lani Muelrath
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