EPOC: Interval Training's Gift to Weight Loss

Interval training has one unique, amazing ability which makes it superior to normal exercise…. especially when trying to lose belly fat.

20 minutes of normal cardio would produce 20 minutes of fat burning, after that the body would return to its normal state.

Interval training is different in the fact that one routine of HIIT can produce up to 38 hours of fat burning.(Scheunke MD, 2002)

So in affect we are creating a fat burning furnace for up to 120 times longer than normal cardio.

This works by creating a little process called EPOC.

Your body is always in a state of adding fat cells or breaking them up to be used as energy. This process is affected by a few things like how much energy the body needs and how much energy the body has at that point in time, it’s also highly influenced by sugar.

Energy is also stored everywhere in your body, not just in fat cells. It’s also in your muscles, your liver and your blood cells. Now it’s the energy in your muscles that we are interested in.

Your body holds onto this as a reserve, it’s ‘just in case we run out’ energy. So it’s really hard to get your body to give this energy up, but when it does, your body goes into a state of emergency trying to replace this lost reserve. This replacement of energy can take up to 40 hours to complete.

Now here’s the trick, we are going to give your body only enough energy in the form of food to power your resting metabolic rate. But after finishing your interval training, your resting metabolic rate will be a lot higher because it will be looking for energy to replace your muscle reserves. And the first place your body looks for this extra energy is in your fat cells. So you will be burning fat for up to 38 hours after each interval training session.

Reference:

Scheunke MD Mikat RP, McBride JM Effect of an acute period of resistance exercise on excess post exercise oxygen consumpion [Journal] // Eur J Appl Physiol. - 2002. 86(5):411-7.