If there was ever a secret to fat burning, it’s EPOC. Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption is the “missing link” in so many training programs of today. Sure, you may burn 400-600 calories on the treadmill during an hour of light to moderate activity, but what is your body doing the other 23 hours of the day? EPOC has been shown to burn calories by elevating your metabolism for 24-48 hours following intense resistance training sessions or high-intensity interval training sessions. This metabolic disturbance does not occur after steady-state cardio that is ever-so-common in mainstream gyms. In effect, after a long, steady-state cardio session, your body is done burning calories. You get what you pay for with minutes – more minutes equals more calories burned.

Steady-state cardio has tremendous benefits, but the EPOC-inducing interval training will help you burn more fat. The best solution is using both types of training to your advantage.

If your goal is fat loss, then you need to be maximizing the benefits of EPOC to burn extra calories during the rest of the day; even while you’re sleeping. The best ways to ramp up your metabolism with EPOC are heavy resistance training and other CNS intensive work such as running, sled pulling and pushing, and interval training.

The key to interval training is maximizing your effort in waves. Here’s an example of an EPOC-inducing high-intensity interval training (HIIT) program using running as an example:

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