Effects of Training on EPOC by stefan taylor fitness

Effects of Training on EPOC

On completion of any cardiovascular exercise or weight training, the body will continue requiring oxygen at an elevated  rate compared to before the exercise began.  This sustained oxygen consumption is known as EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption).  This has originally been referred to as an oxygen debt.  From research it seems this hypothesis was first deduced in 1922. They theorized that the body needed to replace the oxygen used by the working muscles during mild to intense bouts of exercise.  However more recently, researchers have used the term EPOC to describe several different events that occur within the body as it returns itself to rest.

As the body starts to restore itself to its pre-exercise state, consuming oxygen at an elevated rate, the rate of energy expenditure is also elevated, meaning calorific burn is also higher.

The following occurs during EPOC:
1) Replenishment of Energy Resources:  Replenishment occurs for the immediate energy source, known as the phosphagen system, which is comprised of creatine phosphate and ATP (adenosine triphosphate).   In addition, lactate which is a molecule that is produced during more intense exercise is being converted to pyruvate for fuel utilization.  The body is also restoring the muscle glycogen that has been used during the exercise session.
2) Re-oxygenation of Blood and Restoration of Circulatory Hormones: During exercise, large amounts of oxygen is utilised to break down food stuffs for energy, therefore the body continues to expend energy after exercise to re-oxygenate the blood.  During the post-exercise period, the body restores the levels of circulatory hormones, which increased during exercise, back to normal levels.
3) Decrease in Body Temperature: As energy substrates are removed from the exercising muscle tissues of the body, heat is produced and the body must expend energy to return to the normal core body temperature.
4) Return to normal Heart and Breathing Rate: Energy expenditure is greatly elevated as the body rapidly returns to a normal Breathing and Heart rate.

Weight Management and EPOC
Due to the body continuing to expend energy after exercise, EPOC has an essential role to play when considering an exercise program devised for weight management or loss. It seems researchers are interested in the effect different forms of exercise have on EPOC.
The evidence suggests that a high-intensity, interval type training session has an increased effect on EPOC.  It also seems to appear from research that resistance or strength based training produces greater EPOC responses than steady state aerobic exercise. The research suggests that high-intensity resistance exercise alters the body’s homeostasis to a greater degree than aerobic exercise.  The result is a greater energy requirement after exercise to restore the body’s systems to normal.

Application of Training:

Irrespective of your type of sport or exercise activity, all participants should utilise high intensity / short duration training as a means of either maintaining weight or as a practical weight loss component.  It would be inappropriate for a beginner to begin such activity but when guided by a fitness professional, research suggests this will have a positive influence upon any individual.

Enjoy your training

Stefan