EPOC - Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption

Good Afternoon,

Welcome to article number 2! Let’s get right down to it. Fat loss, lean muscle and cardio without muscle wasting! Sound good?? It should! Then remember these four letters EPOC.

Here’s the technical mumbo jumbo:

EPOC = “Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption”

Aerobic Training: is training at a rate where the amount of oxygen you take in, is adequate to supply the muscles and remove the lactic acid that is building up. This type of training can be sustained for longer periods and can lead to some loss of lean muscles mass.

Anaerobic Training: is training where you build up lactic acid faster than your body can take in oxygen and remove it. This type of training is NOT sustained long. It is shorter bursts of activity. This type of training is hard; it is not fun while you are doing it, however in terms of results it cannot be beat.

Now that’s all fine and dandy but Steve what does this mean? It means when you do a HARD resistance training or interval training workout you create a huge metabolic disturbance. A buildup of Hydrogen ions and more importantly Lactate Ions (lactic acid) along with many other reactions create a huge metabolic disturbance in the body.

            The body being a natural marvel always wants to be at a steady metabolic rate. As soon as a bout of exercise is finished it want to get back to pre-exercise levels.

Regular aerobic/endurance steady state cardio does not create a big disturbance. Your body relaxes into the activity which is why you can continue for a prolonged period of time. It will try to find the most energy efficient way to exercise. It returns to steady state rather quickly.

However with the use anaerobic training of HIIT (high intensity interval training) or a serious bout of resistance training the body is not allowed to relax or recover fast enough. This creates a huge metabolic disturbance and causes the post-exercise metabolic rate to stay elevated hours after the workout is finished as it tries to return to pre-exercise levels.

Translation: The majority of fat loss occurs outside the gym. Even in your sleep. Some studies even suggest that the metabolic rate can stay elevated up to 48 hours after intense bouts!! A little hard work really goes a long way.

After a good EPOC training session you should be out of breath, sweating profusely, and a little weak in the legs. EPOC is amazing! But what about the increased production of lactate leading to dramatic increases in Growth Hormone, resulting in further very significant losses of body fat. Not only will you be incinerating all that unwanted fat, but you'll also have the chance to build slabs of muscle on your glutes and hamstrings at the same time. Combine that proper nutrition every 2 hours and it will be hard to keep the weight on!

How to start

- On a piece of cardio equipment start with a 1:3 ratio of work to rest; example if you pick 30 s of hard you need to take 3 times that work time for your rest. Then when you feel comfortable progress to a 1:2 ratio, and then for the advanced try a 1:1 ratio (Extremely Hard).

- For the first 2 weeks try the 1:3 ratio, if that seems to easy move to the 1:2 ratio for a couple weeks until that is comfortable then if you are feeling brave give the 1:1 a try.

- Keep you work period anywhere from 15 seconds to 1 minute of work and the appropriate rest interval.

- On the Rower we like 15 seconds of sprint all out at 30-40 SPM, followed by 45 seconds of
slower pace at 15-20 SPM and repeat for 20-25 minutes. (1:3 ratio)

- On a treadmill 1 minutes of hard running followed by 3 minute of walking and repeat, OR 30 seconds of sprinting and 90 seconds recovery walking. (1:3 ratio)

- Outside Hill sprinting is the best way to go because of the incline of the hill, you will immediately fall into good running form using high knee drive and elbow drive. Most people will automatically fall into this correct running pattern, which is facilitated by the necessity of climbing the hill. Anywhere from 15 to 60 seconds of work with appropriate walking rest ratios will work. Mix it up. HINT HINT!

- On the rower do a 100, 200, or 300 meter sprint and use the time it takes to complete it to determine you rest of slow easy rowing.

Saville’s EPOC Training Keys to Remember:

A. Note: If you are on an extremely low-carbohydrate diet keep the Work intervals to 15 seconds so you do not deplete your muscles glycogen levels too much.

B. Remember at the of each work period you should be dead tired and just about recovered by the time to start again. The goal is to perform as much work as possible in a selected period of time.

C. Avoiding muscle unloading during a set. The rest period should be still movement just slower so you can rest. Try not to stop completely.

D. EPOC training is efficient; it should be finished within 30 minutes including your rest intervals!
So no time excuses!!

It is hard but it is worth it. Remember if it were easy then everyone would do it and would look and feel the way they want to.