Running ABC's - E is for EPOC

Continuing with our series of Running ABC's, today we have the letter E, which stands for EPOC.

EPOC stands for Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption and is also known as oxygen debt. It is the amount of oxygen required to restore your body to its normal resting metabolic state, also known as homeostasis.

It also explains how your body can continue to burn calories after you have finished your workout.

After some workouts, specifically after long and intense workouts, you continue to use oxygen and burn calories due to your body needing to recover in an aerobic process. The increased oxygen consumption following this workout for your body to recover was then labeled EPOC.

This is where a lot of discussion has come into play stating that HIIT workouts will burn more calories than a steady state workout with some research showing that EPOC is higher.

You need to remember that EPOC will only last a few hours after your workout depending on how intense the workout was and there is some discussion that the benefits of EPOC is highly over exaggerated. This centres around the fact that the type and intensity of exercise required to create a prolonged EPOC are something that non athletic individuals will be able to handle.

I think with any exercise, there is no point looking for a magic pill or training session. Best results will always be achieved by consistent and varied training, especially when it comes to improving athletic performance.

If you missed my earlier posts, you can see them at the following link:
https://steemit.com/running/@run.vince.run/the-abc-s-of-running-the-letter-a
https://steemit.com/health/@run.vince.run/running-abc-s-b-is-for-bq
https://steemit.com/running/@run.vince.run/the-running-abc-s-c-is-for
https://steemit.com/running/@run.vince.run/d-is-for-doms-in-the-running-abc-s

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