Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) is a measurably increased rate of oxygen intake following strenuous activity.

The extra oxygen is used in the processes that restore the body to a resting state and adapt it to the exercise just performed. These include:

• hormone balancing
• replenishment of fuel stores
• cellular repair
• innervation
• anabolism

EPOC is accompanied by an elevated consumption of fuel, including fat.

Experiments have shown EPOC increasing metabolic rate to an excess level that decays to 13% 3 hours after exercise, and 4% after 16 hours.

Experiments also show that anaerobic exercise increases EPOC more than aerobic exercise does. For exercise regimens of comparable duration and intensity, aerobic exercise burns more calories during the exercise itself [1], but the difference is partly offset by the higher increase in caloric expenditure that occurs during the EPOC phase after anaerobic exercise. Anaerobic exercise was also found in one study to result in greater loss of subcutaneous fat, even though the subjects expended fewer than half as many calories during exercise.[2] Whether this result was caused by the EPOC effect has not been established.

"In summary, EPOC resulting from a single resistance exercise session does not represent a great impact on energy balance; however, its cumulative effect may be relevant." ²

Reference

• Hill, A. V., Long, C. N. H. and Lupton, H. (1924). Muscular exercise, lactic acid, and the supply and utilization of oxygen. I–III. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 96,438-475.

External links

1. Resistance Training and EPOC
2. Acute effects of resistance exercise on energy expenditure