Today we are going to talk about an exciting topic that is called EPOC.
So, what is excess post exercise oxygen consumption or EPOC?
This is a common phenomenon that occurs in the body wherein whenever we do a certain type of exercise or physical activity, we encourage metabolism in our body.
Whenever we stop doing this exercise the body does not stop the haemoglobin regulation as well as the muscle growth and muscle repair and it takes a certain bit of time for it to come to rest.
This rest can stop within a few hours or can even extend up to 24 hours wherein the body stays in a constant state of repair and muscle cell building, as well as oxidative metabolism and the glycolytic system, stays active.
This is known as excess post oxygen consumption wherein the body continues to stay in a state of excess consumption of oxygen.
Due to this continued state of excess oxygen consumption, various good things happen to our bodies because of the extra oxygen the body is feeding on. This is sometimes also referred to as post exercise oxygen consumption.
Table of Contents
CHANGES TO THE BODY DURING EPOC
When oxygen is being used during the EPOC period, there are a lot of vital changes that take place in the body of a person. The changes may be minor or major.
From the creation of ATP to take the place of and replenish the ATP used up during the exercise session to the transformation or resynthesis of muscle glycogen from lactate.
There are also other important changes that take place like the replacement of oxygenated blood at a faster rate in the myoglobin and other areas.
The most important change that takes place is the important boost the protein gets so that any damaged tissue or muscle can start the repair and recovery process. Oxygen is also known to regulate the temperatures of the body.
HERE ARE THE STEPS TO SEE HOW EPOC WORKS
PRE-WORKOUT
This is probably the most important step of the process of continued metabolism and continued oxygen consumption.
Before you start working out for your EPOC metabolism to take over, you must always remember that the proper warm-up routine is important and should be a part of your exercise plan.
The other various advantages to warming up before you are going to have a high-intensity workout.
You can warm up on simple exercise devices as well as do some other physical activities such as light aerobics.
There is also the other benefit that if you start your exercise routine with warmups then they are few chances that you are going to get in your body is already in motion and can cope with the high-intensity exercise even better.
WORKOUT
Doing the right workout is one of the most important if not the most important steps if you are to experience and achieve the perfect EPOC for your body.
There are various types of exercises that you can rely on and some of them are quite simple to do and can be done by anyone with the bare minimum equipment.
One of the simplest exercises that you can do is cycling and that’s cycling if done in a stationary position can be even better for your metabolism because there is no cooling effect from the wind if you had to ride a bicycle on the road.
Stationary bikes provide a very uniform platform for you to exercise and also help in the gradual increase of oxygen consumption in the body and also a gradual EPOC rise.
You can also opt for other types of exercises that are equally effective such as swimming and rope skipping.
A simple thing you must keep in mind before you start any of these exercises is that you must never take a lot of rest between intervals because that defeats the whole purpose of a high-intensity workout.
Additionally, you can also opt for strength training exercises because they are also an excellent way to increase the blood pressure as well as increase the endurance of your body and this will strengthen your metabolic system including the carbohydrate metabolism of the body.
HERE ARE THE BENEFITS OF EPOC
MORE CALORIE BURN
This is probably one of the most attractive prepositions that EPOC brings to the table.
Imagine you are burning calories even after you have stopped doing the exercise. This is only possible with EPOC because of exercises like HIIT.
There is a catch to this though. In order to experience the full benefits of EPOC you must have a lean body with lean muscles.
SHORTER WORKOUTS
While many of us like to work out for as long as we want, this is not the case with everyone. You might have a busy lifestyle wherein you are not finding the time for a proper workout.
Incorporating and doing HISS and HIIT workouts will be perfect for you. You need not take long exercise hours when you are doing this type of exercise.
This type of workout and this type of research into EPOC was created so that athletes can do more workouts and have better results in the shortest span of time and that is exactly what you will have after you do this type of exercise.
WEIGHT-LOSS
One of the primary reasons why people do not get into this type of exercise is due to their weight.
One of the important reasons why you should get into this type of exercise is also due to your weight because of the level of effectiveness of high-intensity workouts and the resulting benefits of EPOC.
And exercise, like any other thing, can only be endorsed if it is done by the best people in the field and high-intensity workouts that encourage EPOC are done by the best of the best athletes in the world.
If you do want to reap the benefits that these world-class athletes have then you should do high-intensity workouts as well.
This was a blog about EPOC and we hope we did not bore you too much with these scientific details and everything. If you do want to have the effects of a workout long after you have stopped working out then you must read this blog carefully in order to have the same benefits.
If you are someone who is wanting to get the benefits of EPOC and also workout from your home and also learn critical techniques of self-defence then we are here for you. We are Martial Art Extreme (MAE), India’s fastest-growing online fitness training program provider where you can choose between a plethora of programs for all your fitness needs. The fitness programs are easy to follow and will allow you to lose weight and get fit in the safety of your home.
META – Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption or EPOC is the process when the body continues to burn calories and consume oxygen even after the workout session has ended. This technique of fitness is practised by athletes.