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Yeah, I know the standard internet spiel about EPOC. I just think it's broscience and bad advice for the majority of people looking for health and fitness infor

by rdouble 15y ago

Yeah, I know the standard internet spiel about EPOC. I just think it's broscience and bad advice for the majority of people looking for health and fitness information.

dredmorbius 15y ago
Well, there's also an established literature going back a few decades. Rather more than broscience: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=epoc+excess+post+exercise+oxygen+consumption&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=epoc+excess+post+exercis...
- rdouble 15y ago
  If you read those studies, they confirm what I said in my previous post. There is an EPOC effect, but it is minimal compared to doing more exercise. There is also an EPOC effect for cardio, it's just not as pronounced as weight training. (but it's not much less, either, more like 5% less) The bigger issue is there is no way for the casual exerciser to measure EPOC, whereas it's straightforward to measure calorie intake and calorie expenditure. Thus, it's not very useful as a weight loss aid, because you have no idea how much of an afterburn effect really occurs. If you can't measure it yourself, it's effectively broscience, even if there is real science behind the idea.
  - jrockway 15y ago
    I'm going to agree with this. What you can't measure, you can't improve. Sure, there is some EPOC effect, but how am I going to use that to benefit me? How do I know that 30 minutes of intervals + EPOC is better than 4 hours of low-intensity cardio? (I think the answer is, "a lab can measure this for you". But is it worthwhile to pay for this when your body is in a constant state of change and you aren't a professional athlete? )
    - dredmorbius 15y ago
      The benefit, for the trainee looking to improve overall body composition, is that HIIT provides both cardiovascular and EPOC benefits without the concomitant catabolic effects of frequent prolonged aerobic activity. Fat loss is mostly about diet, full stop. If you're doing cardio to burn fat, you're mostly looking in the wrong place. If you want to lose fat, gain muscle, and improve cardiovascular fitness, as well as boost overall metabolism, incorporating HIIT (and benefiting from EPOC) increases both training efficiency and overall body composition, as you'll make faster lean mass gains.

by rdouble 15y ago

Yeah, I know the standard internet spiel about EPOC. I just think it's broscience and bad advice for the majority of people looking for health and fitness information.

dredmorbius 15y ago

Well, there's also an established literature going back a few decades. Rather more than broscience: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=epoc+excess+post+exercise+oxygen+consumption&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=epoc+excess+post+exercis...

rdouble 15y ago
If you read those studies, they confirm what I said in my previous post. There is an EPOC effect, but it is minimal compared to doing more exercise. There is also an EPOC effect for cardio, it's just not as pronounced as weight training. (but it's not much less, either, more like 5% less) The bigger issue is there is no way for the casual exerciser to measure EPOC, whereas it's straightforward to measure calorie intake and calorie expenditure. Thus, it's not very useful as a weight loss aid, because you have no idea how much of an afterburn effect really occurs. If you can't measure it yourself, it's effectively broscience, even if there is real science behind the idea.
- jrockway 15y ago
  I'm going to agree with this. What you can't measure, you can't improve. Sure, there is some EPOC effect, but how am I going to use that to benefit me? How do I know that 30 minutes of intervals + EPOC is better than 4 hours of low-intensity cardio? (I think the answer is, "a lab can measure this for you". But is it worthwhile to pay for this when your body is in a constant state of change and you aren't a professional athlete? )
  - dredmorbius 15y ago
    The benefit, for the trainee looking to improve overall body composition, is that HIIT provides both cardiovascular and EPOC benefits without the concomitant catabolic effects of frequent prolonged aerobic activity. Fat loss is mostly about diet, full stop. If you're doing cardio to burn fat, you're mostly looking in the wrong place. If you want to lose fat, gain muscle, and improve cardiovascular fitness, as well as boost overall metabolism, incorporating HIIT (and benefiting from EPOC) increases both training efficiency and overall body composition, as you'll make faster lean mass gains.