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The Afterburn Effect: Is It Real
You read the headlines, like “interval training has an afterburn effect, so after you finish your workout, you’re still burning calories.” Or you’ve heard a personal trainer at your gym maybe say the same thing. And exercise programs have even come out over the last 20 years, with interval training as the centrepiece of the entire program.
So in this article, we’ll cover:
- A definition of the afterburn effect
- Whether it happens or not
- Real-life considerations
What this article will not cover is the debate between interval training and steady state (continuous) training. I covered that in this article.
WHAT IS THE AFTERBURN EFFECT
The afterburn effect is the idea that you continue burning calories even after your workout is finished. However, for the afterburn effect to occur, the exercise must be of a sufficient intensity. In other words, just going for a walk doesn’t cut it. The scientific term for the afterburn effect is Excess Postexercise Oxygen Consumption (or EPOC).
The theory goes that by creating a “metabolic disturbance” (doesn’t that term sound great?) through sufficiently intense exercise, you create enough microtrauma to the body that it elevates the metabolism for hours (and some…
