How To Lose Weight: Epoc And BMR

Hey, today I'll be talking about EPOC, i.e. Excess post exercise oxygen consumption or the afterburn effect and BMR i.e. basal metabolic rate.

EPOC refers to the extra calories required to be burned by the body, even when there is no apparent physical activity. This happens because the muscles have been broken down i.e. there is micro trauma caused to the muscles because of weight training. This in turn increases one's BMR. This means that a person who exercises regulary, burns more calories even when he/she is at rest as compared to a non-exercising person.

BMR is an accruing quantity. When one exercises regularly, it goes on increasing steadily and if one stops exercising, it decrease. So to maintain a good level of BMR so that there is no fat gain, one must exercise regularly with weights. Remember that is does not accrue if you do just cardio.

Some factors on which EPOC depends and which indirectly or directly affect BMR are:

1. Intensity of exercise : Hight intensity of weight training means that you are lifting weights in a 8 -10 rep max level. "Rep max" means that after those many reps you can not lift that weight again and you have to take rest. Increase in the number of reps does no good. It will not hypertrophy your muscle. So an 8 - 10 rep max set is good for an intremediate level trainer. If with a particular weight you can do more than 10 reps then its time to increase the weight. Professional athletes train at a level of 3 -4 rep max a set.

2. Area of damage: The greater the are of damage, the more is the EPOC. This means that if you exercise the legs, you will get a greater EPOC count as compared to any other muscle. This is because the legs are the largest muscle group in the body. This is why it is said that if you have time to exercise only one muscle in the week, they better be legs. So the number one muscles in area are legs, then come the back muscles and then the chest muscles. Shoulders and biceps are comparatively smaller.

Increase BMR from a greater EPOC results in greater fatburn. Fat burns in the body when it's in an aerobic state. And as we all know an average person does a maximum of an hour of exercise per day. That means he is in an aerobic state the rest of the day. If he has a high BMR, he will burn fat while in that state and thus weight training is very essential. Excess cardio not only burns fat but muscle too. That is why the long distance runners are so thin. Thus to maintain a good BMR, exercise well, do all forms of exercise, eat well and sleep well. And you'll c results in no time.

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