10 Tips to Turn on The Afterburn

Jade Teta

You ever notice how when you walk up a flight of steps you always breathe harder after reaching the top? This is a mini-example of what is known in exercise research as excess post exercise oxygen consumption or EPOC. A better term for it is oxygen debt. It is a state of exaggerated respiration that occurs after intense exercise to make up for the deficit of oxygen created during the movement. It turns out certain types of exercise actually generate an after-burn effect that can last up to 48 hours after a workout has ended and this EPOC is a part of that. Usually, discussion about exercise afterburn focus on EPOC. It is part of the afterburn, but probably not the most significant aspect of this afterburn effect. Certain types of exercises and exercise techniques actually help you burn fat not just during the workout but several hours and days later. We call this the metabolic effect and here are 10 easy ways to generate this response in your own workout.

1) Get breathless. Many people avoid pushing themselves too hard during exercise because they have been told they need to stay in an aerobic zone to burn the most fat. But if you want to burn fat after the exercise is over it is best to train until you are completely out of breath and then rest and do it again. This is known as interval training and it dramatically enhances the afterburn.

2) Get Burning. It turns out that when you make the muscles burn through repetitive lifting lactic acid is generated. Rather than being detrimental, it is now understood that lactic acid turns on the production of other hormones like testosterone and human growth hormone that increase muscle building and fat burning respectively and elevate metabolism for days after the workout has stopped.

3) Go heavy. Lifting heavy weights that stress and strain the body is associated with the release of testosterone, which is part of the hormonal after-burn response of an intense workout.

4) Use all your muscles. Single joint exercises that isolate a single body part are out and big, full body movements are in. Compound exercises like squats and deadlifts that work multiple joints and muscles, as well as hybrid exercise that combine upper and lower body movements (like a squat press) are key in generating an after-burn effect.

5) Go above 85-90% of max heart rate then rest. When doing cardiovascular exercise it is best to spike your heart rate and then let it fall back to rest before spiking it again. This is far more effective at generating oxygen debt than other types of exercise where heart rate is sustained for longer periods of time.

6) Avoid simple sugar before you exercise and during exercise. Those who eat sweet foods or sports drinks during or immediately before exercise turn down the afterburn effect from exercise.

7) Avoid alcohol and too much sugar after exercise. A meal with lots of starches and sweets after a workout or over indulging in alcohol will turn off the after-burn effect. A little starch along with protein is a good strategy for recovery, just don't overdo it if you are after fat loss primarily.

8) Train fast and hard. When lifting weight train fast and hard by quickly moving from one exercise to the next pushing yourself to complete fatigue. This forces the body to compensate and set into motion hormonal instructions that will elevate fat burning for hours and even days. A 20-minute workout that pushes the body with short incomplete rest periods will generate more than a 60-minute workout of "paced" exercise.

9) Intermix weight training and cardiovascular exercise. After completing a set of weights don't just rest, but do an intense cardio-burst of activity before going back to complete another set of weights. This back and forth between intense sprint based exercise and weight training was shown in the September 2008 issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research to increase fat burning 10 times over a workout that did the same amount of work but separated rather than combined aerobic and resistance training.

10) Push yourself to rest. Rest-based training allows you to take advantage of the high intensity and high-density workouts that deliver the after-burn. Without taking rest in the workout it would be impossible to push to the point needed to generate the after-burn. Push until you cant and then rest until you can.