The exercise after-burn simply refers to the calories expended after your workout. Scientifically this term is referred to as EPOC, which stands for excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. Once you have completed your exercise session your body is working to get back to it’s pre-exercise state and this requires energy. The intensity and duration of your workout will determines exactly how much energy is expended (after-burn calories) to get your body back in homeostasis. High intensity training has proven to give the most after-burn compared to low or moderate intensity training. Does this mean a beginning exerciser should start with high intensity training? Absolutely not . . . this would be a sure fire way to get injured. A good 4-6 weeks of base conditioning should be established before venturing into the high intensity training realm. There are various options for increasing the intensity of your workouts. When doing cardio exercise instead of the usual 20-30 minute steady state workout on the treadmill, bike, or elliptical try and interval workout. There are hundreds of ways to do interval workouts but for starters you could warm up for 5 minutes and then alternate 1 minute bouts of high intensity with 1 minute bouts of low intensity. Your high intensity exertion should be at least a 7 on an exertion scale of 1-10, and the low intensity should be about a 3 on that scale. Alternate bouts for 20 minutes and follow with a 5 minute cool down. To incorporate high intensity into your resistance training workout you need to lift heavy weight. (after that 4-6 weeks of base conditioning) With your strength training workout you should pick a weight that will cause your muscle to fatigue in the 3-5 rep range, and do 2-3 sets. Another popular method of high intensity training is called “Tabata” training. Dr. Tabata developed this method of high intensity training that is a kick booty workout. You pick 4 exercises that can be done at a rapid pace (not heavy weight) and you do each exercise for 20 seconds followed by a 10 second rest period. The entire workout is 4 minutes. Talk about INTENSE. I like to do a Tabata workout with body weight exercises like body weight squats, push ups, mountain climbers, and pull ups. So, if you’re stuck on a plateau or wanting to kick start your metabolism, bump up your intensity using one of these sure fire methods to increase your after-burn.

Happy New Year and welcome to my blog.  I’m not a big proponent of setting New Year’s resolutions but one of mine is to start blogging.  You see one component of successful goal setting is to share your goal with someone in order to reinforce your commitment.   So there, I’ve done it – now I have to do it.  :)  Seriously though I look forward to sharing tips and strategies that can be easily incorporated into your personal wellness program.  I must warn you that my approach to wellness is far from glamourous.  I won’t be promoting quick fixes or fad diets.  You won’t learn how to get flat abs from reading my blog.  BTW, if you have flat abs I would suggest getting to the emergency room quick as something is medically not right.  (minimally you are malnourished)  I will give you proven methods to change unhealthy behaviors – - – and to achieve lasting results.  Stay tuned for a refreshing, sensible, and fun approach to achieving a healthy body, mind, and spirit.

Cindy and Fannie Mae