How Many Calories Can You Continue To Burn After A Workout?

Believe it or not, an effective workout can continue to use calories for a duration of time after your exercise is completed. After you work out, your body must recover and recovery takes energy. Certain factors determine how much and how long these extra calories will continue to be burned.

EPOC

EPOC or excess post-exertional oxygen consumption, refers to the calories your body burns after a bout of exercise. Your body must recover from exercise -- this includes hormonal, blood flow and oxygen recovery. Returning to a state of homeostasis takes energy and energy is provided by calories and oxygen. Therefore, after you've exercised, your oxygen consumption is elevated and so is your caloric burn.

Amount of Calories

There is no absolute number or equation to determine exactly how many calories your will burn in the minutes or hours of EPOC. Instead, your calorie burn is completely determined by the workout as well as your own physiology. The intensity, duration and structure of your workout can affect the amount of calories burned. Your physical make up, meaning how much lean body mass you have may also determine how much you need to recover and how many calories your body will burn in doing so.

Intensity and Duration

The amount of calories you burn after a workout is largely dependent on the intensity and duration of the exercise you participate in. The harder you work during your program, the more your body must recover, resulting in an increased calorie burn. For example, high intensity aerobic exercise or high intensity weightlifting seems to result in the highest post-workout calorie burn. The duration of your workout is also a factor. A high intensity workout done for 40 minutes will take more energy for your body to recover from than a high intensity workout done for 20 minutes.

Structuring Your Program

According to the American Council on Exercise, to optimize your calorie burn during and after exercise, you should perform your aerobic portion before your resistance portion. EPOC adds to the calorie burn of resistance training. It can also increase the duration of EPOC because of the intensity of resistance training. EPOC can last anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours -- so structure your program to get the most out of your post-workout calorie burn.