Wednesday, August 30, 2006

CALORIE BURN OUT

So yesterday I put the EPOC theory to the test.

First I got on the StairMaster machine. It's like walking up stairs. After about 5 minutes my heart rate was in the 150 beats per minute. I wanted to stop (jelly legs, short of breath) but carried on for 20 minutes. My heart rate rose to the late 150s-165 range. It was really hard. I burned 330 calories in 20 minutes.

Then I did 20 minutes walking on the treadmill. Not uphill. Just flat. 6 kilometres per hour - quite a good steady pace. My heart rate levelled out at around 125. I could sing and carry on a conversation but breathed a bit heavier and could feel my heart elevated a bit. It was pretty easy. I burned 130 calories in 20 minutes.

So therein lies the crux of the EPOC theory. Work hard. Burn more calories. Raise your metabolism for longer.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

my try that at teh gym next Monday!!!

Unknown said...

We have a 10 week challenge starting next week just for walking but the local gym has a plan to concide with this so tell me how intensive was the exercise programe and eating. Trying to work out whether I can fit this in and would be interested in your thoughts.

Anonymous said...

great work! I love cardio work-outs ... like you say, the metabolic effects last longer than the duration of the work-out ..

Michelle said...

Holy moly!! I'm feeling exhausted reading your workout! Thats awesome