Is calorie afterburn an actual thing?

veves17

I’m wondering if I should include the calorie afterburn in my diary or not. I ask because idk if it’s just a marketing tool that fitness centers use or if it’s an actual thing. For ex, according to my Hotworx app, I burned 320 calories during my workout and 220 calories post workout or afterburn. 220 calories in an hr just resting doesn’t seem realistic at all. So should I disregard the afterburn calorie count completely?

Djproulx

I'm not familiar with the Hotworx app. With that said, I would be hesitant to add in any post workout calorie burn to my daily calorie calculations. Without an actual measurement device, such as a power meter on the bike, I'm not comfortable with the highly variable estimates of the software tools.

sijomial

EPOC is a real thing but your numbers are extraordinary!

What was your workout?
How is your app estimating calories from the workout and post exercise?

Here's an excerpt that might give you an idea of the general insignicance of EPOC....

"In one study, subjects who exercised for 80 minutes at 70% VO2 max (about 80% of maximum heart rate) had an EPOC lasting 7 hours. But it only amounted to about 80 calories extra burned. Not to mention that only the most well trained individuals could sustain such a workload in the first place. As well, this still represented a rather small proportion of the total calorie burn from the exercise bout itself. That is, most of the calories burned were from the 80 minutes of exercise, the small EPOC only added a bit to that. Yeah, every little bit helps but which is going to contribute more to fat loss: the 700-800 calories burned during the exercise bout itself or the 80 calories burned afterwards?"

And....

"Let’s put this into real-world perspective. In one study, subjects ran 20X1 minute intervals above VO2 max with a 2′ rest between. While the EPOC was about double that found in subjects who performed 30′ at 70% Vo2 max, the total EPOC was only about 32 calories (135 kJ). This is less than the calories found in about half an apple. You’ll be ripped in about 15 years at that rate."

From https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/epoc-after-exercise

spiriteagle99

I wouldn't include them in your exercise diary. If you do get any afterburn, just look on it as bonus calories that will allow you to lose weight a little faster or maintain it a little more easily.

AnnPT77

This Hotworkx?

HOTWORX is a virtually instructed exercise program created for users to experience the many benefits of infrared heat absorption, while completing a 30-minute Isometric workout or 15-minute High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) session. As the infrared heat penetrates your body causing you to sweat, the isometric postures further accelerate detoxification by physically removing the toxins from your organs through muscle contraction.

Our patented sauna combines heat, infrared, and exercise– what we like to call “3D Training”– and makes HOTWORX a workout unlike any other fitness program available!

If it's that, honestly that sounds like the woo-iest of marketing woo. Detoxification? Yeah, no. And sure, heat is going to increase heart rate, but the increase in calorie burn is not commensurate. (Calorie-burning raises heart rate by increasing oxygen demand - literally requires oxygen as part of the energy production/consumption process. Heat increases heart rate by increasing body temperature, triggering the body to want to lower body temperature, and running blood through the pipes faster helps with that - it doesn't hugely increase calorie burn, no matter what a heart rate based calorie estimate may suggest.

The stuff sijomial said about EPOC/afterburn are the key facts about that part.

NorthCascades

Yes, it's a real concept. No, what you're being told isn't true at all.

BrianSharpe

Google "EPOC overrated?" Don't log it .....

happysquidmuffin

Nope, nopity nope nope. Marketing hooey for sure. If you want to get a good idea of your active vs resting calories, get an Apple Watch & use the Apple Health app. But I'm just saying that bc I've had one for 4+ years now, and I find it pretty accurate and helpful for my slow, steady weight loss, monitoring me steps, exercise minutes, etc. I'm sure there are non-Apple products that do the same thing.