Is calorie afterburn an actual thing?

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veves17
veves17 Posts: 1 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
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?

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  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
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    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.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,677 Member
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    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
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,147 Member
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    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
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    Yes, it's a real concept. No, what you're being told isn't true at all.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,249 Member
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    Google "EPOC overrated?" Don't log it .....
  • happysquidmuffin
    happysquidmuffin Posts: 651 Member
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    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.

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