27% decrease in body fat after increasing anaerobic training

As part of their off-season training program, athletes cut back on their aerobic activity and increased their anaerobic activity to see if there would be a significant change in body fat. They eliminated stationary bike rides and increased sprints, medicine ball throws, Olympic lifts, squats, and bench press. The result1: they reduced their body fat 27% over three years. 

It helped that the subjects were possibly uniquely suited for this change to anaerobic exercise. The subjects were professional hockey players – the best of the best in a sport that requires extraordinary anaerobic effort. The average shift in a hockey game is 45 seconds of all-out anaerobic exertion.   

For non-elite athletes anaerobic exercise is still an effective compliment to diet for losing fat. After aerobic exercise your body’s resting metabolic rate returns to baseline in short order.  Anaerobic exercise, on the other hand, will result in a raised metabolism for at least 21 hours after the exercise session is over.  

With persistent daily aerobic exercise your body will lower its resting metabolism; it is the body’s biological imperative to preserve its energy stores (fat). In contrast, anaerobic exercise (strength training) will make you stronger, and a stronger more muscular body will burn more calories even at rest.  

At our Austin Personal Training and New Orleans Fitness Training locations we offer high intensity training to increase strength, muscle and metabolism. While exercise can help, it is important to note that only with changes in eating habits  can you lose fat and keep it off.

Study finds elevated metabolism 21 hours after exercise session with certain types of exercise

You can maintain an elevated metabolism long after your exercise session is over – even into the next day – with certain types of exercise.  After exercising it takes a period of time for your resting metabolism to return to normal. The type of exercise you do is a determining factor in how long your metabolism will remain elevated.  

In an exercise study, ten young men performed three different exercise routines one week apart. Each session burned the same number of calories.  The first week was resistance training, the next week was steady-state aerobic exercise, and the last week was high-intensity intermittent aerobic training.

The subjects’ resting metabolic rate (RMR) was measured at 12 hours and 21 hours after each session.  The results from the study1:

“The steady-state trial did not influence RMR at either 12 hour or 21 hour post-exercise.  Both resistance training and intermittent aerobic training increased excess post exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) to a greater degree than did steady-state work, indicating that either mode may be more effective at increasing total daily caloric expenditure than steady-state aerobic exercise.”

The study reported that resistance training produced more EPOC than the other two modes of exercise at both the 12 hour and 21 hour mark.  The type of resistance training is also a factor.  High intensity resistance training (HIT) produces more EPOC than any other form of resistance training.  HIT is what we do at our Austin Strength Training and New Orleans Strength Training facilities. 

 The study demonstrates that in the short-run resistance training can temporarily raise your metabolism up to 21 hours after your workout.  In the long-run as you become stronger your body will have a permanently higher RMR. While a higher metabolism helps, it is important to note that studies show that exercising is not the key to weight loss.  Eating less is.