Burn your calories with these breathing techniques

By increasing the amount of oxygen you use during exercise, you will continue to burn calories after training. After exercise, your body consumes more oxygen in order to return to its pre-exercise state. This Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) causes a spike in your metabolism and can elevate your calorie burning for up to 48 hours. For every litre of oxygen consumed, 5 calories are burnt. Sports Medicine studies show EPOC lasts from 15 minutes to 48 hours, depending on the individual.

If you’re after muscle

Total calories burnt: 1,035

What to do? Do this full-body strength workout to bulk up while getting lean. Rest for 1 to 2 minutes between sets and do the reps at 80 to 90 per cent of the maximum you can lift. Take 1 second to raise the weight and 2 seconds to lower it.

Calories burnt during exercise: 240

Why it works? A study in the Journal of Applied Sport Science Research showed heavy resistance training produced the greatest EPOC (10.6 litres, 53 calories per minute) compared with circuit training (10.2 litres, 51 calories per minute) and cycling (6.7 litres, 33.5 calories per minute). Heavy lifting inflicts more damage to your muscle fibres so they require more oxygen and energy to repair. This makes you burn more calories after training than during.

Calories burnt after training: 795

If you have lots of time

Total calories burnt: 913

What to do? If you are able to train in the morning and again later in the day, then this workout will yield phenomenal fat-burning results. So before work attempt to run, cycle or row for 25 minutes at 75 per cent of your maximum effort, then after work repeat the same workout.

Calories burnt during exercise: 680

Why it works? Breaking up your training sessions drastically elevates your EPOC. A study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine had participants run two 25-minute sessions at 75 per cent of their maximum effort. They then got the same group to run for 50 minutes continuously at 75 per cent of their max. The EPOC values for the split sessions were combined and averaged 3.1 litres (15.5 calories per minute) versus 1.4 litres (7 calories per minute) for the continuous exercise bout.

Calories burnt 15 mins after training: 233

If you’re time poor

Total calories burnt: 961

What to do? Run as fast as your can for 1 minute and then rest for 30 seconds. Repeat this 20 times. You can do this on the treadmill or out on the road during your normal run.

Calories burnt during exercise: 436

Why it works? You probably know that intervals burn more fat but short running bursts at 100 per cent effort will also carry this on long after training. Research in the Journal of Sports Sciences had a study group run for 30 minutes at 70 per cent of their maximum effort. They then got a different group to run 20 intervals of 1 minute each at 100 per cent of their maximum effort, resting 30 seconds between each bout. The men who ran the intervals inhaled approximately 8 litres more oxygen and as a result, burnt an extra 35 calories per minute after exercise than those who exercised at a steady rate for 30 minutes.

Calories burnt 15 mins after training: 525