The Bicycling

For most of us, shedding those last ten pounds doesn’t mean riding more. It means riding smarter. The secret is EPOC. Though it sounds like something the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency might ban, EPOC is a biological process known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption or, more plainly, the number of calories your body burns after you’ve racked the bike. The higher your afterburn, the more fat you fry.

“A variety of workouts infused with high intensity is the key to enhancing EPOC,” says exercise physiologist Len Kravitz, PhD, of the University of New Mexico. The harder your body needs to work to replenish oxygen stores, repair muscles and remove metabolic waste, the more post-ride calories you burn

Want to crush your buddies in the group ride? Or blister the competition in a local crit, road race, or even triathlon? Train like a time-trialist. To master the discipline, you need to spend most of your interval time at an intensity near your lactate threshold, that burn point at which your muscles accumulate lactic acid faster than your body can fl ush it. The benefi t of pedaling at this uncomfortable pace is that you edge your threshold higher, which enables you to ride harder and longer while feeling great—any day, any time. Plan Tip: During the rest period between intervals, keep a high cadence (80–100), with little or no resistance.

Try these techniques on your next ride.

SIT AND SPIN—MOST OF THE TIME. Sitting and spinning an easy gear is the most efficient way to climb. Standing puts more weight on your leg muscles—they work harder, and you use 10 percent more energy and increase your heart rate by 5 to 10 percent