Can afterburn help you burn more calories after exercise?

“Following the workout, as your body recovers, your metabolism stays elevated so you’re continuing to burn more calories and more fat hours after the workout is over,” says the video at OrangetheoryFitness.com, an exercise program designed to boost “afterburn.” “Exercising at a high intensity or for a prolonged period of time at a moderate intensity can increase afterburn,” says Jenna Gillen, assistant professor of kinesiology and physical education at the University of Toronto. “But intensity has the most impact.” Still, that impact is modest. For example, when men exercised for 80 minutes, afterburn was roughly twice as high when they switched from a lower to a higher intensity. But afterburn accounted for only about 6 percent of the total calories burned during and after the hardest workout.