How Does Exercise Affect Percent Body Fat ?

Calories In Vs. Calories Out

• The underlying reason why body fat percentage goes down is because of weight loss. This can be achieved by burning more calories then consumed every day. In other words, caloric expenditure has to be greater than caloric intake. Any form of daily exercise will increase the caloric expenditure leading to weight loss and a lower body fat percentage.
  

Low and Lean

• Weight training is an effective way to gain muscle mass. Regardless if this gain is lean muscle mass or not, one thing is definitely a fact. Muscle is metabolically active. This means that adding muscle on to the body will also increase metabolism. When metabolism is increased, caloric expenditure is also increased. This causes body fat percentage to go down as well. With that being said, it may not change scale weight at all. In fact, a gain in muscle mass often causes an increase in scale weight. That is why it is a good idea to always get body fat percentage checked, as it is a more accurate assessment to go by.
  

Excess For Less

• Endurance exercise, such as running, causes a lot of caloric expenditure. Depending on the intensity and the grade, it is not uncommon to burn an excess of 1000 calories per hour. It takes 3500 calories to burn one pound of fat. If an exercise routine consists of running 4 times a week, and 1000 calories are burned in each session, then this alone will cause over a pound of weight lost. This will then decrease body fat percentage.
  

Add it All Up

• Short bouts of cumulative exercise throughout the day can also have an impact on body fat percentage. This can be a 30 minute workout in the morning and a 30 minute workout in the evening, or it can be a series of 10 minute bouts of exercise spread throughout the day. It can be as simple as walking or as complex as playing racquetball. Any form of exercise will contribute to excess caloric expenditure causing lower body fat percentage.
  

The Golden Hour

• Exercise performed at high intensities will cause the body to burn more calories while at rest. This is especially true the hour after intense exercise. This is called the EPOC which means Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption. What it means is the body's metabolism is racing the first after intense exercise. Then, the body's metabolism still stays high the 24 hours after the exercise session. This increased resting metabolic rate is a big contributor to weight loss and to lower body fat.