The Wikipedia definition of EPOC : “Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) is a measurably increased rate of oxygen intake following strenuous activity.”
Anaerobic exercise increases EPOC more than aerobic exercise does. Resistance exercise (strength training) is primarily anaerobic. Circuit resistance training produces the largest EPOC response.
When I first began lifting weights I worked out every other day - Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday - repeat - and I never miss
ed for five straight months. The sessions were with a personal trainer, and accurate records were kept.
Soon my progress stopped. I was particularly stuck with bicep curls just barely achieving eight reps each time for five months. Twice during that time I got nine reps on that one exercise; I likened it to a religious experience – achieving beyond the realm of normal. The workouts during this time were grueling, as I was hell bent on breaking through a plateau.
I went home for Christmas. It had been more than a week since my last workout when I found a health club with the very same line of equipment I had been using. I thought surely I would be weaker. I was shocked to find that I was stronger. On the bicep curls I got eleven reps, not the usual eight. I had no explanation for it.
A study designed to 
test the efficacy of exercise in lowering metabolic risk factors consisted of three groups. One group used a less-intense regimen called “moderate continuous-training” (CME). Another group did not exercise, and the third group used a high-intensity aerobic-interval training for four months.
From this article High-intensity exercise better at improving metabolic syndrome risk factors the results:
“• Short bursts of high-intensity exercise, rather than longer spells of moderate-intensity, exercise may improve the health of people with metabolic syndrome.
Is strength training safe for cardiovascular health and is it healthy? You might be surprised by the results of one study. From this study, Strength Training Early After Myocardial Infarction, comes this quote:
“For the three treatment groups, 30 of 42 subjects had one or more cardiovascular complication (arrhythmias, angina, ischemia, hypertension, hypotension) during the aerobic exercises as comp
ared to only 1 subject with complications during the resistive exercises.”
An interesting result that speaks for itself - 30 complications for aerobic rehab versus one for resistance exercise rehab.
Another quote from the study:
Our bodies undergo many changes that can be reversed with proper strength training. Wearing glasses, dying one’s hair, or applying creams for age marks have their place, but nothing compares to the long list of benefits from high intensity interval training for strength:
1. Base Metabolic Rate (metabolism) decreases. Those who are stronger can have the metabolism they had when they were twenty years younger. More muscle requires more calories.
Every January health clubs are crowded for what I call the two week resolution. By the end of the month the crowds are gone. The only thing that remains constant and enduring is the mandatory monthly payment for a gym membership not used. You go there to lose weight, and the only thing lighter is your wallet.
Seven out of 10 American adults don't exercise regularly despite the proven health benefits, a study released Sunday says - Study: Most Americans don't exercise regularly. That sounds about right. The renewal
rate for health club membership is 30 percent. Of those that rejoin a small minority use the club on a regular basis.
Strength training can have a positive role in fat loss. If one goes on a diet with significant caloric restriction the body's response of self preservation is accomplished by lowering it basal metabolic rate. The body does this by catabolizing lean body mass. The weight loss will be both fat and muscle. If one strength trains the body receives the message that lean body tissue is vital to survive the demands placed on it. Rather than losing lean body mass the body preserves it and adds to it.
From Men's Health magazine article 5 Reasons You're Not Losing Weight:
In a recent study 16 young men performed 2 weeks of supervised high intensity training (HIT) comprising of a total of 15 min of exercise (6 sessions; 4–6 × 30-s cycle sprints per session). The subject performed about 250 kcal of work each week compared with the 2000 to 3000 kcal
a week consumed during a typical aerobic training program. The results were surprising.
The conclusion from this study, High-intensity resistance training improves glycemic control in older patients with type 2 diabetes.:
A May 3, 2007 New York Times article, A Healthy Mix of Rest and Motion, suggests that for at least one workout a week it pays to alternate short bursts of high-intensity exercise with easy-does-it recovery. This type of high intensity interval training comes in many forms.
