With our busy schedules, it’s hard to find the time to exercise?
The Case for Working Out in the Morning
Logistically, there are many pros to working out in the morning.
First of all, you’ll get your workout done and over with before you even start your day. That means you’ll begin your day with endorphins, and a good feeling knowing you accomplished something before 9 a.m. that some people won’t accomplish all day. And that’s a huge ego boost.
Furthermore, you won’t have to worry about working out later in the afternoon or evening. This can be a relief, leaving time for cooking dinner, socializing with friends, and just plain relaxing.
The Benefits (According to Science!)
Studies support the notion of working out in the morning hours. A study published in evaluated how women responded to food after working out first thing in the morning. When the participants — those of healthy body weights, and those who were obese — walked briskly for 45 minutes, they were less distracted by delicious-looking food photos compared to when they failed to exercise at all.
Building upon this morning activity, on days the participants exercised in the morning, they also increased their physical activity throughout the day more so than days they didn’t exercise in the morning. Additional benefits of hitting the gym in the morning include an increased metabolism, which means you’ll continue to burn calories throughout the day as you consume them rather than at night while you’re sleeping.
Other reasons to work out in the morning? suggest that revving up your fitness regime in the evening could compromise your sleep. Exercise increases your heart rate and body temperature. That means that late night sweat sessions could be hindering your ability to get some shut-eye. have shown that working out at 7 a.m., compared to later in the afternoon or evening, may help individuals get more quality sleep at night.
One more argument making the case for a workout first thing in the morning is that exercising on an empty stomach could burn more fat. Exercisers can burn up to more body fat when hitting the gym with an empty stomach. This is a much more attainable feat in the morning, before breakfast, than after a full day during which you should be eating regularly!
The Case for Sweating in the Afternoon, or Night
While it certainly seems like the morning is an ideal time to work out, fitting in exercise in the afternoon or after hours has its proven perks. Planning on an evening workout may mean you get some extra shuteye in the morning. But there are other benefits, too!
One found that your body’s ability to perform peaks in the afternoon. Your body temperature increases throughout the day, optimizing your muscle function and strength, enzyme activity, and endurance for performance.
Between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., your body temperature is at its highest. This may mean you’ll be exercising during the window of time your body is most ready, potentially making it the most effective time of day to work out.
Additionally, oxygen uptake kinetics are faster in the evening, which means you use your reut in the morning could also require adding an additional warm up to your routine, which could take away from the focus of your workout
The case for working out in the afternoon and evening continues. In the afternoon and evening, your
<p>While some may caution individuals about how working out at night can disrupt your sleep, one
