Best Time Of The Day To Work Out?

OBXgirl130

Or does it matter at all?

Discuss!

meritage4

what ever works best in your schedule. Anytime is good for your body.

flabassmcgee

Whenever you can.

AmyRhubarb

No extra benefit to doing it at a certain time of day - as the others have already said, whatever time you can get it done is the best time.

Roxiegirl2008

What ever time you are going to stick with. I hate working out before 7 a.m. I have a full time job which starts at 8:30 a.m. so as you can see that will simply not work for be because I would not (did not) get up in the morning. Evenings are best for me.

mkdm291

The best time of the day is somewhere between 12:00 am and 11:59 pm
Honestly... Whenever you can fit it in.

cwolfman13

why would it matter?

punchgut

If you want to geek out on this stuff, working out first thing in the AM will add to waking cortisol release. Whereas, afternoon/evening lifting benefits the testosterone/cortisol levels allowing for better strength gains. There is some debate about pre-sleep exercise and affects to cortisol and health, but I've never seen anything concrete. In general, cycling, weight lifting and sprinting will be greatest in the afternoon/evening. But the biggest takeaway from research, is irrespective of time of day exercise is neuro-protective and health promoting; and lack of exercise is detrimental. Especially in this sitting world of ours. In the end, the best time of day is the time you'll stick with.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15129828
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9715668
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18608836
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20030545
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20560715

heathbilly

I love mornings.

AllanMisner

It really is a personal choice. I prefer to do cardio in the morning and weights in the early afternoon. But I don’t always get to time things the way I want. I won’t exercise after 5pm, otherwise I’ll be up too late.

Go when it works best for you, monitor your sleep, energy, etc. That should give an idea what rhythm works for you.

OBXgirl130

cwolfman13 wrote: »

why would it matter?

It is believed by some that working out in the morning can benefit you by boosting your metabolism for the day. Not to say that working out at night won't benefit you too. But I want to hear what other people have to say about it. Whether they feel more energized throughout the day after a morning workout or whether it doesn't change anything what time of the day you do it.

glevinso

Wherever it fits. Sometimes that's before work. Sometimes right after. Sometimes the best I can do is go out at lunchtime.

bangbangchoochootrain

I prefer working out in the mornings. Granted, I'm in college so its nice for me to wake up at 7:30, run, shower, eat and be ready for class at 10. This, opposed to the days when I wake up and stay in bed for like, forty-five minutes on my phone and then grab some tea and sprint to class instead.

If I work out in the evenings I just feel tired and sweaty or gross, and then in the middle of the day I have to change my clothes. So mornings for me! Or at least before I do anything else.

OBXgirl130

punchgut wrote: »

If you want to geek out on this stuff, working out first thing in the AM will add to waking cortisol release. Whereas, afternoon/evening lifting benefits the testosterone/cortisol levels allowing for better strength gains. There is some debate about pre-sleep exercise and affects to cortisol and health, but I've never seen anything concrete. In general, cycling, weight lifting and sprinting will be greatest in the afternoon/evening. But the biggest takeaway from research, is irrespective of time of day exercise is neuro-protective and health promoting; and lack of exercise is detrimental. Especially in this sitting world of ours. In the end, the best time of day is the time you'll stick with.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15129828
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9715668
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18608836
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20030545
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20560715

That's interesting! Thank you!

WhatMeRunning

I'm limited to either mornings or evenings, my days are just usually too busy to have a dependable routine added in. I started out doing things in the evening because I hate waking up early, but for several months now have switched to early morning. This allows me to have time to relax and do things during the evenings. I also think I have more energy right when I wake up as opposed to in the evening as well and perform better.

berescga

I prefer mornings. It gets me on the right path for the day, and I get up early enough to start about 5:30am. I was unemployed for a while at the end of last year and early afternoon was ok too. Evenings don't work for me. I feel sluggish and don't sleep as well at night.

My hubby is opposite from me. Hates getting up early to run/work out and has no issues working out at night.

You do you.

redheaddee

The best time to work out is the time that you will ACTUALLY work out.

Early mornings will NEVER work for me. I have tried. Ain't happening.

After work though..every day if I could. No problemo.

Do what works.

vixtris

I don't think it really matters when you do it, as long as you have the energy to. but for me, I work out in the morning a little after breakfast. I don't like exercising after lunch/dinner because I don't want to upset my stomach, anc my breakfast is usually pretty light so it doesn't make me sick when I'm moving a lot afterwards.

callsitlikeiseeit

i PREFER first thing in the morning (and by that i mean anywhere from 7-8). i dont like the weekday crowd then, though so usually go mid morning (10ish) or in the afternoon with my neighbor (around 3). both those times are relatively quiet.

cwolfman13

OBXgirl130 wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

why would it matter?

It is believed by some that working out in the morning can benefit you by boosting your metabolism for the day. Not to say that working out at night won't benefit you too. But I want to hear what other people have to say about it. Whether they feel more energized throughout the day after a morning workout or whether it doesn't change anything what time of the day you do it.

In RE to cardio, you get very minimal boost to your metabolism after you've completed your workout. The boost you get from lifting is greater as your body is broken down significantly more and needs to be repair...but people overstate this more often then not and act like they're burning a gazillion more calories per day than they would otherwise.

In RE to energy, yes...I usually feel more energized after a good workout. If I could, I would workout in the AM, but I'm up early as it is and have an hour plus commute to work. I do like to ride at lunch because it's a great way to break up the day and I feel more energized in the afternoon when everyone else is crashing. I lift 2x weekly in the evening and 1x weekly on Saturday morning. I also like to do an early morning ride on Sundays.

Really, it's all about when you can do it and just training in such a way that you are meeting your fitness goals...things like "boosting metabolism" and whatnot are so insignificant as to be largely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. These type of things are often referred to as "majoring in the minors."

Hellbent_Heidi

It doesn't matter. What matters is finding a time you can get there, and preferably make a reguluar habit/routine of getting there. I prefer early in the morning, but its not for everyone, and trying to force yourself to go at a time that you aren't able to maintain will get you nowhere in the end.

snowflake930

I prefer first thing in the morning to get it out of the way.

Whatever works best for you.

DjinnMarie

I prefer to workout in the morning. When I'm forced to workout at the end of the day my lifts suffer.

9Rounder

I'd prefer to work out in the morning, but I have a full time job that starts at 7:30am, and 2 kids to get up and on the bus before I leave, so that's not happening. Plus my gym doesn't open until 9am. So I work out right after work before I get the bright idea to sit on the couch "just for a minute" which turns into the entire night. The same people go to my gym at the same time, so I feel like there's a fun group to work out with, which gets me there. I work out on Saturday mornings, but around 4:45-5:30 the rest of the week days. Works for me and I'm consistently exercising, which is important.

tomatoey

For me: a few hours after waking, or early afternoon. I feel most energized and least clutzy then. Or evenings, 6-9. I'm a night owl.

wellthenwhat

I prefer evenings. My mornings are reserved for practicing piano, and I HATE getting up in the morning with a purple passion, so exercising then would be torture. If I exercise about 2 hours before bed, it makes me tired, and going to bed after exercise and a shower is so relaxing.

kristinegift

If I can workout in the morning, I will, because it's nice to have it done, but I find it very hard to get myself motivated in the morning (unless it's summer; in the summer I'll go and run at 5 am, but in March? No way!). I tend to workout in the afternoon between 12 and 6, depending on my schedule (hooray for grad student schedules!). If I'm going to the gym, I go between 12:30 and 3 pm because that's when it's the least crowded.

AushaDahh

I think I'm the only one who prefers to work out before I head to bed... but I dont really think it matters.
But honestly working out helps me sleep alot better!! So it just helps(: