Does it matter WHEN you workout?

girlalmighty08

Does it matter what time of day you get your workout in? I eat a calorie controlled diet, but sometimes I can't get to the gym until after dinner at about 7/7:30PM (I don't like eating too late, I sleep crappy). I just want to make sure I'm not decreasing the efficiency of my burn my working out in the late evening.

malibu927

Nope, it's personal preference. Some do better at 5 in the morning, some can't fit it in until late at night.

tomatoey

Doesn't matter for weight loss; might impact your sleep. (But I don't consider 7:30 late )

senecarr

Consistency trumps any minor effects of timing, so go with whatever time makes you go.

ncboiler89

Your body knows no time when it comes to CICO

3dogsrunning

senecarr wrote: »

Consistency trumps any minor effects of timing, so go with whatever time makes you go.

This.

professionalHobbyist

It can

If your goal is to get your body better at burning fat as fuel, if you can fast for 12 hours and do some fairly intense cardio it prompts the mitochondria in your muscles to source fat for fuel.

80% HRM for 15 or more minutes 3x a week

You can do this long term and your body will increase mitochondrial capacity, fat burning efficiency.

You can google the practice and how your muscles are fueled.

There will be hundreds of Google hits.

https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/Mitochondria.pdf

Phd paper, short. Explains how it is the energy factory for a basic understanding

Kalikel

I don't know. I do know that I can't swim late if I want to sleep. I can do aerobic stuff - dancing, running, etc, but if I swim late, I won't be sleeping.

Most of my exercise is done in the pool and since we have a ton of lightning storms here (just today a house not 100 yards from me got hit and the 7/11 got hit for the second time in four days), my outdoor activity is ruled by Mother Nature, so it varies and doesn't seem to do me any harm.

tomatoey

Yeah, one point on sleep and exercise: the last research I read said that any exercise tended to help improve sleep, over time, and also that both sleep-normal people and insomniacs had different responses to different times in the short term. They did think that vigorous exercise close to bedtime was a bad idea.

For me, an easy evening swim usually tends to help knock me out, but the only way to figure it out is to try different times and see what happens. I like late afternoon/early evening for vigorous workouts (re sleep).

Liftng4Lis

Nope

ibnfaqir

I try to workout exactly at 2:30 am 5 days a week. So yes it does matter.

Mini_Medic

I workout at crazy times because my work schedule is insane. Sometimes I run at 9 am or 8pm, sometimes I hit the gym at 5am. I don't think it effects anything worth worrying about. Do what feels best and fits in your schedule. I also have trouble sleeping if I exercise within 3-4 hours of bedtime, that's the only difference I notice.

whatatime2befit

Getting your workouts in is what's important, timing not so much. I tend to work out at night when my kids go to bed, so i often don't get back from the gym until after midnight. That works for me.

senecarr

professionalHobbyist wrote: »

It can

If your goal is to get your body better at burning fat as fuel, if you can fast for 12 hours and do some fairly intense cardio it prompts the mitochondria in your muscles to source fat for fuel.

80% HRM for 15 or more minutes 3x a week

You can do this long term and your body will increase mitochondrial capacity, fat burning efficiency.

You can google the practice and how your muscles are fueled.

There will be hundreds of Google hits.

https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/Mitochondria.pdf

Phd paper, short. Explains how it is the energy factory for a basic understanding

Your body is constantly using all the macros, you can't truly burn more fat by being fasted.

GauchoMark

senecarr wrote: »

professionalHobbyist wrote: »

It can

If your goal is to get your body better at burning fat as fuel, if you can fast for 12 hours and do some fairly intense cardio it prompts the mitochondria in your muscles to source fat for fuel.

80% HRM for 15 or more minutes 3x a week

You can do this long term and your body will increase mitochondrial capacity, fat burning efficiency.

You can google the practice and how your muscles are fueled.

There will be hundreds of Google hits.

https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/Mitochondria.pdf

Phd paper, short. Explains how it is the energy factory for a basic understanding

Your body is constantly using all the macros, you can't truly burn more fat by being fasted.

splitting hairs here, because it matters not unless you are <~12%bf and over the long term you are correct, but fasted cardio has been shown to be able to effectively mobilize fat deposits that are difficult to mobilize. Then as you start eating again, the excess energy is restored as fat, but typically in less difficult to mobilize "short term storage" fat deposits. These deposits are easier to mobilize with a simple caloric deficit.

So, you are both kind of correct.

azulvioleta6

7:30 is not late. It's 9:10 where I am now--just walked home from the gym, haven't had dinner yet.

ohgeeque

I run, take a shower, read the MFP message boards, stretch, then go to bed. I might exercise during the day but I can always squeeze it in at night. I sleep like a log. Everyone is different. What works for you is the best for you.

KateSimpson17

The only way in which it matters is when you feel you can put the most into it. I used to love getting in my cardio in the early mornings before breakfast and doing strength training in the evenings after dinner when I was in school because that's when I felt I had the most energy for each of those things (cardio is good to do on an empty stomach, but strength training should be done after eating). Now I do cardio and body weight workouts after getting home from work and taking a nap because that's when I have the most time and energy combined.

If you get home from school/work and are sluggish and don't have a ton of energy to put into a workout you're not going to work out as hard as you would if you worked out (for example) over a lunch break when you have a lot of energy, so you're not going to burn as many calories.

azulvioleta6

Hmmm...feeling sluggish after work is the REASON to go to the gym then.

Seriously, do what works for you. Picking a time that you are able to stick with and make into a habit is the key.