Morning exercisers more fit than evening?

skullshank

so wait then....

the days i workout in the evening are negating the days i workout in the morning?

SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish

You could also say its much more likely for stay at home wives, retired, rich, people with more time and executive type job people to work out in the morning than in the evening and maybe income is the primary reason (which strongly correlates with reduction in obesity levels in many studies) .... I find this much more likely, but also lacking any good foundation, however not quite as lacking as your idea. Nope not an attack, just analyzing the misleading unfounded assumption working out in the morning makes you fitter and more committed a bit here for you.

Phoenix_Warrior

so wait then....

the days i workout in the evening are negating the days i workout in the morning?

Add me to that lump. *Hangs head in shame*

perfectflightisbeingthere

Can't comment on others, but if I work out in the mornings then I often have another workout or run in the evening, so overall mornings are a positive, if only I can haul myself out of bed.....

ThickMcRunFast

AglaeaC

Huh *scratches head* I love popular science, it is so amusing.

VeggieKidMandy

My gym routine starts at 5 am, I have to be at work by 9 - and I get out at 6. So For me , to stay truly committed to my goals I workout at the gym in the morning, because usually the crowds are lighter and I can get my weights in and do my morning cardio bust and then when I get home at night I do a yoga .

kelsully

I work much harder in the evening as i am miserable in the morning until I have been up for at least an hour. I refuse to do my workout in the morning when I will hate every second of it. I am pretty fit. It is an individual thing.

It is impossible to make generalizations. That WOULD/COULD (am not making this assercertation FYI) be like saying that the incredibly fit folks I used to see at the gym in the late morning (9am-noon) when I was still a stay at home mom, were more dedicated because they had nothing else to do but workout. I am just as dedicated now that I work out in the afternoon. Whatever...to each their own.

MeanderingMammal

But this past week I had to work out at night and I noticed a huge difference (no pun intended) in the size of the people working out at night. I do Zumba - so I am comparing morning Zumba to night Zumba. It could be isolated- but it was such a striking difference that my jaw dropped.

Lots of people have different influences on when and how they can train. One of the things that I've noticed about this forum is that there aren't many who have long commutes. If you're looking forward to 2 hours door to door to get to work there is much less flexibility.

Subject to the type of exercise one does there are differences in performance as well. I used to cycle 40 miles per day, to and from work. I generally found my early evening time better than my morning time for the distance. I read some stuff recently talking about the time needed to mobilise the joints and muscles after sleep, so slightly increased injury risk and lower effectiveness. Of course that does depend on how early you're talking about. After about an hour the effect of that mobilisation is significantly diminished. The articles concluded that the better exercises for very early sessions tended to be weight training and short duration or moderate CV. Leaving the longer duration or more intense CV for at least 2 hours after waking.

Personally I tend to train mid evening, 1900-2100, on weekdays and mid morning, 0900-1100, at weekends

meganuhl1

I'm a single parent with a full-time job that has mandatory overtime (current work schedule is 6am-4:30pm Mon-Fri and occasional Sat) I get up at 2:30am and walk on my treadmill for an hour while my kids (ages 4 and 2) are still sleeping. I've kept this same exercise time for the last 8 months or so. My evenings are so rushed with not getting home til 5:30 then making dinner, doing dishes, and getting kids bathed and ready for bed by 7:30. I have found if I do wait until after work I will put it off with every excuse just to not be on my feet any longer

KristiRTT

Apparently there was some confusion over my previous post! I simply meant you will see a higher percentage of dedicated fit people in the am than the pm! When I was working out in the gym regularly there were the same group of 15 of us there every morning at the same time! If I happened to go after work it was never the same crowd day to day! If something is important to you, you make it a priority, hence why I run before work! I didn't say that people who workout after work were lazy or unfit! And I take offense to the people putting words in my mouth! In January you will see the gym full of resoultioners at the prime 5-8pm hours, however it's still the same 15 regulars at 5 am!

just_Jennie1

I don't think when you work out is any correlation as to how fat/thin you are.

I make every effort to get up early in the morning to workout. Sometimes I can do it 5 days in a row. Other times I do it 3. Sometimes none. The days that I don't make it early, yes, sometimes work gets in the way and I don't make it but if I know a head of time that I'm not going to be able to make it to the gym (I work for myself from home and sometimes I just can't take the time to get in the car and drive the 25 minutes to the gym) then I make the effort to do something later on in the afternoon/early evening like a DVD or run on the treadmill. Most times I have a specific time that I am going to go to the gym and I make darn sure that I make it.

Cranquistador

NO

Mother_Superior

People who workout at a time that fits their lifestyle the best are more fit than those who try to workout at a specific time thinking it will give them an edge.

I workout on my lunch hour because it is when I can fit it in. If I had to wake up at 4am to workout I would quit after a few days.

NOnono! You can't do that. Morning and evening are the dividing line between dedicated people. You can only choose one of those or you throw the whole thing out of whack! These people have worked hard to corral everyone into comfortable boxes that enable them to relate to the world. You can't take that away from them, unless you're some kinda schadenfreude obsessed sadist.

Now, as to the op, my opinion on the issue...

3dogsrunning

Apparently there was some confusion over my previous post! I simply meant you will see a higher percentage of dedicated fit people in the am than the pm! When I was working out in the gym regularly there were the same group of 15 of us there every morning at the same time! If I happened to go after work it was never the same crowd day to day! If something is important to you, you make it a priority, hence why I run before work! I didn't say that people who workout after work were lazy or unfit! And I take offense to the people putting words in my mouth! In January you will see the gym full of resoultioners at the prime 5-8pm hours, however it's still the same 15 regulars at 5 am!

You say "I didn't say that people who workout after work were lazy or unfit!" but the sentence before that you say "If something is important to you, you make it a priority, hence why I run before work! "
Whether you mean it or not, it does sound like you are implying that those who place a high priority on fitness workout first thing in the day. There are many of us that don't and fitness is still a top priority.

AglaeaC

Kristi, nobody put those words in your mouth but you. A specification was clearly in order, which you did. I hope you see how it was perceived at first.

SunofaBeach14

Ah. Another person desperately trying to prove her dedication by pushing some strange "priority" that doesn't matter. I put this in the same category as "I drink my 8 glasses of water a day" . . .

prattiger65

This is just another knock to my self esteem.........I work out in the middle of the day. I am such a misfit.

HawkeyeTy

I work out at 10pm, after work.


That must be why I am still fat.

KristiRTT

I am not going to comment further aside from the fact that I work all day and had to treat my patients instead of "clarifying" my post! She simply asked if Zumba in the evening was full of less fit people in the evening, and I believe in January especially, you will see more people just starting their exercise and fitness journeys after work hours than before. I never once said that working out in the evenings negated the morning workouts, which people did say that I said!

RECowgill

Yeah but... Zumba.

LiftAllThePizzas

Wow, all the stupidest things I've seen this week ended up in one thread.

b7bbs

There is no difference between exercising in the morning or evening.

I would say its just demographics.

I agree. Exercising is exercising. It has nothing to do with commitment.

PikaKnight

:indifferent:

Crowhorse

By the end of the day, my gym is like a fantasy videogame, where if you want do to a set of squats, you have to go on the epic quest to find the four magical pieces of equipment to bring home and save your village from the deadly curse of No Squats.

So yeah, I like going in the morning.

This made me laugh. :laugh:

Binky_Muffin

I tried workout out in the morning and I can't do it. The only exercise I can do in the morning is either walk or bike to work. It must be a mental thing. I'm ok to workout beginning at 8:30am but that's when I start work. I usually workout at my lunch and maybe after work.

vjohn04

I work out at lunch. Maybe I am wishy-washy with my commitment because of when I work out.

Mainebikerchick

I work out both in the morning AND in the evening.

I take Zumba classes and lift weights.

Commitment doesn't care what time of day it is.

ItsCasey

"The thinking is that they get their exercise in before other time pressures interfere," Bryant says. "I usually exercise at 6 a.m., because no matter how well-intentioned I am, if I don't exercise in the morning, other things will squeeze it out."

If you were truly dedicated, you wouldn't let other "time pressures" interfere with your workouts later in the day, now would you?

kgeyser

I exercise at night because that's the best chance I have of the kids staying asleep so I can complete the whole workout. Early mornings in my house are a crapshoot. I guess I should just leave them to scream in their beds for an hour while I exercise and shower. The neighbors will probably call child services, but I'll just tell the social worker that she would understand if she was super-dedicated and made her health a priority.