Change in workout

aerobicgirl

I thought i change my work out a little bit and start working out in the am and not right before bed. Does that make a difference? i guess what i am trying to ask is does it take a different affect on your body and help you lose a little differently? I hope you understand what i am asking.

joegeiselman

it really doesnt matter what time of day you do your exercise. Some people have personal preferences, but its not like your going to burn more calories before noon or anything.

That being said, if you are weight lifting, you want to have something to eat 30min to an hour before hand so you have the energy to get through your workout and if you are doing cardio, its not a bad idea to do it with an empty stomach. Your body will burn energy from the food you eat before it starts working on its stores (i.e. fat - if you are doing low intensity).

In the past, I had done my cardio first thing in the morning and weight training about an hour after lunch, which IMO was perfect for me. It doesnt fit into my daily schedule anymore, so I compensate by doing my cardio directly after my workout.

aerobicgirl

Thats for the post. i really wasn't talking about burning more calories in the am or pm. The thing i was asking was since i am so used to working out in the p.m. would it "shock" my body to switching to the am and getting me out of the plateu i am stuck in. but i just started working out in the am these past two days and so far i feel my workout is more effective in the pm. I can not workout on an emply stomach. ihave no energy at all. or because i am just not used to it. but thanks anyway.

joegeiselman

changing your workout time wont shock your system in the same manner that changing your workout will. Any changes or differences are going to be all mental or personal preference.

irridia

If you are stuck on a plateau, try HIIT = high intensity interval training. It has been shown especially helpful for women and those w/deep visceral fat. also the 5x5 progressive resistance weight training.

In swimming season, I would swim until I couldn't breathe, then back stroke until I could breathe easy and then do it again, utilizing various strokes. I generally did that for an hour and then hit the hottub for stretching. I lost about 10 - 15 lbs over the summer. In swimming I get resistance as well, so there was really no reason to do weights as well esp since i was going 7 days a week for the most part.

I was just walking for 30 min when the weather turned, but I have started doing interval train either by running as hard as i can or running or walking up stairs finishing by going up 2 at a time and walking between so I can catch my breath. Then I added 5x5 weights, still really minimal on weight and sets, currently only doing 3 sets of 1 or 2 exercises/day. Unfortunately I keep getting upper respiritory infections (not related to the exercise but other issues) so I haven't been at it long enough at a time to see any real movement. Until I added the weights yesterday and now I'm seeing some movement on the scale, it is also in how I feel. I actually feel lighter...yay!

On June 1st I'm planning on adding whole dairy products back into my diet and trying to limit any carbs not comming from vegetables to 100g/day. From what I have gathered from research, this should actually improve my LDL and help me lose more weight.

I found out about all of this on MFP. Do a search of MFP forums for 5x5 and you should find the thread. For the fat thing try "eat more fat" or some such