IS IT BAD TO EXERCISE AT NIGHT?

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hunnymische
hunnymische Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
hey guys. exercise has been a challenge for me for almost a week already because i have no one to look after my 2-month old baby during the day. I was thinking if i can do my cardio exercise before dinner time (between 6-8 PM).

Your thoughts please. :flowerforyou:
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Replies

  • iKapuniai
    iKapuniai Posts: 594 Member
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    Ten years ago I lost 85lbs in 8-9 months, and the only time I exercised was after dinner, right before I went to bed, for 30 minutes a day.

    Now, I try to exercise before work, but sometimes most of my energy comes around midnight, so I'll go out for a walk/run or go to the gym if I can.

    Exercise is good no matter what time of day (or night) it is. :) If it works for you, go for it.

    Love and Alohas,
    Ihilani Kapuniai
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    Nope, its not bad, unless you find it causes you to have a hard time falling asleep or something.

    I work 12 hour shifts. I get off at 7pm, workout, eat and go to bed to get up for 0530 the next day. I have had no problems.

    Even if there is a slight advantage to working out earlier, if you can't do it, it wont' benefit you anyway. Work out when you can, you will be more likely to do it.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,835 Member
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    do it whenever you can
  • atjays
    atjays Posts: 798 Member
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    I think a lot of people would say working out after your breakfast has settled or even before breakfast is the "best" ... However, I never have been able to follow that. For the first 4 months I was working out after dinner around 8-9pm . I'm a night owl, or at least used to be, so exercise followed by a protein shake, stay up a couple hours and then go to bed. Loved it and I lost my first 15 lbs that way. This semester has thrown a giant wrench into that routine, so now a few days I work out at 9am after class before work, and the other days I usually wait til 2-3pm as I can sleep in. I do feel like I have more energy earlier in the day, but I can't tell if that's because I'm stronger now or because I cleaned up my diet.

    Bottom line is work out when you have time to. Getting that exercise in a few days a week is huge and the benefits are endless.
  • leighfit22
    leighfit22 Posts: 2
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    It's not bad at all. It's recommended that you workout in the morning because it revs your metabolism right away and your more active during the day so it lasts longer, but if you can only get it in at night thats better than nothing for sure!
  • hush7hush
    hush7hush Posts: 2,273 Member
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    You'll still be burning the same amount of calories, regardless of the hour, as long as you're giving it the same effort.
  • dimplez711
    dimplez711 Posts: 88
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    Normally I head to the gym after work, between 6-8 pm. If I go any earlier than that, it's pretty packed from the folks who head there straight from work. I generally have no problem working out that late, and I find that it actually helps me sleep better at night.

    There is no cookie cutter schedule because people have such different lives. What's important, as the other posters have said, is to get your activity in when you can. :)
  • agentscully514
    agentscully514 Posts: 616 Member
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    not bad at all. I do it all the time! if that is what works for you, do it! I have worked out regularly for YEARS (like 20 years) and I cannot work out in the morning. My body just does not like it. I work out after 5pm, usually substantially after. Otherwise, I would do nothing. Do what works for you!

    ps. to me 6-8 pm isn't even night!!!
  • jb852013
    jb852013 Posts: 116
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    I have a super skinny friend and she excersizes at night. I have gone to the gym with her and we have left at 9:30. So I would say not bad at all. Unless you can't sleep after.
  • koconnor17
    koconnor17 Posts: 2 Member
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    Nothing's wrong with that!! I work out at night all the time, almost every day.
  • christina0089
    christina0089 Posts: 709 Member
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    Got to do what works best for you and your schedule/body. Not excercising becuase you don't have the time in the day is worse than excercising before dinner! So do what you have to do to keep moving forward! Lot's of luck on your journey! :)
  • finchase
    finchase Posts: 174
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    Just exercise when you can; it's always good for you. Personally, I find that I have a harder time accelerating my heart rate at night than I do when I work out in the morning, but that seems to be just the way my internal "clock" works, because my blood pressure is generally lower in the evening than in the mornings also.
  • Cait_Sidhe
    Cait_Sidhe Posts: 3,150 Member
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    There is never a bad time to exercise. Okay, maybe I wouldn't exercise directly after eating because it might make me sick. But otherwise, anytime's a good time.
  • stayxtrue
    stayxtrue Posts: 1,190 Member
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    Nothing wrong with it at all!
  • hkussatz
    hkussatz Posts: 41
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    I use to wake up every day at 4:45am.... then I had a baby and got smart. :) Now I exercise at night or during naptime. Its not bad to exercise at night unless you find it gives you too much energy before bed. If so, try to squeeze it in earlier. Whatever works for you and your baby :)
  • gashinshotan
    gashinshotan Posts: 753 Member
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    For Running I recommend getting used to running in the morning - trust me.... I lost about 29 lbs (gained 3 since increasing cals) by running at night but when I run in the morning my endurance SUCKS bad... like literally cut in half. Its cuz your muscles are warmed up by night and you have a lot of glucose stored in your muscles... if you run in the morning and train your body to adapt to it, you'll be able to run without problems throughout the entire day... im going to switch over completely to morning runs soon also because the majority of races start in the morning...
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    I work second shift. That means I work late and I sleep late. There's NO WAY in heck I will get up earlier than I have to in order to workout.

    I workout after work or later at night. Heck, I'm known for being at the gym at 1am or later.

    I've heard some people say it throws off their sleep, but I never had an issue with it (maybe because I'm a night owl?).
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,954 Member
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    I just got back from my Taekwondo class. Tonight it was from 6:00-7:30 but we also go to a 7-8:00 class. Sometimes we'll even go to a longer one or a promotion test and workout that can last until as late as 9:00 PM. The only down side is sometimes I'm a little wired after and need to mellow out before I go to bed. Otherwise I toss and turn but I think mostly that's because my brain is still doing TKD and I'm twitching as I mentally kick and punch things. :)

    If that's when you can do it, then do it!
  • natika33
    natika33 Posts: 154 Member
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    I don't think it's bad at all! I often exercise at night, especially after I finish recording all my food for the day on MFP and realise I'm over my calories. LOL. I've even been known to go for a jog at 11pm.

    As long as you have time to warm down your muscles a bit after your exercise - no worries!
  • sharonfincher1
    sharonfincher1 Posts: 311 Member
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    Get it in whenever u can....

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