Does the time of the day you work out actually affect the ca

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gooiyw
gooiyw Posts: 114 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi MFP members. Have a question. A frriend of mine just told me that working out during the evenings is a much better calorie buster than in the early mornings. In her words,"You'll continue to burn fat as you sleep." Is that true?

I'm currently doing early mornings because that's the only me time I can afford with 3 kids and a full time job. Not to mention evening rush hour traffic wastes alot of my time if I were to head to the gym at that time. Some advice? Oh, also please feel free to add me, am relatively new here. :flowerforyou:
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  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
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    no
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,383 Member
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    The best time to exercise is whatever time you can fit it into your life. :-)
  • dmouse0225
    dmouse0225 Posts: 104
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    I've heard that mornings are better, but honestly, I think as long as you get the workout in, it doesn't really matter. I NEVER workout in the mornings. Hasn't seemed to hurt anything.

    The only thing I would say about night exercise is that I tend to be awake longer... but that is unrelated to your question... :)
  • thefuzz1290
    thefuzz1290 Posts: 777 Member
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    Ideally you should exercise when you first wake up, before breakfast, to maximize fat burning (if that's your goal). However, like the previous poster said, do it whenever you can fit in in your life.
  • cindycoley19
    cindycoley19 Posts: 39 Member
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    I believe your body continues to burn fat all through the day. I'm not certain, but that is what my fitness (amateur) advisors have told me. It's not about the time I don't think, as much as it is "you actually doing exercise everyday" For me, I try to do my 40 minute work out at Planet Fitness during my lunch hour from work, sometimes another 30-1 hour at the gym after work if I can swing it, and I usually don't get to work out on the weekends. But I'm seeing a tremendous improvement in my body. I now weigh 210 and people tell me I look like I weigh about 170,... I know the weight is shifting. Peace and Blessings! Cindy from SC
  • JerseyGirl081
    JerseyGirl081 Posts: 98 Member
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    Morning is the best time to workout technically. As soon as you wake up and you start moving around your metabolism naturally starts its spike. Then you get a nice workout in that raises your heart rate your metabolism kicks up another notch. After you eat a nice balanced breakfast afterward metabolism gets higher. And if your eating regular little meals throughout the day your metabolism stays on that fat burning stage all day long. :-)

    But working out any time of the day is soooo much better than not doing anything. Just make sure your eating little meals throughout the day to keep your metabolism churning away and you will still burn those unwanted calories and fat!:-)
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    Morning is the best time to workout technically. As soon as you wake up and you start moving around your metabolism naturally starts its spike. Then you get a nice workout in that raises your heart rate your metabolism kicks up another notch. After you eat a nice balanced breakfast afterward metabolism gets higher. And if your eating regular little meals throughout the day your metabolism stays on that fat burning stage all day long. :-)

    But working out any time of the day is soooo much better than not doing anything. Just make sure your eating little meals throughout the day to keep your metabolism churning away and you will still burn those unwanted calories and fat!:-)

    This is false.
  • gooiyw
    gooiyw Posts: 114 Member
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    I believe your body continues to burn fat all through the day. I'm not certain, but that is what my fitness (amateur) advisors have told me. It's not about the time I don't think, as much as it is "you actually doing exercise everyday"

    Thanks. I think that makes sense.
  • Allic1971
    Allic1971 Posts: 145 Member
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    Read this link, they did a study on it, if you want to burn Fat and loose weight then in the morning is best. :)

    EDIT - For building strength then lift weights in the evening

    http://health.ninemsn.com.au/whatsgoodforyou/theshow/694257/whats-the-best-time-to-exercise
  • stuffinmuffin
    stuffinmuffin Posts: 985 Member
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    I'd not worry about that kind of information and concentrate on going when you can!!! I use an HRM and whilst I'll find I'll burn more cals for the same activity earlier in the morning it really just depends on the level of effort I'm putting in. If I'm exercising early in the morning it's because I have a busy day ahead and I 'want to get my exercise done asap' hence I put in a bit more 'oomph'! However, personally my endurance is much better in the evening/afternoon i.e. I can run for 1.5hr in the afternoon but in the morning 30 minutes is my maximum! x
  • nickyfm
    nickyfm Posts: 1,214 Member
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    Nah. It definitely depends on what time you feel most energetic, or can do it altogether! :)

    Just make sure that you refuel properly afterwards. Don't go straight to sleep if it's a night one!

    The only reason people say morning is best is because it gives you more energy for the day, boosts your metab a bit, and some people can't sleep if they work out at night. Also, some have little energy come the afternoon, when they could have had a massive work out in the morning when they had adequate energy. But each to their own!
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,250 Member
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    Hi MFP members. Have a question. A frriend of mine just told me that working out during the evenings is a much better calorie buster than in the early mornings. In her words,"You'll continue to burn fat as you sleep." Is that true?

    I'm currently doing early mornings because that's the only me time I can afford with 3 kids and a full time job. Not to mention evening rush hour traffic wastes alot of my time if I were to head to the gym at that time. Some advice? Oh, also please feel free to add me, am relatively new here. :flowerforyou:

    When you exercise, it pushes up your metabolism, when you finish your exercise, that metabolism boost still continues for a few hours afterwards. I think this might be what your friend meant.

    The only problem is, you may find you are "buzzing" afterwards and find it difficult to go to sleep.
  • Leamac83
    Leamac83 Posts: 99 Member
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    Its really all about when is the best time for you, when you can fit it in and when you have the most energy.

    Yeah i believe an early morning workout gets you burning all day long but if i run in the morning i can only run 5 or 6k, but if i run after work i tend to be able to do a 10k and some weight training as i have lots of energy from my food. But this is just me and what works for me.

    Also if i work out in the morning i tend to eat a lot more in the day. Hope you find a happy balance! :)
  • TonyL68
    TonyL68 Posts: 133 Member
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    The best time to exercise is whatever time you can fit it into your life. :-)


    ^^ Says the poster holding a kid in her pic! I'm 100% with you. Between a FT job, 2 kids, after school sports, dinner, bath time, house duties and whatever else gets thrown my way, I sometimes don't work out until after 9:00 PM when the kids are in bed. I don't know if its optimal but it beats sitting on my *kitten*. :wink:
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
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    If you're lifting weights, you burn the most calories on the full moon at noon because the tidal action maximizes the weight.
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,250 Member
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    If you're lifting weights, you burn the most calories on the full moon at noon because the tidal action maximizes the weight.

    You are not talking about bladder functions here are you?

    :::::runs off:::::
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,383 Member
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    The best time to exercise is whatever time you can fit it into your life. :-)


    ^^ Says the poster holding a kid in her pic! I'm 100% with you. Between a FT job, 2 kids, after school sports, dinner, bath time, house duties and whatever else gets thrown my way, I sometimes don't work out until after 9:00 PM when the kids are in bed. I don't know if its optimal but it beats sitting on my *kitten*. :wink:

    Exactly, even if the time you do it isn't the 'best time' according to some expert out there somewhere, it's still a big improvement over not doing it at all! :-)
  • May63
    May63 Posts: 162
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    Hi MFP members. Have a question. A frriend of mine just told me that working out during the evenings is a much better calorie buster than in the early mornings. In her words,"You'll continue to burn fat as you sleep." Is that true?

    I'm currently doing early mornings because that's the only me time I can afford with 3 kids and a full time job. Not to mention evening rush hour traffic wastes alot of my time if I were to head to the gym at that time. Some advice? Oh, also please feel free to add me, am relatively new here. :flowerforyou:

    what i have heard is strength training build muscles and they burn while resting.. resting being when your not exercising, when ever you can is key to do it
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    There's no real benefit to exercising at a specific time, just like there's no real benefit to exercising before eating. The real benefits come from properly eating before and after working out, whatever time you choose to do it.

    A lot of people like to push the "fasted cardio" first thing in the morning as better for fat burning, but that's been disproven by science.

    Bottom line, people have different energy patterns, the best time to work out is when you have the time and energy to do it, there's no specific rule to follow for "best results."
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
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    Exercise boosts your metabolism for a few hours afterwards. There might be calorie burn differences dependant on time of day (more specifically dependent on what you eat and do afterwards) but my guess is they would be so neglibible that they wouldn't be worth bothering about. Just workout whenever you can and don't stress about the minutae.

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