AM workouts vs. PM workouts

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  • mes1119
    mes1119 Posts: 1,082 Member
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    I work out better midday, personally. I'm NOT a morning person. And around 3PM there is NO one there.

    I'd like to hear why you burn more calories in the morning though....
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    I have looked into this extensively and my findings are the following:

    AM workouts are the workouts which occur between 12 midnight and 12 noon (of your current timezone), whereas PM workouts occur between 12 noon and 12 midnight. The tricky case is when a workout crosses over the noon or midnight boundary. There is no simple solution to gripping problem. But I'm sure there are at least a dozen studies going on right at this moment to try to solve the problem.

    When in doubt, try to limit workouts only to the AM or PM hours.
  • stephl81
    stephl81 Posts: 122 Member
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    Great response! :)

    Ive recently changed to a lunch time exerciser. I cant get up early because I live alone my young son . Lunch is perfect because it frees up my evenings to spend time with my family.
    With all of the other responsiblities that compete for our time, any time that you can dedicate to your health and fitness is the perfect time to do so :happy:
  • Jess11079
    Jess11079 Posts: 26
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    With all of the other responsiblities that compete for our time, any time that you can dedicate to your health and fitness is the perfect time to do so :happy:

    ^^^^^Well said

    I work out when I can which is when someone can watch my kids whether its am or pm and i look cute too....i have nice clean fashionable gym clothes and guess what.....i hit the gym just as hard if not harder then the person at 4am with the holey tshirt

    *****So long as your working out who cares what time your doing it or what your wearing.
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
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    I've heard that people that work out in the mornings feel more self righteous.
  • Taylerr88
    Taylerr88 Posts: 320 Member
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    nothing about am or pm workouts.. but i've learned to never work out on a monday... every program in the world works out on mondays!.. evil day at my gyms..

    as for workout. i like nights.. around 9-10
  • jsmcintyre
    jsmcintyre Posts: 26 Member
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    Totally a morning workout person, before everything else in life gets in the way. I also work in an environment that lets me workout at lunch, so I do that when I can. Almost impossible to squeeze it in when I get home to the wife and kids.
  • girwilleatchew
    girwilleatchew Posts: 7
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    i am a young mom of two children. i dont work but i work out when the kids take a midday nap and after my fiance comes home. i have workout equipment so if i were to start in the am id wake the kids and theyd be grouchy all day. so i normally get a midday workout in and a evening in. but i do admit im not as hungry after workouts. so i understand why mornings is better. on the other hand its not worth grumpy children
  • needtolose50lbs
    needtolose50lbs Posts: 68
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    I'm not sure if this is true, but I heard that if you workout in the morning when you first wake up and before you eat that you are actually burning stored fat. I have no idea if it's true its just what I heard.
  • Graciecny
    Graciecny Posts: 303
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    I'm not sure if this is true, but I heard that if you workout in the morning when you first wake up and before you eat that you are actually burning stored fat. I have no idea if it's true its just what I heard.
    Honestly, when I work out at 8 at night, I haven't eaten a meal in about 9 hours. Lunch for me is at 11am, and all I have is a light mid-afternoon snack. Since I sometimes eat dinner at 11pm (sometimes even later) if I were to get up and work out at 5:30am like my hubby, I'd be eating closer to a meal than when I hit the gym after work at 8 or 9pm!

    As I said earlier, to each their own!

    And killagb, your comment totally cracked me up!
  • htmlgirl
    htmlgirl Posts: 314 Member
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    I'm not much of a morning person so I hardly ever go in the morning. I prefer to go a couple hours after lunch so that I have more energy. Doesn't mean I'm working less, I'm just doing what works for me.
  • Gionni
    Gionni Posts: 77 Member
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    I guess the moral of the story is that I don't have anything against PM workout people. I just feel that morning workout are better! I seems that all you guys agree and if, time willing, most of you would like to workout in the AM.
  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
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    I've heard that people that work out in the mornings feel more self righteous.
    Wanna make something of it?

    LOL, just kidding! :flowerforyou:
  • bunnylvr
    bunnylvr Posts: 78
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    I have to workout in the PM, like late afternoon, because I have to be at work at 4am then after work I have school.
  • im_blessed
    im_blessed Posts: 74 Member
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    I prefer AM workouts as well, because i can plan my food intake around how many calories i burned. It also makes me feel good and energized for the rest of the day.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    -You burn more calories

    This part isn't actually true.

    Secondarily, if you're trying to differentiate between fed exercise and fasted exercise, you're also not going to see much of any difference long term. There's at least some evidence that suggests that fasted cardio can help to mobilize fatty acids for people who are already lean (at which point mobilization can sometimes become problematic),but this applies pretty much to people who are already lean (15% and below for males per Lyle) so it's not really going to be relevant for most people.

    While some of the other points you bring up might be true depending on the gym you workout at, I think the best answer is: Workout when you're most likely to stick to it. If you're a morning person and you enjoy working out in the AM then do it. If you'd prefer PM, then do it.

    It's not going to matter all that much, if any, regardless.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    I've heard that people that work out in the mornings feel more self righteous.

    ^ LOL
  • Blueyz82
    Blueyz82 Posts: 151
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    I work out in the PM because I just cannot get up in the AM to work out. I barely can get up in the morning much less the thought of exercise. So I do it in the PM.
    But it all depends on you and what your preferences are....there is no wrong time...what's important is that you are working out.



    I completely am the same way! I know that I definitely would do better in the evening! I am sooo not a morning person! I am more awake later in the day, so I am able to push myself more and burn more calories then. It doesn't matter at all when you work out, all that matters is that it is being done, like others have said. It's all preference.
  • Fieldsy
    Fieldsy Posts: 1,105 Member
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    I love working out in the AM, but its not for everyone.

    Different strokes for different folks
  • Stewie316
    Stewie316 Posts: 266 Member
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    I love working out in the morning (even though I'm not a morning person at ll). But I burn slightly less calories in the morning than the evening. I think it's because I'm still so tired and my heart rate takes more time to raise.

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