Best time to exercise?

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  • carrieous
    carrieous Posts: 1,024 Member
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    i like to work out on my lunch break. My workout time is my Me Time.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    The best time is the time you'll actually do it.

    First line of first answer = best answer
  • ansleesnana
    ansleesnana Posts: 1
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    Hi Kelly, I agree with some of the other comments that anytime you exercise is time well spent. But with that said, the morning is actually better. It gives your metabolism a jump start so your body is already ready to start using food when you eat instead of your body waiting for the food to start your metabolism. Try to get into a routine, whatever will work for you. And whatever you do, don't give up. You can reach your goal. I know you're serious about it or you wouldn't be here asking for help. Good luck!
  • AliciaStaton
    AliciaStaton Posts: 328 Member
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    Hi i work out usually between 6-7.30pm it all depends on work to be honest. To night I went to the gym for 8pm due to getting in late. Did nearly a hour which was enough. It is hard when you have young children, it is whatever works for you:bigsmile:
  • brownshuga30
    brownshuga30 Posts: 106 Member
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    I've heard that working out in the mornings are better not sure what the benefits are. I workout at 5am because if I wait for the evening I fan find all the excuse in the world lol. I guess its whenever you have time.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Hi Kelly, I agree with some of the other comments that anytime you exercise is time well spent. But with that said, the morning is actually better. It gives your metabolism a jump start so your body is already ready to start using food when you eat instead of your body waiting for the food to start your metabolism. Try to get into a routine, whatever will work for you. And whatever you do, don't give up. You can reach your goal. I know you're serious about it or you wouldn't be here asking for help. Good luck!

    Your metabolism does not get a jump start. Food does not 'start' your metabolism.
  • EricCowperthwaite
    EricCowperthwaite Posts: 450
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    Can you please share some of these studies?
    Do they control for energy balance or are they strictly looking at substrate utilization during the training bout?
    Hey SideSteel ...

    http://www.nutritionexpress.com/showarticle.aspx?articleid=274 - references a KSU study that's very interesting and looks at substrate utilization, not just energy balance.

    http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/15/phys-ed-the-benefits-of-exercising-before-breakfast/ - A study in Belgium finds that working out in a fasted state improves insulin resistance, fat burning, glucose tolerance.

    http://www.dangerouslyhardcore.com/3750/eating-breakfast-causes-weight-loss-worst-research-ever/#more-3750 - staying in a fasted state key to burning fat, specifically. Eating breakfast promotes loss of muscle, not fat.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2224886/Exercising-breakfast-lets-lose-extra-weight-British-study-found.html#axzz2KjIRKZ00 - a British study: cardio before breakfast increases weight loss, reduces fat in bloodstream

    I keep a running file of this stuff. The evidence is pretty clear that cardio before breakfast, in a fasted state, increase loss of fat specifically because your body is burning your fat stores rather than glucose.
  • rlinaresv
    rlinaresv Posts: 108
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    Bump. Pretty interesting
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    Hi Kelly, I agree with some of the other comments that anytime you exercise is time well spent. But with that said, the morning is actually better. It gives your metabolism a jump start so your body is already ready to start using food when you eat instead of your body waiting for the food to start your metabolism. Try to get into a routine, whatever will work for you. And whatever you do, don't give up. You can reach your goal. I know you're serious about it or you wouldn't be here asking for help. Good luck!

    I do not believe that^ is a supportable assertion. Your metabolism is not a dead car battery. It does not need (and is incapable of) a "jump start".
  • EricCowperthwaite
    EricCowperthwaite Posts: 450
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    a "metabolism jumpstart" doesn't really make sense. What is true is that your body can, and does, use different nutrients in different ways at different points in your daily cycle. Thus my distinction between whether you are in a fasted state, or not. Nothing I know of shows that you burn more calories in the morning. But plenty (as I just linked) shows that you burn more fat while in a fasted state. You could be in a fasted state at 9 PM, but most people are not. So cardio exercise in the morning makes sense for trying to burn off fat and lose weight.
  • Helenov
    Helenov Posts: 56
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    The best time is the time you'll actually do it.

    ^^This
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    a "metabolism jumpstart" doesn't really make sense. What is true is that your body can, and does, use different nutrients in different ways at different points in your daily cycle. Thus my distinction between whether you are in a fasted state, or not. Nothing I know of shows that you burn more calories in the morning. But plenty (as I just linked) shows that you burn more fat while in a fasted state. You could be in a fasted state at 9 PM, but most people are not. So cardio exercise in the morning makes sense for trying to burn off fat and lose weight.

    I thought the studies that initially showed increased fat burn from exercising in a fasted state were later determined that it "caught up" when measured over a longer period of time. In other words, while a fasted state showed more fat burn in the first hour or two, it leveled off later in the day...and training in a non-fasted state, while less fat burn initially, made up for it throughout the day.

    (But honestly, this is based on my recollection and not based on any actual research I've reread recently. I'm sure if it is (or isn't) the case, someone less lazy than I will show up and post some links shortly.)
  • EricCowperthwaite
    EricCowperthwaite Posts: 450
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    ^^^ I hope they show up, I'd be interested in that research. :-)
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    ^^^ I hope they show up, I'd be interested in that research. :-)

    I hope they do too...

    ...because otherwise, I'm just going to look stupid...

    ...and if there's one thing I don't ever want to do, it's look stupid on MFP*.









    (* again, today...for at least the fifth time.)
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    Thanks. I'm actually looking at these, some of which I've seen before. I'll take a look and also see what else I can find as I've looked into this before.

    In the meantime:
    Hey SideSteel ...

    http://www.nutritionexpress.com/showarticle.aspx?articleid=274 - references a KSU study that's very interesting and looks at substrate utilization, not just energy balance.

    Does anyone have the study referenced in the above link?

    http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/15/phys-ed-the-benefits-of-exercising-before-breakfast/ - A study in Belgium finds that working out in a fasted state improves insulin resistance, fat burning, glucose tolerance.

    This one is interesting ^^. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20837645)

    I'd be interested to see how this is applicable to a diet that remotely resembles a diet of someone who is fitness conscious. What I mean by that is, they overfed people with a pretty ridiculous macronutrient distribution and monitored the differences in fat gain through various metrics (as well as other things). This might not be quite the same results given a hypocaloric diet with macronutrient intakes that are relatively intelligent, but it's an interesting study nonetheless.

    Alan has also reviewed this in detail in his AARR.
    http://www.dangerouslyhardcore.com/3750/eating-breakfast-causes-weight-loss-worst-research-ever/#more-3750 - staying in a fasted state key to burning fat, specifically. Eating breakfast promotes loss of muscle, not fat.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2224886/Exercising-breakfast-lets-lose-extra-weight-British-study-found.html#axzz2KjIRKZ00 - a British study: cardio before breakfast increases weight loss, reduces fat in bloodstream

    Does anyone have the studies referenced in the above? Pretty sure the one Keifer is referring to is from Martin's site.
    The evidence is pretty clear that cardio before breakfast, in a fasted state, increase loss of fat specifically because your body is burning your fat stores rather than glucose.

    I actually disagree that it's clear, but I'll be the first to admit that I'm not providing any adequate rebuttal as of now so my disagreement is somewhat silly.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    ^^this one - it's just the extract though

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3410632
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    I'll start off with something before going into this:

    My belief is that personal preference and performance will trump any theoretical benefits to training in either a fed OR fasted state. My personal preference is to train fasted or semi fasted (at most, coffee with some whey) for performance reasons. I'm a fan of IF for adherence reasons so all things considered, I really like fasted training.

    But I don't think the fat loss benefits, outside of preferential and performance effects which would vary from person to person, are significant nor do I think the research is clear.

    Here's Alan Aragon on fasted cardio, although this is from 2006 and does not address studies since then. I'm not aware that Alan's position on this has changed because I would expect to have heard about it by now since I'm a fanboy of sorts.

    http://alanaragon.com/myths-under-the-microscope-part-2-false-hopes-for-fasted-cardio.html

    Here's Brad Schoenfeld's take, and this is more recent (this includes several studies posted at the end):
    http://pulsthjalfun.is/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/doescardio.pdf

    Lyle McDonald has some interesting things to say about fasted training for lean people trying to get leaner. I'll link the article because I find it fascinating although there aren't any studies attached to it. I think Lyle is one of the best out there but his stance on this would indicate than unless you're already lean and trying to get REALLY lean, the differences are negligible. (In the context of this sites general population, this would be irrelevant but it's still a great resource).

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/fasted-cardio-and-fat-loss-qa.html
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    ^^^ I hope they show up, I'd be interested in that research. :-)

    I hope they do too...

    ...because otherwise, I'm just going to look stupid...

    ...and if there's one thing I don't ever want to do, it's look stupid on MFP*.









    (* again, today...for at least the fifth time.)

    Even though there's still hope I could be right, I have to admit, it would be for the wrong reasons. I was thinking of the "post-training feeding window" thing. So even if I'm accidentally right, I'm still wrong. People with actual knowledge and real cuts and everything may now continue their discussion. =P
  • RobynMWilson
    RobynMWilson Posts: 1,540 Member
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    I stole this from Chalene Johnson...the best time to work out is whatever time you can work it into your schedule and make it non-negotiable and stick to it! It's different for everybody!
  • RobynMWilson
    RobynMWilson Posts: 1,540 Member
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    a "metabolism jumpstart" doesn't really make sense. What is true is that your body can, and does, use different nutrients in different ways at different points in your daily cycle. Thus my distinction between whether you are in a fasted state, or not. Nothing I know of shows that you burn more calories in the morning. But plenty (as I just linked) shows that you burn more fat while in a fasted state. You could be in a fasted state at 9 PM, but most people are not. So cardio exercise in the morning makes sense for trying to burn off fat and lose weight.

    I thought the studies that initially showed increased fat burn from exercising in a fasted state were later determined that it "caught up" when measured over a longer period of time. In other words, while a fasted state showed more fat burn in the first hour or two, it leveled off later in the day...and training in a non-fasted state, while less fat burn initially, made up for it throughout the day.

    (But honestly, this is based on my recollection and not based on any actual research I've reread recently. I'm sure if it is (or isn't) the case, someone less lazy than I will show up and post some links shortly.)

    I've worked out at all times of day because of my schedule and I'm proof that none of this is true!

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