Exercising before or after work?

Morning for me and get it done early.
Gym @7am, start work 8:30 am..... (Gym I use is absolutely rammed in evening).

If left to its own, my body would prefer to sleep from about midnight to about 08:00. This creates a challenge for me four days per week when I have an appointment at 07:00 with my desk. My gym opens at 05:00, but it's not likely I'll take advantage of that. Gym employees tell me that's when it's actually most crowded, especially the pool.

I like to go when I don't have to rush. I have three-day weekends, so I try to go mid-day on Mondays when it's really not crowded. That means it's also best if I go Saturday. It's also a less busy day. I try to go one or two evenings after work each week, but if I only get in two or three times in a week, it's fine. My gym isn't convenient, and we have some equipment at work, including some nice new machines. I can get some cardio at work on my half-hour lunch or quickly after work. I still like to hit my gym because I also can get in a swim and a steam. These are my little treats, and that's why I even BOTHER with a gym now that we have all the equipment at work.

There's some evolutionary advantage to having a tribe where people's circadian rhythms aren't all the same. If everyone slept at the same time, there would be more time when the clan/tribe would not have eyes watching and could suffer attack from an animal or another clan. With some early birds and some night owls, there's fewer hours when the tribe is unprotected. Somewhere along the line, our culture has given more value to early birds. People who's clocks run later are often viewed as lazy. It's not true. It's just different biology.

I'm a morning person, and I always feel energised and ready to take on the day after my morning workout.
Whatever time would work best for YOU is the answer, when is it most convenient? which time is likely to be more sustainable?

Go to bed at 8pm up 4am give yourself some time to get in the rhythm...morning workouts are the best

For me, before work and before the rest of the family gets up is best. I have 1.5 hours between 5 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. that I look at as "mine." It's too early in the day for my job to expect me to be working on things and nobody else is awake to distract or have needs for me to take care of. Later in the day-- anything can happen. A work crisis can come up, or a 1-hour meeting can run 2 hours and push the rest of the work day longer. Someone can get sick and be sent home from school. Even enjoyable everyday interactions can interfere: my husband wanting to talk about something he's doing, or me wanting to just hang out with the family once we're all home.

For me, planning to exercise early in the morning means that it gets done, and nothing that occurs later in the day can take it away. It's the easiest time for me to protect and keep consistent. The drawback to the schedule is that I'm usually ready to drop by 9:45 p.m., an hour that would have seemed obscenely early pre-kids.

If I can't get to the gym, then I like to break my workout into short sessions of 15 minutes because it's easier to find 15 free minutes a couple times a day. It's harder to find a 30 minute chunk of time, for me.

I chose a gym near to my office, and am fortunate to have a long enough lunch time that I can get there 2x a week to work with a trainer. I really like the mid-day workout time slot the best; it's something to look forward to (leaving the office) and is followed by a nice sense of self-satisfaction.

I've got a nice bodyweight workout I do at home, sometimes as 3 x 10 minute sessions, or other times as 2 x 15 minute sessions, and rarely as a 1 x 30 minute session.

good luck to you!

The best choice for you is the one you can do consistently. Don't mind getting up early? Go in the morning. But if you think 5 am is a good time to go to bed, early morning workouts may not be your cup of tea.

You know your schedule better than we do. Figure out what you can do regularly without your work/family/body objecting too much and make it a habit.

I’m a morning person and cannot motivate to go after work, but where I live (France) gyms don’t even open until 8, a few at 7:30. (Not really a 24/7 culture here.) So I bit the bullet and bought an elliptical bike for my apartment - at a minimum, I can do 15-20 minutes on that before my shower and I’ve done at least something. On a great morning, I’ll do 30-45 minutes elliptical plus some strength work, squats abs etc, on a mat, and really feel I’ve put in a good session. Gyms now are for weekends, and the rare evening when I can motivate to do a class or something. You can adapt a routine that works for you (and btw a floor workout at home can be every bit as solid as a weights session if you really need it to be!)

I have to admit I usually train in the mornings at 5am, and on cardio days I train twice a day 5am and 5pm. I find when I train in the morning I'm alot more alert in the day and I find my mound is better and I'm also sleeping alot better