Exercise time of days
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Sharisunshine
Posts: 41 Member
Does it really matter what time of the day you exercise? I find that I have more time and energy in the evening but worry that I should be exercising early in the day. Does it really matter as long as I’m doing it? (Ps I know this may be a stupid question to some but it’s a serious question for me so please be nice😀).
3
Replies
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No.
The best time if day is the time that you will do it consistently.
If I waited until the evening, I would likely talk myself out of it, so I exercise in the early morning but that is my personal preference.5 -
Do the evenings if that works for you. If at some point you find yourself too tired in the evenings, then change it to mornings.2
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Can you expand on what you are thinking the difference might be between exercise done at different times?
"Does it really matter what time of the day you exercise?"
Matter for what aspect?
"I find that I have more time and energy in the evening"
If you mean matter as in exercise performance then training when you have the most energy is the best time for you.
"but worry that I should be exercising early in the day"
Why?
Is there something you think or have read that suggests early in the day exercise is special or more beneficial?
My best time for exercise is late morning to very late evening, the only time that becomes problematic is for organised events with an early start time or clashing with evening meal times or when the gym closes early.
When I was working full time early morning exercise was my last resort and only done if my options were limited to early exercise or no exercise.
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I exercised almost exclusively in the evening for many years, before I retired. (I'm a night owl, not a morning person, so getting up extra-early to exercise before work was a non-starter.) As long as exercising in the evening doesn't interfere with sleep quality for you, I don't see what the down side would be, if it's something that seems to work well for you. It has the same fitness and calorie-burning benefits no matter when you do it.2
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The best time of day is the time that you'll consistently do whatever your preferred exercise is, and that's going to depend on factors like your personal energy levels and what else you have on your plate (work, caregiving, household chores, etc).
In the Before Times, when I would go to a public gym, I'd go in the evenings on my way home after work. I didn't like showering and getting dressed at the gym, and I knew if I went home first I wouldn't go back out, so it had to be 6:30 PM (along with the rest of the town, apparently). Now, I'm not comfortable using a public gym at the moment, so I work out in my living room. I realized that if I ate breakfast at work, I would have 35 minutes in the morning to squeeze in a quick workout, so I've been doing that for six weeks now. I was never an early-morning workout person before this, but the transition has been surprisingly not too difficult.2 -
Best time to exercise- WHEN you can.
I had a job where some days I opened the store and some days I closed. I set my workouts based on what time I worked.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Best time to exercise- WHEN you can.
I had a job where some days I opened the store and some days I closed. I set my workouts based on what time I worked.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
^^^
I did retail management for years and THIS! Some days workouts were early and some days they were late.
Then I switched to warehouse management at amazon and worked night shift, so I worked out in the early afternoon prior to work. Then they switched me to days and I worked out evenings.
Now I have a warehouse management job at a different company where I work 8-4:30 M-F. Like Ann, I am NOT a morning person so NO WAY am I getting up before work to work out. I go to the gym in the evening between 6ish and 7 normally.
I’m off this week, so headed to my gym earlier (plan on getting into the basement by 3ish today).
The best time is the time you will go.1 -
Can you expand on what you are thinking the difference might be between exercise done at different times?
"Does it really matter what time of the day you exercise?"
Matter for what aspect?
"I find that I have more time and energy in the evening"
If you mean matter as in exercise performance then training when you have the most energy is the best time for you.
"but worry that I should be exercising early in the day"
Why?
Is there something you think or have read that suggests early in the day exercise is special or more beneficial?
My best time for exercise is late morning to very late evening, the only time that becomes problematic is for organised events with an early start time or clashing with evening meal times or when the gym closes early.
When I was working full time early morning exercise was my last resort and only done if my options were limited to early exercise or no exercise.Can you expand on what you are thinking the difference might be between exercise done at different times?
"Does it really matter what time of the day you exercise?"
Matter for what aspect?
"I find that I have more time and energy in the evening"
If you mean matter as in exercise performance then training when you have the most energy is the best time for you.
"but worry that I should be exercising early in the day"
Why?
Is there something you think or have read that suggests early in the day exercise is special or more beneficial?
My best time for exercise is late morning to very late evening, the only time that becomes problematic is for organised events with an early start time or clashing with evening meal times or when the gym closes early.
When I was working full time early morning exercise was my last resort and only done if my options were limited to early exercise or no exercise.
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Thank you all for the replies!! I guess I should have clarified a bit more. I have been exercising at bed time because I’m too tired in the mornings. My issue is my weigh in day for WW is on Wednesday. I ALWAYS weigh more if I exercised the night before. I guess that’s why I’m asking. Is there any correlation to this or just luck of the draw?0
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Sharisunshine wrote: »Thank you all for the replies!! I guess I should have clarified a bit more. I have been exercising at bed time because I’m too tired in the mornings. My issue is my weigh in day for WW is on Wednesday. I ALWAYS weigh more if I exercised the night before. I guess that’s why I’m asking. Is there any correlation to this or just luck of the draw?
When you exercise, particularly if you lift weights, your muscles retain water for recovery purposes. This water weight can make it appear as if you have gained weight even when you haven’t. If you don’t work out 7 days a week, perhaps you could try your workouts around weigh in day. For example, if weigh in day is Wednesday, don’t work out Tuesday night.
I personally don’t worry about the scale so much as I also measure myself and play the “do these jeans fit yet” game with my many sizes of jeans that are a: too big or b: too small (sizes 16-8 living in my closet and currently the 12s fit).1 -
I’ve read a variety of articles on this topic. My conclusion: the best time of day to exercise is the time of day that you will exercise.
https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/best-time-to-workout
“ What really matters is that you find a time of day that works for you and that fits your schedule, and then stick to it. By keeping your workout regime consistent at the same time every day, you could be making greater training gains. And isn’t that what really matters?”
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Sharisunshine wrote: »Thank you all for the replies!! I guess I should have clarified a bit more. I have been exercising at bed time because I’m too tired in the mornings. My issue is my weigh in day for WW is on Wednesday. I ALWAYS weigh more if I exercised the night before. I guess that’s why I’m asking. Is there any correlation to this or just luck of the draw?
If you always notice that the morning after exercise gives you a higher scale reading then there is a correlation for you - but it's not fat and just a normal (for you) water weight fluctuation.
I don't worry about daily fluctuations as they are just a part of life whether losing, gaining or maintaining weight.
If you are consistent week on week your WW weigh-ins will still show your trend which is the important thing.
Other important things of course are exercise performance and enjoyment so it's clear that morning exercise isn't the right time for you.1 -
Personally, I train better fasted. So I like to exercise in the morning and very little is allowed to get in the way of that. There are of course times when I have to exercise in the afternoon or not at all and I will generally choose a sub-optimal session in the afternoon over nothing at all, unless I need a rest day.1
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Sharisunshine wrote: »Thank you all for the replies!! I guess I should have clarified a bit more. I have been exercising at bed time because I’m too tired in the mornings. My issue is my weigh in day for WW is on Wednesday. I ALWAYS weigh more if I exercised the night before. I guess that’s why I’m asking. Is there any correlation to this or just luck of the draw?
So, I think the key question is this: Is the number on the scale your goal, or is it a metric that helps you understand your progress toward some other more important goal (fat loss, health improvement, looking more attractive, being fitter/more capable in daily life, etc.)?
If your end goal is not the number, don't worry about the higher weigh-ins on the morning after exercise. It's water retention - literally nothing else it can be, if you haven't eaten more (unless you've eaten later in the day, after exercise, in which case it might be water retention plus a bit extra temporary disgestive system contents en route to being waste - but still not fat so IMO not worth worrying about).
Whether you got a good workout, and do so regularly, is a better metric than the scale number, if your true end goal is in the health/fitness/appearance sphere.
If the competition aspect of WW is very important to you motivationally, I'd suggest either always working out the night before weigh-in, or never working out the night before weigh-in (doing workouts some other time). That will give you your closest to consistent conditions for the weigh ins, and make the trend over time a little more reflective of what may be happening with actual fat loss, despite it playing peek-a-boo with water retention on the scale.
Best wishes!1 -
Now that I’m retired, I prefer late afternoon around 2-4 pm, sometimes I walk or bike between 11-1 to loosen up. I was never a morning person, and my muscles are too tight in the morning to strain them. In theory, I like the idea to start your day with a workout and I used to play racquetball at 6 am but it was always a chore for me. I got in the habit of exercising after work ( great for de-stressing). So I stuck with the before-dinner time slot.2
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The time of exercise depends upon your routine of sleeping and eating. If you sleep late at night then exercising in the morning will not be a good idea. Exercise in the evening often helps in aiding the sleep and you've not any responsibility of office or work load as in the morning. So I think its better to do exercise in the evening.0
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whatever time you will go, is the best time.
for me, its morning. but, I do everything in the morning. farm chores (hubby has evening duty with those), errands, cleaning, etc. if I haven't done something before noon, it probably WONT be done that day.
typically, I'm at the gym around 8. that's what works best for me. find what works best for you. as far as health or weight loss goes, timing is unimportant.0 -
I have never been able to exercise early in the morning before work, so just as a practical matter, I tend to exercise right after work /before dinner. On breaks, my "natural" preferred time is about 11:00 a.m.
I like to weigh right after I get out of the pool when I know I'll be a bit dehydrated :-)1
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