Gym - Morning workout v Evening workout

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ecward75
ecward75 Posts: 7
in Fitness and Exercise
What's people's views on this? When do you prefer to work out? I always thought morning cardio got your metabolism working for the rest of the day... as a result, the morning work out was more effective than the evening one.

I'm not naturally a morning person, but the thought of getting it over and done with at the begining of the day.... and having more energy through the day, seems like the best approach.

Of course, I won't know until i try, but I'd be really interested to hear views on this....

Replies

  • ampaiva
    ampaiva Posts: 1
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    Yep that is what I thought, if you work out in the evening you raise the m/rate up but when you go to sleep the rate drops, hence your rate is high for a shorter period as opposed to gym in the morning.
  • islandjumper
    islandjumper Posts: 369 Member
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    I've heard that as well. I am not now, nor will I ever will be a morning person, so my workout is in the evening. First thing in the morning I get winded from climbing stairs, evening I can run without issue...and in that moment of being half awake in the morning I can ALWAYS talk myself out of getting up until the last minute :-/
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    Here's my take on it:

    I work second shift. I go to bed late and I sleep late (well, most of the time - I have to work early today since it is Easter and no one wanted to work). I don't care particularly care if there is a benefit to working out in the morning, I'm NOT getting up early and I'm NOT working out when I wake up. End of story. To me, the best exercise program is the one you'll do and do it well. For me that means working out at night - usually after work. I don't have sleep issues from it (probably because I've always done it). I know for me, being forced to workout in the morning would result in me not giving much to my workout - which really? Makes it not very effective.

    Workout when it is best for YOU and don't worry about what works for other people. :)
  • PrincessLou71186
    PrincessLou71186 Posts: 747 Member
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    I tend to go to the gym within a few hours of getting up. Not sure what it does for the metabolism though as I rarely eat anything before going and since joining six weeks ago, I've gained 4lbs. (Going to be speaking with a trainer to help with this.)
  • 42kgirl
    42kgirl Posts: 692 Member
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    Here's my take on it:

    I work second shift. I go to bed late and I sleep late (well, most of the time - I have to work early today since it is Easter and no one wanted to work). I don't care particularly care if there is a benefit to working out in the morning, I'm NOT getting up early and I'm NOT working out when I wake up. End of story. To me, the best exercise program is the one you'll do and do it well. For me that means working out at night - usually after work. I don't have sleep issues from it (probably because I've always done it). I know for me, being forced to workout in the morning would result in me not giving much to my workout - which really? Makes it not very effective.

    Workout when it is best for YOU and don't worry about what works for other people. :)

    Eggzactly.
  • Jguzman26
    Jguzman26 Posts: 1
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    Yes, after reading this article on the benefits of working out even before breakfast is beneficial , I started working out first thing in the morning.

    http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2011/01/04/the-benefits-of-exercising-before-breakfast.aspx
  • Maria_81
    Maria_81 Posts: 152
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    I'm a morning person, so it would have to be early
  • bmacholiday
    bmacholiday Posts: 296 Member
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    I wish I could make myself get up in the morning to workout. Not because it may be a better burn for the day than exercising at night, but it would be nice to know it's done no matter what my day turns out to be or what I may be doing that will get in the way of exercising.
  • ecward75
    ecward75 Posts: 7
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    Interesting comments. Thanks everyone. Cheers for the article Jguzman26 :smile:
  • AmandaK3
    AmandaK3 Posts: 80
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    I have to work out in the evening. It would really not be very beneficial for me to do the early morning since I would end up not giving it enough effort.

    My old trainer told me that I should try and work out when I feel the most energetic, but really ANYTIME is better than NO TIME, so if it's 5am of 10pm you're doing good.

    I work out at 5pm after work, and I love the energy boost it gives me for the rest of the evening, and then the great sleep I get. :)
  • ecward75
    ecward75 Posts: 7
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    Bmacholiday... I know the feeling. But the way I see it, the only thing that is stopping me, is me. I have the luxury of a week off work. So I will be trying to train a new routine into my body. I've managed to get the gym before work, once or twice in my life, and I've felt great. It's just the case of getting up and doing it... which really is the hard part.
  • bmacholiday
    bmacholiday Posts: 296 Member
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    Yes, after reading this article on the benefits of working out even before breakfast is beneficial , I started working out first thing in the morning.

    http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2011/01/04/the-benefits-of-exercising-before-breakfast.aspx

    Nice article, thanks for sharing.
  • DMZ_1
    DMZ_1 Posts: 2,889 Member
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    Morning workout. The gym I go to is a very ungratifying experience in the evenings because it is so crowded. I either go in the morning or I don't go at all.
  • Toddrific
    Toddrific Posts: 1,114 Member
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    Yes, after reading this article on the benefits of working out even before breakfast is beneficial , I started working out first thing in the morning.

    http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2011/01/04/the-benefits-of-exercising-before-breakfast.aspx

    "This study for the first time shows that fasted training is more potent than fed training to facilitate adaptations in muscle and to improve whole-body glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity during hyper-caloric fat-rich diet."

    From the study. So yeah, if you eat like crap, it might have some benefit.

    Otherwise, as long as you are doing it, doesn't really have a huge impact. I think someone posted another study where there was ~5% with a variance of +/- 3 increase over doing it at another time of day.

    Also, cardio pretty much burns calories while you do it, and for a short period thereafter. I'm not sure that it increases your metabolism for the day.
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
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    Yes, after reading this article on the benefits of working out even before breakfast is beneficial , I started working out first thing in the morning.

    http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2011/01/04/the-benefits-of-exercising-before-breakfast.aspx

    Yet another "study" that did not express what actual FOODS those different groups ate. They said those men that ate breakfast before training gained 3 more lbs, but did not say that they ate a calorie surplus or a deficit. I can assure you it was most likely a surplus so of course they gained.

    The benefits of training fasted (aka IF) have it's uses but you have to adhere by the methods directly to receive any long term benefit from it. People nowadays tend to do things half assed and expect to get the same results.
  • docjoe
    docjoe Posts: 65 Member
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    I've tried doing after work but life too often gets in the way. So for me it's 4am. It is really fantastic, get up, get my cup o coffee and drive to the gym right on my way to work. I'm wide awake when I get there and have the place to myself. I find I'm much more alert during the day too. You have to get immediately out of bed before your brain can even think about it and get exposed to bright light fast which really makes a difference in getting awake.

    But I agree, these are just my life circumstances. I think the physiologic benefit of am vs pm is nothing compared to the benefit of actually getting the workout in. So go when you will realistically consistently go.
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
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    For me after work is better. If I workout in the morning, I'd have to haul all of my "getting ready for work" stuff along with me. That would just be a hassle for me. Instead I go after work, come home and take a quick shower and I feel great for the rest of the evening.
  • jshaps7
    jshaps7 Posts: 74 Member
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    Workout whenever you're most likely to do it. I work out in the morning because my work schedule can be unpredictable and I would skip too much when I work out in the afternoon.

    My husband works out around 5-6pm because he's not a morning person and can push himself harder at the end of the day, so he feels it's more effective.

    The "after burn" of exercise - the time when you body continues to burn a higher level of calories, is not dependent on your heart rate, so going to sleep should not effect that. It's your muscles repairing themselves from the activity.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    Work out when it fits your schedule. The article cited supporting exercise in the AM was of a small sample and they were being fed an unhealthy diet, I don't know f their results can be seen under more normal circumstances (it would be interesting to find other studies of the subject).

    Having said that, my favourite time to run is 5:00AM......

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