Working Out: Morning, Afternoon Or Nightime?

Napjeeper
Napjeeper Posts: 36
in Health and Weight Loss
I am in no way shape or form a morning person. I've been trying all my life, but I've got nothing when I get up and am lucky to form sentences before a cup of coffee.

I usually end up working out at night right after work, but sometimes get shorted due to other obligations. What's your preferred time to work out? If you're a night owl and have to work early, how do you get moving hardcore in the morning?

Any and all opinions welcomed on this one...

JD
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Replies

  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    I prefer to work out any time before about 2pm. I typically work out in the morning AFTER I've had a few cups of coffee and had time to troll MFP and wake up, and feed my son and wrestle with him a bit. Then I'm ready to get crackin.

    I can't work out at night as it interferes with my sleep, badly.
  • kgprice11
    kgprice11 Posts: 749 Member
    I love to workout in the morning before I go to work because it wakes me up after a nice cold shower. If I don't go in the morning then I usually fit in my workout right after work.
  • JediSwan
    JediSwan Posts: 455 Member
    I can work out whenever. I prefer mornings because it keeps my depression at bay for the day and makes me feel energetic all day. However, I have a hard time getting myself out of bed in the morning. I'm working on it. When I dont or cant in the morning, I work out right after work while the family is eating dinner. I get sick if I eat right before a work out. I dont sleep much anyway so it doesn't bother me in that regard.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,974 Member
    My usual time is about 10:30am. By this time morning clients are done and the gym has cleared out a little.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • microMXL
    microMXL Posts: 51
    morning, just pay attention to your warm up/stretch
  • Tashmayes
    Tashmayes Posts: 244 Member
    I would love to workout first thing in the morning and get my metabolism going but with a 4 month old and 2 year old..I work out when i can. As long as i can get my burn in daily, I'm happy!
  • Skeels
    Skeels Posts: 929 Member
    I try to workout in the Morining....but I always fail.............



    I usually workout in the evenings
  • RebeccaLynn4
    RebeccaLynn4 Posts: 3
    I too struggle to get up in the morning!! I do find that the energy when I push myself to get up is much higher for the day.

    It is all to easy to say oh I'll do it tonight and then something comes up and the daily work out is gone. If you can make time every evening then I really dont think it matters when you work out.

    I am fairly new to this but that is what I find for myself.
  • senyosmom
    senyosmom Posts: 613 Member
    Hello! I rotate between morning and evening. I prefer evening because I don't feel so rushed. When I work out in the morning I have to just force myself to get going - once I start its OK and I reward myself with my morning cup of coffee and a nice shower.
  • Im_NotPerfect
    Im_NotPerfect Posts: 2,181 Member
    Morning for running, evening for anything else. I get up and run at 5 am every other day. On my "off" days, I TRY to get myself up, but just can't do it and usually end up biking at night.
  • jgunn81
    jgunn81 Posts: 243 Member
    personally, workouts are morning times, if i do any running, its afternoon/evening.

    my motivation: if i decide to let my workouts slide to the afternoons after work, its much hotter, which by previous experience just sucks, lol
  • thescrumisfun
    thescrumisfun Posts: 355
    Generally, I like to work out in the morning or afternoon. If I workout anytime after 7 pm, I am way too awake and end up going to bed late.
  • angels0831
    angels0831 Posts: 5
    It depends on what I feel like. Both the morning and night times are great for burning calories (or so I've heard) and most of the time I work out at night. Running at night is really fun, it's beautiful, and I always end up running more after I've had a whole day to wake up :)
  • LaviMc
    LaviMc Posts: 355 Member
    I can workout whenever, but in the evening after work, I don't have to worry about time constraints. Morning makes me feel energized and relax to prepare for work, but BOY is it hard to get up early! (Translation: I am in NO WAY, SHAPE OR FORM a "morning person"!)
  • fitnesskid96
    fitnesskid96 Posts: 4
    Whatever time works best for you. & If you can only workout in the morning, but have no energy, i suggest taking a pre workout. They work and will get you up bro
  • MtnKat
    MtnKat Posts: 714
    I used to run in the evening after work.

    I got injured (Plantar's Fasciitis) and found that the only way to be able to get my run in is by running in the morning.

    Now that's I've finally switched over (my choice was do it in the morning or be hobbled in the evenings and in a lot of pain), I discovered that really love running in the morning.

    I used to stress all day long about how I was going to get my run in. I missed quite a few too because something (the kids lol) always got in the way. Now I get up at 5:30 am, do my run and be done with it before I have to go to work (I do strength training after work 3 days a week, too). I love it!
  • AmelodyAngel
    AmelodyAngel Posts: 152 Member
    I am soooo not a morning person. I would love to wake up and work out and then go to work, but I can not drag myself out of bed, so I typically work out at night and that works very well for me. It is the only work out time I have been consistent with.
  • robinogue
    robinogue Posts: 1,117 Member
    I workout right after work, if time is limited I only do a 30 minutes but if I have enough time it's generally over a hour.
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
    I never was a morning person. However, if I don't get my workouts done first thing in the AM I find I don't get them done, or done with less intensity. So I sucked it up and started doing it in the AM. It got easier and easier and now I look forward to it. It wakes me up and sets the mood for the day. And I think I am actually turning into a morning person now lol.
  • steph1278
    steph1278 Posts: 483 Member
    Not a morning person here. I go on short walks throughout the day at work weather permitting and hit the gym after work.
  • glamsam8
    glamsam8 Posts: 39 Member
    Morning and Evening! xD If I do it in the morning, I feel energized, and when I do it at night, it helps me sleep better
  • Italian_mom
    Italian_mom Posts: 192 Member
    I have a crazy old cat that wakes me up every morning at 615 to feed her, so since I'm up, I just workout out and get it over with, so morning for me.
  • Josette89
    Josette89 Posts: 244
    I think it would make you feel better to start the day with a workout. Force yourself to get up early, drink coffee later, just start out doing what you can do in the morning and let your body get used to waking up early. Once you start waking up earlier, you'll realize how great it feels. I wake up early everyday to do some kind of exercise, whether it is walking my dogs, going for a jog, or doing some Zumba, I do it. Now I only require about 5-6 hours of sleep and I feel completely energized, anything more than that and I get lethargic. I used not be a morning person at all but I started having to be AT my job BY 6:00a. m-f with rotating weekends, that was when I did my workouts in the evening, but I found that after a whole day of working (constant walking, bending, and lifting) I started sacrificing my workouts for a little rest. So I think starting out the day with a good exercise and a meal makes for a great day. Plus, you start the day super positive with the endorphins in our system, I think losing some sleep is worth it. Get into a routine and it will be so much easier.
  • verptwerp
    verptwerp Posts: 3,659 Member
    I hit the gym 5-6 days a week ...... on Mon-Fri, I'll go after work ..... on weekends I'll go early, because the gym closes early. My only problem working out late is that I am SO hungry when I get home .... yet bedtime's not that far off .... which explains why my weight loss is slower :drinker:

    Happy losing !
  • 33neenaj
    33neenaj Posts: 306
    Morning...get it over with
  • penrbrown
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
    I workout in the evening after work! Sometimes I DON'T have the energy but if I worked out in the morning I would die. No. Really...

    Getting up is already a challenge, getting up and then working out? That's hell for me. I did it for a year and it did nothing but make me tired and miserable. So now I work out in the evening and it fills me with energy and makes me happy. :)
  • Wonderob
    Wonderob Posts: 1,372 Member
    I hit the gym 5-6 days a week ...... on Mon-Fri, I'll go after work ..... on weekends I'll go early, because the gym closes early. My only problem working out late is that I am SO hungry when I get home .... yet bedtime's not that far off .... which explains why my weight loss is slower :drinker:

    Happy losing !

    How does it explain why your weight loss is slower? Time you eat has no relevance to how much you burn off or otherwise
  • dlwyatt82
    dlwyatt82 Posts: 1,077 Member
    Whenever I can find the time. Usually that's in the evenings after work, on a weekday. If I'm going in on a weekend, could be midday or afternoon-evening again.

    A few years back, I had bought some home exercise equipment, and somehow got into the routine of waking up early and getting in an hour or so of workout before showering and going to work, but have never managed to reproduce that early-morning motiviation since then. I'd rather sleep as late as I can get away with.
  • tripletmom2004
    tripletmom2004 Posts: 168 Member
    I workout early in the morning before work.
  • Tat2dDom624
    Tat2dDom624 Posts: 1,226 Member
    I like to workout first thing in the morning because that's when you burn the most fat, and everyone in my house is asleep, so i have no interruptions, and have the tv all to myself (i like to watch it when i'm on the treadmill) My Tae Kwon Do classes are at night, but that's how the schedule is at my school. WIsh they had early morning AM classes......

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