Wondering what time of day to exercise? We suggest – any time is good! However, there are aspects that can slightly affect the effectiveness of a given exercise.
The most important is regularity. When you do strength or aerobic training at the right times and this fixed time is kept every time, you can slightly increase the effects of training. We are not only talking about weight loss, but also about gaining muscle mass or improving endurance. From this article you will learn when to exercise to better affect fat burning or faster muscle mass growth. In addition, we will suggest which times are best for endurance, aerobic and strength training!
We will start our article with strength exercises. It turns out that this type of training is the most flexible. Mainly because it does not strongly affect our tendons. Hence, both after waking up, as well as in the middle of the day or before bed, you can safely go to the gym or lift weights in your garage.
There is some research that says strength training can be most effective in the early afternoon. However, we’re talking about a maximum of a few percent impact on your results – so you don’t need to get too worked up about it. Adjust the time of day to your abilities. If you start work later, go to the gym in the morning, if you finish earlier, do your workout in the afternoon. During these two time periods roughly between 6-8am and 4-6pm your metabolism speeds up a bit.
The advantage of strength training in the late afternoon is certainly psychological. Lifting weights allows you to release the stress you were exposed to during the day. This unloading of emotions is advisable before calming down your body and preparing it for sleep. Nevertheless, choose the time that suits you. The effectiveness of strength training depends primarily on a specially prepared plan with progression and a proper diet rich in protein.
Aerobic exercise is a kind of the opposite of strength training, not only in terms of the type and technique of training. Time of day has an impact on the effectiveness of exercises, as well as their safety and psychological aspect. Running, intervals or intensive cardio is better done in the morning, around 6:00 a.m. Metabolism is stimulated then, which we have already mentioned. It will be so during the workout itself, as well as a few hours after it. Thanks to this, you will burn calories a little faster and you will continue to burn them long after the exercise. Again, we are talking about small values here, nevertheless the time of day can make a difference in this case.
There are two main reasons to exercise in the morning, in addition to the metabolism issue already described. We will now briefly describe each of them:
–muscle and tendon stimulation – after every night your tendons and muscles are stagnant. Without stretching and exercise, it will take hours to get them going. Why prolong the process? Just a few minutes of aerobics or endurance training in the morning is enough to affect these parts of the body. Then in just a quarter of an hour they will be back to their optimal state;
–Feeling during the day – another aspect worth paying attention to while choosing time of the day for aerobic exercises is feeling after training. By choosing to exercise intensely in the evening, you may have trouble falling asleep, you will still be stimulated, and adrenaline and serotonin will be at high levels. The release of these hormones will have a beneficial effect on the rest of the day when it takes place in the morning. You can count on a successful day! You will have more energy to work and feel good about yourself.
As you can see, the time of day can affect the effectiveness of exercise, but only to a very small degree. Your choice of workout time should be based on your ability. Strength exercises are quite flexible in this aspect – do them in the morning, afternoon or early evening. Aerobic training, on the other hand, is better done in the morning. This will give you more strength throughout the day, improve your mood and confidence at work!
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