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Thread: Best time of day to work out?

  1. #1
    AlexxaHex
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    Default Best time of day to work out?

    Is there a difference in effectiveness if you work out during the day vs the night? I heard you burn more calories in the morning but I'm not sure if this is true.

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    Default Re: Best time of day to work out?

    I'm sure it is true. However, don't let the time that everyone generally is suppose to workout at deter you from exercising. The ideal time they say is in the morning on an empty stomach. I tried it once and nearly passed out on the elliptical. I would say go when you have the most energy and can devote a whole time to working out. A half assed workout isn't worth it to me.
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    Default Re: Best time of day to work out?

    I've heard the morning thing too and while their might be a hair of scientific evidence to it I say go when you feel best and can make it consistently. If I tried to go in the morning it would never happen. I wonder if there is a difference how big it would be, I bet its negligible.

    I work out most consistently if I can do it about noon or about midnight. Between 3-8pm I avoid the crowded gym like the plague.

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    Moderator Djoser's Avatar
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    Default Re: Best time of day to work out?

    Midnight...

    I have heard all that hype about morning workouts, but what it fails to take into account is the variance in biorhythm. Many of us in this industry are vampires.

    For someone used to working until the wee hours of the morning, taking a few hours to unwind, and finally getting to sleep when most mortals are starting their ratrace day and joining the rush hour traffic for their 9-5 jobs, going to the gym at 7-8 AM would be stupid and counterproductive.

    Go when you feel strongest and most ready to kick some ass, and ass you will kick. For me, and a lot of people with my schedule, that would be midnight--or later.

    I tried the morning workout a few times in college and it sucked. I wasn't motivared at all, and did noticeably worse than my normal evening workout.

    One of the managers at my club is a boxer (who just won his last fight). We often go after work to work out and train, which means I suppose I have done the morning workout thing, lol! Truth be told, I don't do as well then, after a grueling night at work.

    But ideally, for me--midnight, in all seriousness. I am pissed off my gym closes at 10 PM!
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    God/dess Farrah_Holiday's Avatar
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    Default Re: Best time of day to work out?

    I've heard morning too, I do see a difference when I do get up and excercise on an empty stomach..Honestly I think it's whenever you bring yourself to commit to working out ! I used to get so caught up in the morning workout routine that if I'd overslept or something came up I'd ended up feeling like I'd missed out on the ultimate workout experience ..
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    Veteran Member naughty_princess's Avatar
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    Default Re: Best time of day to work out?

    I have also heard it is best to workout first thing in the morning because it boosts your metabolism for the day.
    psychologically i've also heard that getting it over with makes you feel better through out your day, and more likely to stick to healthy moderate eating. some people think about it all day and it can cause stress knowing that they still have to go do it.

    personally at night i have a million reasons why i will "just go tomorrow". however if i go jogging, i LOVE it in the evenings. mornings are too...busy. its so much more relaxing at night

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    God/dess ahmeerah's Avatar
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    Default Re: Best time of day to work out?

    According to the body's natural circadian rhythms, It's best to exercise in the morning around 9AM. If you workout twice per day, do your cardio in the morning and then weights/yoga/pilates/chikung in the evening.

    I'm not sure about fat-burning potential but it keeps the body more balanced hormonally. The balanced you are hormonally the easier it is to lose unwanted weight.

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    God/dess Farrah_Holiday's Avatar
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    Default Re: Best time of day to work out?

    Quote Originally Posted by ahmeerah View Post
    According to the body's natural circadian rhythms, It's best to exercise in the morning around 9AM. If you workout twice per day, do your cardio in the morning and then weights/yoga/pilates/chikung in the evening.

    I'm not sure about fat-burning potential but it keeps the body more balanced hormonally. The balanced you are hormonally the easier it is to lose unwanted weight.

    Really ?? I wonder if thats why I'm so much more happier when I workout 2 times per day ? Hmm, I guess thats another reason to get back to my twice a day workouts.
    Thanks for the info.
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    God/dess ahmeerah's Avatar
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    Default Re: Best time of day to work out?

    I think you're happier working out twice per day because of the endorphins.

    Quote Originally Posted by Farrah_Holiday View Post
    Really ?? I wonder if thats why I'm so much more happier when I workout 2 times per day ? Hmm, I guess thats another reason to get back to my twice a day workouts.
    Thanks for the info.

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    God/dess Casual Observer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Best time of day to work out?

    The morning workout philosophy revolves around your specific goal; when you wake up in the AM on an empty stomach, your body is not engaged in digestion. When you work out on that empty stomach, your body will be up to 300% more effective at burning fat...but not necessarily better at tearing down (and thus, building up) muscle, due to a lack of available protein in the system. What that means is if you're weight training that day, do so toward the afternoon/early evening after you've consumed your midday meals.

    Djoser's point is also well-taken; being well-rested and feeling strong will lead to more effective workouts.
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    Moderator Djoser's Avatar
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    Default Re: Best time of day to work out?

    Aha! Thanks for the scientific explanation, CO. I figured it was something like that.

    It's not so much the time of day, then, as it is the fact you have woken up and haven't eaten, I take it? So if your normal time waking was 3 PM, you could go in then and get the same benefits as someone with a more conventional circadian rhythm going in at 8 AM--so long as you hold off on the bacon, lol.
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    Default Re: Best time of day to work out?

    As Casual Observer and Djoser said, the more advanced you are, the more you have to pay attention to the timing of your workouts, much like nutrition.

    If you find yourself asking the questions chances are you're either learning or not seeing a change, If it's learning, understand that any type of interval aerobics is immediately beneficial, like Stair Master/elliptical, and then a more sparse work out of the distance aerobics like running will yield decent benefits.

    If you have been doing aerobics for a while, and have not seen a change, try resting, and then after a week or so away from it, aim your aerobics in the morning within the first half hour of eating. Then save your wait training for different times in the day/different days entirely.

    I saw a great benefit there.
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    God/dess Farrah_Holiday's Avatar
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    Default Re: Best time of day to work out?

    Quote Originally Posted by ahmeerah View Post
    I think you're happier working out twice per day because of the endorphins.

    Probably, or it could be the fact that I've set aside a huge chunk of time for myself !
    *off to the gym for am workout*
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  14. #14
    Jay Zeno
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    Default Re: Best time of day to work out?

    If I work out at night, I don't go to sleep easily. Maybe the endorphins? I don't know. I personally like either morning workouts to get the blood flowing early or lunch workouts to get me to cut back on food and provide the pick-me-up to get through the afternoon.

    CO's advice on the digestion cycle seems quite sound.

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    Default Re: Best time of day to work out?

    I have really poor digestion, so I always try to work out either when I get up in the morning, or at least four hours after a meal. If I work out within two hours of eating, I get really sick feeling and crampy in my guts. It makes sense to think that all that exertion could mess with digestion. We also don't work horses for an hour after they eat grain for the same reason.

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    God/dess Casual Observer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Best time of day to work out?

    It's not so much the time of day, then, as it is the fact you have woken up and haven't eaten, I take it?
    This is correct, because your body has no choice but to break down fat stores for energy since you have no carbohydrates or proteins in your system. Proteins are the first choice of the body for energy, and they'll be long gone by the time you get up in the morning (whatever time of day is morning for you). For focused weight-training, it's generally recommended to start three hours after your last meal, if you're doing it in the latter portion of your day. However, this also means that if you're overtraining, your body will begin to cannibalize its own muscle for protein, so don't be one of those folks spending 90 minutes on an elliptical machine; 90 minutes should constitute your entire workout--aerobic as well as strength-training. Within twenty minutes of a workout, have 20 grams of lean protein (ideally, a whey isolate, but soy isolate is OK too) to give the body raw material with which to rebuild itself.

    I'll stop proselytizing now, lest someone get the idea that CO is a fitness buff...
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  17. #17
    AlexxaHex
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    Default Re: Best time of day to work out?

    I guess "morning" can mean different things to everybody, especially us Night Owls.

    I find that I personally feel like I get more of a work out right before I eat dinner (or the largest meal of the day). I don't know why this is - I was just wondering if there was a scientific answer. But I guess it isn't universal.

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