Got Milk? Ahem.
It’s one of the most hotly debated and simultaneously inane topics in fitness: What time of day is the best time to workout? For most people existing in the normal sphere, the answer aligns with Columbia University’s ask-me-your-most-embarrassing-questions provocateur Go Ask Alice. In addition to having her to thank for filling in the gaps in my sex education (even grown-ups wonder about… things) , she is also good at spouting the party line by succinctly stating the current scientific consensus. Which in this case is – say it with me now – “The best time to exercise is the time that’s right for you.“
Good, now that we’ve got that out of the way we can agree that since a) I’m not normal and b) I schedule my day around my workout(s) rather than the other way around, there is some merit in discussing this further. Even if it is just to have you all comment, “I can’t believe you schedule your day around your workouts! Get a life, you nut!!”
So what is the best time of day to workout?
It depends on what you are doing. According to research published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, human beings are actually at their weakest first thing in the morning with muscular strength peaking in the late afternoon and early evening. Our muscles burn glycogen and glycogen stores are running low due to our overnight fasting. Also, apparently our muscles work better when our body temperature is higher which naturally peaks later in the day.
A disturbing little study cited in the same article studied male college students for 10 weeks. The group of 16 men did 45 minutes of weights followed by 45 minutes of cardio. Half the group did this workout at 10 am and the other half did it at 6 pm. What happened is either very disturbing or very indicative of the crazy lives of college males:
“The PM group had a 3.2% increase in lean mass, compared with a 0.6% gain in the AM group. Body fat dropped by 4% in the PM group, while it actually increased by nearly 5% in the AM group.”
If I were in that study I’d be ticked. 5% is a lot of body fat to gain in 10 weeks. Of course this type of study often has many variables that cannot be controlled for. To truly analyze the results we’d need to do a follow-up study examining the correlation of late-night frat party keggers/A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila marathons with missed a.m. workouts. I’m just saying.
On the other end of the exercise spectrum however, it appears that if cardio is your goal then the morning might be your best time to workout. Not only do morning exercisers report having greater energy throughout the day, it may also help you burn more fat and continue to burn more fat throughout the day due to a super-charged metabolism.
Another perk of a.m. cardio is that you are more likely to stick with it. Apparently will power is a limited resource and as you spend it over the course of the day on things like not eating your office mate’s face cake then you have less of it to motivate you to workout when you finally get out of said office.
Lark or Owl
One last factor to consider is that scientists have discovered something very exciting: People are different. And not just in which locker room they use. (Side note: the men’s locker rooms at my gym are red. The women’s are green. This has caused more than one massively embarrassing moment to many an inattentive gym goer, myself included. My theory is that maintenance has a wicked sense of humor.) Apparently there are two types of folks – larks, or naturally early risers, and owls, or naturally late sleepers. Despite all assertions to the contrary by your high school principal, your body gravitates towards one or the other. I’m an owl married to a lark. He’s the Bella to my Edward. I even have the pale cold skin to prove it! But I definitely look better in a dress. Not that that’s important to vampires. Although it is to my husband. Anyhow…
The other night I got to put my owl tendencies to the test when I joined Gym Buddies Allison, Paul, Vernie, Sarah, Sunshine and Turbo Jennie for Midnight Turbo – a concept that only the most insane fitness fanatics would be excited about. And excited we were! The night started with an hour-long drive in which Sunshine and I shared the fold-down backseat of Paul’s Highlander. I haven’t been that close to someone in the backseat of a car since a very awkward double date in college in which all parties have been paid to never mention again. We then did Turbo Kick and Hip Hop Hustle until the wee hours of the morning, ending with dinner/breakfast/nausea at the local 24-hour diner. Capping the whole night of fun was the drive home, spent in the back giggling insanely with Sunshine for no apparent reason.
You know what I discovered? Midnight workouts give me really strange dreams. And it was fun to change up my routine. Except for Mondays and some Thursdays, I workout in the morning because am workouts interfere the least with my children’s schedules. I like my a.m. sweat fests. I find I have more energy and patience throughout the day. I worry less about what I eat. Overall I think this owl girl is pretty converted to her lark schedule. And yet the nighttime workout was a blast as well. So maybe I’m closer to Go Ask Alice then I thought.
So, raise of hands – who’s a lark and who’s an owl? When is your ideal time to workout? When do you actually work out?
Great post Charlotte, I was just thinking about how I should be doing yoga in the mornings because AM exercise really sets me up right for the day. But in answering your poll I had to say evenings, because that’s when my TKD Classes are on. If I was choosing to do any other form of exercise, it would be in the AM though. It’s definitely linked to that finite amount of will power! I find that any form of cardio in the mornings gives me an extra boost of confidence and will power to face the day. 🙂
morning morning morning.
speaking of which….
🙂
My scehdule is so varied it depends on what I’m doing in the week. At the moment it’s quiet in the office so I’m ALL about the morning workouts, apart from my favourite Spin class which is one evening a week.
I like more relaxed workouts in the PM, I get a real energy slump at 4pm so it’s much harder to get going!
TA x
I voted for evening, but it is a mix.
Since I have to be at work at 7am, I’m not usually working out before work.
So this week will be typical:
Monday – Lift starting around 5:15
Tuesday – Hockey game – 9pm
Wednesday – If we win tonight, we’ll play in the finals at 9pm. If not, I’ll likely lift starting around 5:15
Thursday – My Sunday Spin Class instructor is trying to get people to a 5pm class at another Y. If I can make it, I’ll do that. If not, I’ll likely do a cardio workout around 5:15pm at my Y
Friday – Off Day
Saturday – Lift around 2pm
Sunday – 10:15am Spin Class
I did go to a 5:30am Spin Class when I was off the week of Thanksgiving and might go to one again over the next couple of weeks that I have off.
Best to wind down in the evening after the day in an office.
I want to be a morning exerciser so bad! I just can’t seem to muster the will at that hour in the morning
I do cardio in the morning, but tend to strength train later in the day.
Most of my midnight workouts, that I’ll talk about, involve fixing someone that got damaged doing their midnight workout 🙂
Wow. If you exercise in the morning you gain fat? Hm.
I think I’m a lowl.
I like to do yoga in the morning, but yesterday I started a Power Yoga strength thingy and I was an absolute jellyfish for most of the day.
If I didn’t have to work, I’d do yoga warmups in the morning (that really does make me feel good the rest of the day) and cardio in the afternoon. I’m one of those people who use up too much discipline points during the day to have any left for evening workouts.
I am definitely an owl. I did do the early morning exercise thing for about 6 months, and I never got used to it. I also found that I did not have as much energy to put into exercising first thing in the morning – cardio or weights, it made no difference.
For a few years I was able to leave my desk around 2 pm and hit the gym and that was perfect for me. Sadly, that doesn’t work with my current job and since I was unable to morph myself into a lark, I now work out in the evenings – before or after supper, depending on how hungry Husband is when we get home from work. On the weekends, it usually ends up being late morning/early afternoon…that seems to be the time I naturally gravitate toward, if given the choice.
I exercise after work – the gym is located between my job and the bus stop so I work out on the way home. I like this set up because it avoids me needing to work up the motivation to go to the gym after getting home and wanting to relax. This way, once I get home I’m already done! Also my husband works later than I do so this way we get home closer to the same time.
I like the morning exercises because that way it’s done and nothing interferes with it. But you’ve got interesting timing on this post, because last night at 11pm I was feeling “fat” so decided to do the 30 day shred dvd. It was fun and strange to exercise so late at night!
I love working out in the am. I feel like I can run the gym. Its good for my ego 🙂
While I prefer to work out mid morning (that 10 am time..), that is when the gym is most crowded. All 100 cardio machines can be taken with a waiting line. And finding the right set of DBs or a bench to use them? Not going to happen without losing my sweat.
But if I push it back 2 hours to noon, I can work wherever I wish with almost no waiting. And the locker room is emptier too. Lemme tell ya, standing in line for a shower nekkid and cooling down from a good sweat is not a pleasant thing.
So I’m often choosing a less favored but more “workable” time.
And, yes, like you I plan my days (in fact my entire week) around my workouts.
I think it’s a great idea to work out in the morning…in theory. In practicality, I like my sleep too much, I can’t get up an hour or more earlier just to go exercise. So I go after work. I can exercise in the morning on weekends, but that’s usually around 9 or 10.
Morning! Though usually after I’ve been up a couple hours.
And I’m sorry, but Midnight Exercise???!!!! That’s crazy talk.
But I guess to each her own 🙂
Great post. Midnight classes sound like a blast!
I am totally an owl. I work out on the way home from work – usually from about 6-7:30 and eat dinner after. On the weekends, I usually do my workout right before lunch or after lunch settles depending on what I got up to last night.
I have done AM workouts before, but I do not do “spring out of bed and start going” well. My fiance loves it (though admittedly his “morning” is going at 10am), I need a few hours of wakeup to feel ready.
Though, I have been toying with playing with workout times in January… 😉
GOOD. Cause i work out in the evenings. It my stress relief from the work day.
Kelly Turner
http://www.everygymsnightmare.com
Lark here, working out in the AM. I can have the best of intentions to work out in the evening (self-talk: you can do it). Even at 3PM I’m still self-talking my way to do an evening Pilates or Yoga session, but by 6PM I’m done for and the resolve has gone to bed for the night.
Midnight cardio sounds fun, but only every once in a while.
As a direct result of this post, I may start doing cardio in the morning and lifting in the afternoon (seriously).
I’ve converted myself to be a noon-ish workout devotee with some evening workouts thrown in when my schedule permits. I tried to be an AM fan, but I like my warm bed and cozy covers far too much.
When do I workout? When I get the time! It depends on 3-y-o’s whim, law, and nap schedule. If I can steal some time in the morning, afternoon, or evening, I’ll take it. Otherwise, I’m working out at 10pm, which means I won’t sleep until 12:30 or 1am – not so good.
I prefer a late morning workout, but it really kills the whole day for me.
Well, due to my schedule, I work out in both the mornings and evenings. Like Shivers, my TKD classes are in the evenings. Since I like them, and they’re mentally as well as physically challenging, I go, but I wouldn’t go for a run after work, I have to admit.
My “regular” cardio and strength training I do at 5am.
All that said? From experience, my BODY does best if I work out between noon and 2:00pm. Having an office job sort of interferes with that, though. LOL 😉
I prefer morning workouts, although that rarely happens because my husband “prefers” not to have to wake up with the kids. (nice, huh?)
so I usually get it in whenever i can.
not to be a stalker or anything, but can I move near you and hang with you and your gym friends? How AWESOME!? You worked out all night long?
so jealous!
If I had my choice, I’d definitely take a TK class at 9pm. My prefered time to workout is b/w 8 and 10pm, but because I need classes for motivation, I tend to go in the early evenings and a morning class here and there. I’m not a morning person AT ALL. I stay awake late cause I need my time away from the kids after they go to bed.
Mostly I do my sweating in the morning. That way I won’t have the excuse of being too tired when I get home from work. But also because I am very much a morning person and early riser.
Me in a midnight workout class? I’d be the one asleep against the wall.
I workout when I have childcare (6 a.m. and hubby still home or during the day at the gym). Did Alice mention that? I do think I’m more of a lark though. But also, if it’s done in the morning then it’s DONE. Putting it off gets risky.