What Is the Best Time For Exercise?

While some fitness aficionados swear by a specific time for exercise, there is no evidence that more calories are used, more fat is burned, and muscle is grown at certain times of the day. However, the time of day can affect how you feel during your workout. How? Well, it mostly depends on your body’s circadian rhythm.

Also known as your body clock, the circadian rhythm is directly influenced by Earth’s rotation around the sun. It governs the most basic body functions, which includes body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, and hormone levels. These are all crucial to your body’s preparedness for exercise.

To make the most of your workouts, it’s always best to consider your body clock as well as other factors that will often come into play, such as your work obligations and personal responsibilities. The following should help you make the best decision.

Morning
Scheduling your workout early in the morning is an excellent idea if you find it difficult to keep a consistent regimen. This will help you make sure that none of your other responsibilities will get in the way of your workout. It also helps that, based on the average circadian rhythm, testosterone, memory and focus are often at their daily peak in the morning. However, since your body temperature will be lower in the morning, it goes without saying that you should warm up more than you would in the afternoon or at night.

Afternoon
While getting up early to break a sweat is easy to do for some people, there are those who prefer to exercise in the afternoon when they’ve finished most of their daily tasks. They believe that afternoon workouts are easier to get used to since they won’t be feeling sleepy or fighting with their body the way they do when they’ve just woken up. Strength training is also best done in the afternoon, when pain tolerance, adrenaline and body temperature are quite high.

Evening
Late workouts are the best choice for those who don’t have an hour or two to spare earlier in the day and like to exercise as a way to combat stress. Since coordination, body temperature, stamina and lung performance are usually at their highest around this time, you can make the most of the high-intensity interval training. However, your mental focus could be waning at this point and your body could start producing additional melatonin to prepare you for sleep.

In the end, it all depends on you. Choose a convenient and comfortable time you’re sure you can stick with, so that exercise will become a habit and, ultimately, come as naturally as breathing.

If you can’t seem to make time for exercise, don’t worry. I have 5 simple tips that just might help.