Choose your workout time wisely to reap maximum benefits.
“When is the best time to work out?” – this is a highly debatable question as your body clock plays a pivotal role in determining the efficacy of the workout on your body. This can vary from one person to the other depending on the ‘circadian rhythms’, which regulates the sleep patterns, body temperature, and blood pressure levels of a person. It is difficult to fit exercises in our hectic schedules and therefore, it is important to find out which time of the day works best for you to reap maximum benefits from workout sessions. Let’s check how it is like to exercise in the morning and evening to help you decide a suitable time for you.
Exercising in the mornings
More likely to stick with it
If you are choosing mornings to exercise, then you are ruling out the most possibilities of missing your workout in the evening due to change of plans. If you are one the people who like to follow a routine, mornings are best for you. Barbara Brehm, a professor of exercise and sports studies at Smith College, Northampton suggests that a.m. exercisers are more likely to be successful in staying fit and achieving their desired goals because they are not exposed to various draining activities and stress during the day.
Remain energetic throughout the day
Numerous researches suggest that exercising in the morning can make you feel energized throughout the day. Exercise in the mornings releases endorphins that elevate your mood. Morning exercises increase the core body temperature and you feel fresher and more charged up.
Might lose weight faster
Exercising in the morning, after fasting overnight, can help in losing weight faster than usual. The body relies on the stored body fat as its primary source of energy in the mornings. Working out empty stomach increases lipolysis, fat oxidation and decreases insulin levels. When the body breaks down fatty cells it is known as lipolysis and fat oxidation is when the body burns the energy from the fat cells. So essentially you burn more fat when you work out on an empty stomach.
Exercising in the evening
Get more out of your workout
This one comes down to having more time. In the morning there is plenty of rush and if you don’t want to compromise on your workout, then the evening is the time for you. Put in some extra time in the gym after you are done with your day’s work. Additionally, gyms tend to be less crowded at that time of the day.
Might sleep better
Most people think that getting your heart pumped up too close to bedtime can mess with sleep patterns. Performing robust exercise 90 minutes before bedtime can be linked to falling asleep faster than usual speed, fewer wake-up in the middle of the night and an improved mood.
Less prone to injury
Towards the end of the day, your body temperature is warmer in comparison to morning body temperature. This makes your body more prepared for exercising, which means muscular function and strength shoots up in the evening. This preparedness of the muscles makes your body less prone to injury and helps increase your workout intensity.
Less stressed
There is nothing more gratifying than hitting the gym at the end of the day after a grueling day at work. For some, a workout post office acts as therapy – a means to vent out frustrations and release stress. You don’t have to be a scientist to understand how a half an hour of boxing is all you need to forget your boss’s sardonic remarks