When is the best time of day to exercise?
When is the best time of day to exercise?
Choosing the best time of day to exercise is a personal decision influenced by your schedule, lifestyle, individual preferences, weather, nutrition, and willpower. Thus, understanding yourself will ultimately determine the optimal time to exercise for you. For this article, we’ll explore the advantages of exercising in different parts of the day and help you choose.
The benefits of morning exercise:
Better consistency: You have the most willpower in the morning, so if exercise is new to you and you’re not necessarily looking forward to it, working out in the morning can be a helpful choice for you to be consistent and leverage your morning willpower.
Early Accomplishment: Have you heard of the “make your bed” speech? The idea is to accomplish something right when you wake up so you start the trend of accomplishment and attempt to turn you into an accomplishment machine. Working out first can be your version of “making your bed”.
Improved Focus: Morning exercise is like a cup of coffee without the coffee. It warms-up your metabolism, your mental state and gets you functioning at a high level before stepping into the office or waking up the kids.
The benefits of noon exercise:
Peak performance: By midday your body and mind have warmed-up and are ready to perform. Generally, our bodies are a bit looser and limber than they are at 5 or 6am and we aren’t so tired as we are at 5 or 6pm from a day of work.
Workout during lunch: To be clear I want you to eat lunch but if you have an hour or more for lunch, and you’ve already prepared your lunch and can eat it quickly. Use the rest of the time to workout! This seamlessly adds working out to your schedule during a down period of work. It also breaks up your day into 2 halves.
The benefits of evening exercise:
Stress relief: Exercise in general can be stress relieving, but it seems to be a bit extra relieving when the stress just happened in the hours prior. You might like to gift yourself the opportunity to work out and have a reset before coming home to your family.
Greater flexibility: After work or at the end of the day tends to be when our schedules are the most relaxed. This allows you to focus on your workout without the distractions of the rest of the things you might have to do afterwards.
More social: In the evenings people are a bit more relaxed and may even grab drinks together afterwards. The afternoon classes tend to be a bit more social and can be a great time to make a new friend.
Finding the perfect fit for you will likely come down to your specific schedule, this season of life and how committed you are to your fitness and longevity. I encourage you to:
Experiment: Try different times if you have the flexibility and assess after a week or so at that class. Was it easier to be consistent? Did the energy of the class match your mood at that time?
Listen to your body: Does your body & mind love to workout in the morning? What about in the evening? What about mid-day? If your body doesn’t love to workout, then which one does your body hate the least?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to the best time of day to exercise. By experimenting with different times and paying attention to your body’s signals, you’ll find the perfect workout time that suits your lifestyle and helps you achieve your fitness goals. Remember, consistency is key, so choose a time that you can stick to and enjoy!
All the best,
Coach Javier