When is the best time to exercise? Morning, afternoon or evening?

Of course, I am fully aware of the sad reality that most of us in today's chaoticin this chaotic world gives us virtually no opportunity to choose or plan our exercise time. Whether it's because of work, school or raising kids, our workout time tends to be in the vast majority of cases, completely subordinated to all these important responsibilities. However, I would still like to address this topic because I believe that many of you are constantly wondering about this very subject.

So, if you have, or at some time in the future will have, the opportunity to choose a time for exercise, what time should you choose? How does it all work? And why is it so? These are the questions I will try to answer here and maybe help some of you to improve your workouts.

What theoretically happens to our body during the day?

The desire to exercise, as well as the quality of your workouts, can be influenced by a number of different factors. One of these factors is the time chosen for our workouts. So first, a few theories that are most often mentioned in relation to this topic.

The first of these theories deals with the secretion of hormones, more precisely it is mainly the hormones cortisol and testosterone. This theory claims that our body is pre-programmed to increase cortisol levels in the morning and testosterone levels in the evening.

Cortisol is a hormone associated with adrenaline. It's basically a stress hormone with a catabolic function that primes our bodies for activity. Thanks to its high levels, we should feel more alive, energized and alert in the morning and morning hours. However, its levels should decrease throughout the day. At the same time, the level of testosterone and other recovery and anabolic hormones in our body should gradually increase.

Testosterone has a calming function compared to cortisol, so we can say that it prepares our body for regeneration, rest and growth. That is why it should reach its highest values, together with other regenerative hormones, especially in the evening and at night. This whole cycle should then repeat itself in our body every day.

Another theory recommends that we exercise at the time when our body reaches its highest possible temperature. This should make it perfectly ready for exercise. This time is said to be somewhere between two and six o'clock in the afternoon.

Of course, these are all mere theories, from which we often cannot draw any definite conclusions. So what are the differences between morning, afternoon and evening workouts and how much can this ultimately affect our training?

Morning exercise

I understand that for some of us, exercising in the morning, a short time after waking up, can be completely unimaginable. Yet, it can bring a whole host of benefits that will make youThe benefits of the morning can make you want to change your daily routine and hit the gym in the morning.

Possible benefits

According to some studies, exercising in the morning has a positive effect on the quality of our sleep. During physical activity, our heart rate increases and our body temperature rises. However, these two factors can completely disrupt our sleep when we exercise in the evening or at night. Thus, morning exercise allows us to avoid possible sleep problemssleep problems, thus supporting both our recovery and the quality of the workouts themselves.

Other research states that fasted exercise makes our bodyour body is able to burn up to 20% more fat than when we exercise after meals. From this point of view, it seems to be a much better option to try fasted training right from the start.than sometime in the afternoon or evening, when we should rightly have already eaten several meals in a row. Moreover, according to some other studies, morning physical activity can reduce appetite, even for the rest of the day.

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Our advice and tips

The first benefit of morning workouts, in my opinion, is that you' ll simply have already done it. That way, you won't have to stress about when or if you'll even be able to go work out that day for the rest of the day. In addition, morning physical activity increases endorphin production, which can help you better cope with stressful situations that come up during that day.

Motivation can definitely be another benefit. I would say that this will be especially true for those of us who have enough time to workout in the morning and thus don't go to workout just because of our own laziness. If you happen to be one of these people, my advice to you is to try to push through and go workout in the morning. Winning over morning laziness can motivate you to be more activeand your day can suddenly become more productive than ever.

However, the problem can arise for those of us who work from morning to night and simply can't find time for any physical activity. Here I would just like to refer to people like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Jocko Willink or Mark Wahlberg. These three, like many of us, have incredibly busy schedules. But unlike most of us, even that can't deter them from exercising. Their solution is so simple, they just get up early enough to get their workout in before all the responsibilities that await them during the day. So, try to get up as early as you need to in order to get your morning workout or jog. The feeling of knowing that everyone else is still asleep while you are already working hard is simply priceless. From my own experience, I can guarantee some of you will become completely addicted to it.

Afternoon workout

Of course, even after the aforementioned benefits of morning exercise, the vast majority of us still can't get enough of afternoon workouts. But what benefits do these workouts really bring us?

Possible benefits

Your body has plenty of time during the day towarm up and get moving, which can then have a positive effect not only on your strength, but also on your endurance and flexibility. On top of this, you should already have at least a few foods in you that can give you much needed energy for exercise. All these aspects then make your body perfectly prepared toto perform at its best in the gym that afternoon.

Furthermore, late afternoon is the time when your heart rate and blood blood pressure are at their lowest, which can have a very positive effect on your performance. In addition, according to some studies, it is in the afternoon that our bodies are able to burn the most calories. So for those of you who are trying to shed excess pounds down, this may provide at least a small advantage.

Our advice and tips

As mentioned above, the afternoon is the time when you should already bemost of us should feel awake and ready enough for a workout. That's why it's the afternoon workouts that can help you lift the heaviest possible weights.

The excitement of training is then definitely another possible advantage of afternoon workouts. During the day we can feel more motivated and determined to accomplish all the necessary of the day so that we can get to our well-deserved workout as soon as possible. And that's with the knowledge that there are no more obligations waiting for us after the workout, except relaxation.

This is also closely related to stress relief. I know this especially from my older brother, who actively competes in power triathlon. The days when he manages to lift the heaviest weights in training are moreare usually the days that he leaves work completely angry or frustrated. Because it's in training that you can put all that aggression you get from work. Not only can you get a great workout, but you'll also be doing something good for your health, both physical and mental.

Another possible benefit is getting rid of bad or even unhealthy afternoons and eveningshabits such as watching TV, drinking alcohol or eating at fast food restaurants. I understand that exercise can often be the last thing on your mind after work, but trustbelieve me, if you can get to the gym or the gym, the exercise will somehow give in. The reward will then be that great feeling of satisfaction that you made it, and despite your fatigue, you went to exercise.

Evening exercise

For some people it is an unimaginable time to exercise, for others it is a daily routine that they can't afford and it suits them perfectly. Evening exercise is generally not talked about very often, but it is a rightor can evening exercise surprise us in a pleasant way?

Possible benefits

According to this study, evening exercise does not have nearly as many disadvantages as it may seem at first glance. On the contrary, it can provide a number of benefits, such as reducing the level of ghrelin in our bodies. This hormone is responsible for our appetite, so evening exercise can help us shed excess pounds.

As I mentioned above, evening or night exercise can negatively affect our sleep. However, this is not necessarily true of all physical activity. In fact, in addition to relieving stress, yoga can have a very positive effect on the quality of our sleep.

Our advice and tips

As a person who goes to bed around 10:00 to 12:00, I have to be honest and admit that I don't have much positive experience with evening exercise. Most of the time I had trouble falling asleep afterwards and the overall quality of my sleep was not very good. So from my point of view I would definitely not recommend evening exercise.

However, for people who have a different daily routine than me, it can be a great option. So if you have a night shift ahead of you, are used to going to the gym right after your afternoon shift, or just just prefer to sleep during the day, evening or even night workouts may definitely be for you. However, in this case, there is one more quite crucial thing to consider, whether you know or havehave a gym or gym near your home or workplace that is open at night.

Conclusion

So what is the conclusion of this article? The conclusion is quite simple, there is no ideal time to exercise and there never will be. In fact, every option has its positive and negative aspects. That is why it is simply impossible to determine one hundred percent what is the ideal time to exercise. Ultimately, it's up to you to decide when during the day you decide to go exercise. The important thing is to persevere and exercise regularly.

The training itself is of course a topic for many other articles, so I would like to refer you hereto our older articles, in which you will find a whole range of advice and recommendations concerning training. On training, I would just add that you should train hard, but at the same time smart, becauseAlways make sure you warm up sufficiently and use the right technique.

And that's really all for now, we hope you liked this article and at least a little bit about the benefits of your chosen exercise time. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask in the comments.