Best Time For Working Out
If you’re into the fit lifestyle, chances are you’ve thought about this question at some point. Many people wonder if training at a particular time in the day can speed up their progress and get them to their goals faster.
If you’re looking for a simple answer to this question – there isn’t one. Whether you should train in the morning or evening for better results depends on various factors. Go through the factors mentioned below and see what time suits you the best.
Losing Weight
Most of the people who get a gym membership do so to lose weight. If you’re one of these people, several studies have proved that working out on an empty stomach (fasted cardio) can boost your fat-loss process.
Hormones are one of the most overlooked factors when it comes to physique transformation. Working out in the morning is great for people who want to lose body fat as testosterone (which fuels energy and muscle gains) soars in the AM.
Gaining Muscle
Meeting all your nutrition requirements is one of the most important factors in gaining muscle mass. Training in the evening can ensure that you’ve consumed enough calories and macronutrients to fuel your workouts and muscle growth.
Another great reason for the bodybuilders to train in the evening is that the cortisol levels (the muscle-eating hormone) climb by 75% in the morning, but normalizes at night. To support the argument of training in the PM, a study conducted by the Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism showed that your anaerobic capacity is 7% higher during the evening workouts.
Sleep
Being able to get a sound sleep should be one of the most important considerations for choosing your training time as it aids in recovery and puts you on the fast track to goal achievement. Sleep is also one of the complicated factors as there are no clear winners here.
Researchers at Appalachian State University showed that people who lift at 7 am power down faster at night and produce more human growth hormone than evening trainers. On the other hand, the same study found evening gym time raises body heat like a warm bath and promotes sound sleep.
Work
Since most of the people who train are not professional athletes, their work timings have a major say in their workout schedule. If you work till late at night, you’ll have no other option than training in the AM.
Similarly, while you might not feel the best training late in the night (if you have a 9-5 job), you’ll have to make do with what you have. Whatever you do, you should not excuse yourself from working out due to a packed schedule – and your body will thank you for it later.
Lifestyle
Some people like to use the hustle mindset in their training, so they’ll wake up and workout long before the cock’s crow. And then some people like to train in the dead silence of the night.
The lifestyle aspect deals with figuring out if you are fine with giving up going out with your friends for dinner after work or whether you can stay motivated and energized for early morning workouts.
There is no one-is-better-than-the-other in this argument. You’ll have to figure out what works for you. We would encourage you to train at different times of the day for at least four weeks and settle on the time where you have the best workouts.
Are you an early gym lark or a weight room night owl? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.
