Morning or evening? When is exercise at its most effective?
I’m often asked, ‘when is the best time to exercise?’ The reality is, it’s whenever it works best for you. Studies have been carried out to reveal when exercise is most effective for men and for women which have some interesting results, but at the end of the day (or the start of it!) exercise is good for you when you engage with it and get stuck in.
I’d hate to put anyone off exercising at a certain time of day because it’s not ‘the best time’ for their gender or age. That’s why online fitness is a great way to make exercise work for you – it’s flexible so you can do a workout whenever it fits your schedule. Equally, if you love a set-time evening workout with friends, that is a very effective way to get and stay fit too.
A recent small study in America looked at groups of women and men, some exercised in the morning and some in the evening. Every participant improved their overall health during the 12 week study, whether they worked out in the morning or evening, so that’s good news!
However, there were a couple of interesting outcomes for women. Those who wanted to reduce fat around their midriff or reduce their blood pressure, saw a greater reduction when exercising in the morning. Women who wanted to improve muscle strength and overall mood did better when they exercised in the evening.
For men, the morning or evening exercise routine had much less effect on them. The researchers need to do more investigations to work out why the time of day can make a difference in women. It might be because women simply carry more fat around their tummy area and that our internal rhythms are influential.
So whether you’re up with the lark, love a lunchtime workout or are more of a night owl, it really doesn’t matter – as long as you enjoy yourself, keep it varied and make fitness an important part of your week – you’re on to a winner!
To find out all the times for our online workouts and face-to-face classes, or to see what takes your fancy to do at silly o’clock when it suits you best, visit www.gemmapearcefitness.co.uk or find me on Facebook.