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Not everyone has the luxury of deciding when they get to squeeze in their workouts amid their busy schedules. But for those who have the flexibility to choose to work out either in the mornings or the evenings, science favors workouts earlier in the day.<\/p>\n
Mornings are apparently made for moving. \u201cThey set the tone for the rest of the day, so you tend to make healthier choices when it comes to eating,\u201d says Brooke Van Paris, NASM- and ISSA-certified personal training manager at Life Time in Deerfield Township, Ohio.<\/p>\n
In fact, morning workouts may hold the edge for reshaping your body. \u201cStudies allude to improved fat burning if you do cardio first thing in the morning,\u201d says Carol Espel, MS, director of fitness at Pritikin Longevity Center in Miami. Morning workouts can help you increase calorie burning throughout the day, decrease your appetite and aid in weight loss, she adds.<\/p>\n
But the benefits don\u2019t stop there. Surprisingly, morning workouts can yield better sleep quality, especially if you\u2019re exercising outdoors. \u201cLight exposure helps your circadian rhythms stay in check,\u201d Van Paris says. \u201cYou want to mimic the natural sunrise and sunset, so if you wake up early with the sun, your body will be able to produce more melatonin at night and help you get to sleep and stay asleep longer.\u201d<\/p>\n
And while exercise at any time can boost mood-inducing hormones like serotonin, that boost from your morning workout will stay with you throughout the day, Van Paris says. You\u2019ll also feel more alert and may have better cognitive functioning as a result, Espel says.<\/p>\n
Best part about morning workouts? You won\u2019t have the distractions, interruptions and excuses to skip a workout as you do in the evening, Van Paris says.<\/p>\n
Of course, morning workouts come with an obvious negative: being too groggy to work out, which means you may not be able to perform as well as you\u2019d like to.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t despair if you\u2019re an evening exerciser because there are advantages to doing your workout at night. Start with your core body temperature, which is generally higher in the evening. \u201cIt may take less time for your body to warm up as a result,\u201d Espel says. Higher internal temperatures may even make you less stiff and give you better mobility, Van Paris says.<\/p>\n
Some studies even show that it can take 20 percent longer to reach the point of exhaustion if you\u2019re exercising later in the day. \u201cThat means you may have more power and endurance in the evening,\u201d Espel says.<\/p>\n
For many individuals, working out in the evening also can provide the opportunity to de-stress after a crazy day. And if you\u2019re exercising at a health club, there are usually more people logging their workouts after a day in the office, which gives you the potential to meet more people, Van Paris says.<\/p>\n
Unlike morning workouts, though, evening workouts do come with more negatives, chief among them being that you may be so fatigued or distracted by other responsibilities that you may skip the workout altogether. And if you exercise too late, the stress hormone cortisol may spike as a result, making it more difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep, Van Paris adds.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why the best time to work out is the time you\u2019ll actually be consistent and stick with it. \u201cRoutine is most important in getting somebody committed to their exercise program,\u201d Van Paris says. In other words, sweat whenever it\u2019s best for you, be it morning or evening.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n