As you prep for the next day, you may be wondering “When should I fit in my workout?” and “When is the best time to work out?” Here is a guide to help you get your workout in during the optimum time of day.
What Science Says About Optimum Workout Time of Day
The truth is: the best time to exercise really depends on you. You can optimize your workouts by choosing certain times of day for your body rhythms, but only if you are truly motivated during those times.
If you are flexible and scheduling isn’t an issue, some research suggests early morning and late afternoon training sessions have been shown to improve performance depending on the exercise that you choose to do.1
Working out on an empty stomach (i.e. before breakfast) may encourage your body to use fat as its primary fuel when carbs are in short supply. But you must be careful because a lack of food during training may make you feel lethargic or light-headed if your blood sugar is low.
Motivational Factors May Affect Your Best Time To Workout
But, hold on. Before you begrudgingly set your alarm clock or adjust your schedule, you need to keep reading.
There are disagreements in research when it comes to peak performance times, so the best time of day for working out isn’t a clear-cut answer and ultimately it depends on you and your lifestyle.
Some people may be affected by demands from their jobs, while others might change their schedule to fit in with their social life (staying up late to get together with friends over the weekend). Some may get a sense of arousal and periods of alertness later in the day, others may feel more motivated right when they get out of bed. Some people enjoy group workout classes instead of individual activities as it may motivate them to keep going even when they start to slow down. At the end of the day, what is best for you may not be best for someone else.
Understanding Your Personal Motivation to Workout
A morning workout might jumpstart your metabolism and allow you to get your workout in before other distractions crop up, but not everyone is a morning person. Waking up at the crack of dawn might feel like torture and eventually derail your hard work. So, don’t feel trapped in this line of thinking. Working out at any point throughout the day can still be a great step toward a healthy lifestyle, even if it’s not first thing in the morning.
It’s good to get into a regular routine if possible. Make exercise a habit within your lifestyle, and not a daily task you struggle to fit in. If your schedule isn’t consistent, you can set up regular activities you do based on the time of day you have free.
If you find it hard to sleep after a late workout, consider adding a more mindful movement to the end for a cooldown. After an intense workout, use Yoga (or something similar) to wind down for bed.
READ MORE: How to Start Exercising and Make it a Habit that Sticks
Increase Motivation for Effective Workouts
It can be so easy to start finding reasons to avoid those hard-hitting reps that keep you fit. From an extra push of the snooze button to a packed schedule or feeling drained at the end of the day, you might find it hard to fit in a solid workout. The best time of day for peak workout performance are times when you feel most driven, so you will want to increase your personal motivation.
Vary Your Routines
You might struggle with feeling bored doing the same series of movements in your workout. Not only will you start to feel bored, but your body will adapt and plateau.3 To avoid ineffective workouts, change up:
- Set/Reps Length
- Weight
- Targeted Areas
- Intensity/Speed
- Length of Workout
- Number of Days Per Week
- Types of Exercise
Vary Your Activity Type
Switching activities can help tone areas of the body that aren’t targeted by your normal routine. Plus, you will increase motivation doing things you enjoy, changing up the scenery or making it social with variations in your workouts:
- Biking
- Running or Jogging
- Walking or Hiking
- Swimming
- Playing Sports
- Dancing
- Aerobics
- Yoga
- Pilates
- Boxing or Kickboxing
- Strength Training or Weightlifting
- Tai Chi
- Stairmaster
- Rowing Machine
Use it to Support Goals
Weight loss or toning is a common motivating factor for exercise, but it isn’t the only one to choose from. Sometimes this motivation can make exercise feel more like a punishment than a benefit.
Use your workouts to help you meet other goals in your life, like spending more time with your family OR taking a short mental break from them (two points for gym childcare!). Use workouts to help you wind down and de-stress after work to help you switch gears.
The gym can also be a great place to get in a motivating podcast or audiobook, making you feel even more efficient when you learn something while pumping iron.
Schedule Around a Planned Refuel
Get fast nutrition ready for post-workout by packing a healthy snack, prepping a meal or mixing up a protein shake. This will give you something to look forward to after your workout during any time of the day and it will help you make great nutritional choices by not feeling tempted in your hungriest moments.
You can also use a pre-workout supplement that may help give you an extra boost. These taste great and give you the fuel you need to stay motivated (especially if you just aren’t feeling it).
READ MORE: The Ultimate Workout Supplement Timeline