Does it really matter what time of day you work out?
 

I'm a night owl by nature and my school schedule/work schedule/personal life schedule as well as my BF's revolves around the evening and late night. I've always heard that it's better to work out early in the morning as it sets the tone for the day, but this just isn't feasible for me. As a result, I work out late in the evening, usually around 10:00 PM or 11:00 PM. Is it really that important to workout early in the day or is it more important that I'm getting a work out in at all?

I think whatever time you can workout the most consistently is the best time to workout. Generally for most people, myself included, is the morning because (1) I can always go consistently and less likely to have scheduling conflicts and (2) I'm less likely to make the excuse that I'm too tired from a hard day's work to work out.

But everyone is different. If you are kind of a person who will miss more workouts in the morning because you go t bed later or think you can go more consistently in the evenings then you should go in the evenings.

I work night shifts, so as a result all of my workouts are either a.) in the late afternoon before work, or b.) late in the afternoon/early evening after I wake up. I will VERY rarely do a morning workout on my full days off if I happen to be awake. My personal take on it is that so long as you're getting it done, do it when it feels right to you and where it fits in your schedule.

I have, however, been making an effort to exercise when I first wake up on an empty stomach. This way I am burning fat calories as opposed to the readily available calories I'd have if I consumed food immediately before. I ran across a study looking at this recently (albeit it was on a sample of 20-something males), so it's worth a shot.

Keep up the good work!

I work out between 8 and 9 pm. I am not a morning person. I get up but I find that I dont consistently exercise in the morning. However, I do have the motivation to work out at night. Its like the cap to my day.

I think we all should follow our bodies and what our body tells us. I wake up early, and I usually like to get it in almost first thing. I fell asleep by 10 pm the latest, and I am usually "done" for the day by 7 pm.

As long as it makes you feel good, I don't think it matters. Main thing is you are getting your heart going and making your body stronger :)

I have a problem with eating junk food at night so I have been replacing this habit with exercise. I work out between 6-8pm and find that after my workouts the last thing I want to do is ruin things by sitting on the couch binging on food. This has worked really well for me. The only time I get the urge to use food as "company" anymore is when I don't exercise in the evenings.

I don't pay too much attention to the "rules" of when it's best to exercise. I think if you're able to incorporate it into your day on a regular basis at anytime you're doing pretty good.

I think as long as you are doing it, you are benefiting yourself! Provided it doesn't keep you awake at night, I think its just fine.

As others said, whatever you'll do consistently is what you should do! I personally will not work out after work - I have a million and one excuses every day - but the trade-off is getting up at 5am to exercise before work. For me personally, I can do that five days a week as I'm in bed by 9pm, and on the weekends, I'm usually awake by 6am naturally (ie, no alarm blaring). While I do feel working out in the morning really kicks my day into gear - I can absolutely feel it if I skip a weekday workout - if I didn't go on a consistent basis, it wouldn't benefit me! So - short version - do what works for you!

Night owl here, and if it wasn't for the late night workout it wouldn't get done at all.

I think it is best to just get it in and fit it around whatever it is you have going on.

A.

After 8.30pm is the only time I can always schedule exercise .... I'd love to do the mornings but my husband goes to work at 5am ....

One thing I do like about night after the kiddos are in bed as there is no schedule afterwards .... I never have to think about what to do when I'm done or feel time pressurised :)

I worry about the research too that says it is more effective in the morning .... but things can get overwhelming the more the read ...... you start thinking everything you do exercise wise is wrong .....