Best time to work out
 

so i found this article on yahoo and i thought it was really interesting and I wanted to share it with everyone.

http://www.thatsfit.com/2011/02/21/w...3_lnk1%7C45699

so i found this interesting. . . i mean i've tried to work out first thing in the morning but i feel sick...maybe its all in my head? mind over matter?

does anyone else workout first thing in the morning and has it worked for you? just curious..

Well this article didn't debate morning exercise versus other time of day exercise. It debated if eating before or after exercising was better and in that very limited study (all white, healthy men - and only NINE of them) it does appear that fasting before exercising is better, but that's a pretty small sample size and very slim grouping of people.

So, it's interesting, but not overly scientific, yet.

I feel weak and sick in the morning sometimes and I can never work out as efficently in the mornings as I do in the evenings just like I can not work out well when I don't eat at least 2 hours before I work out. I know plenty of people who do fine that way but it's definitely not something I would ever trust myself to stick to or enjoy.

I always wake up hungry, so I eat before I exercise otherwise I am crabby and tired throughout my workout...and no one likes an angry woman on a treadmill. :)

I have heard that working out in the morning with an empty stomach is best when it comes to attacking fat cells (instead of carbs first) but what good is it if you are getting in half the workout because you are tired and have no energy? I'd rather work out in the evening -- harder and stronger -- and still feel good when I'm done. AND I get the same results at the end of the week. KWIM?

I just can't analyze it that much. If I find free time to shove in a workout then it's a good day. If not, there's always tomorrow. I just can't get down to the nitty gritty over whether morning is best, or eating first, or not eating.

Honestly, it's an accomplishment that I exercise! :D

Originally Posted by XLMuffnTop:
I just can't analyze it that much. If I find free time to shove in a workout then it's a good day. If not, there's always tomorrow. I just can't get down to the nitty gritty over whether morning is best, or eating first, or not eating.

Honestly, it's an accomplishment that I exercise! :D

That's where I'm at too. I have a teenager and a kindergartener, a spouse and a mother in law to deal with on a daily basis and this big house, everyone's meals, etc. Even as a stay at home mom (very soon ending) I'm just happy to get exercise in for the day. Like last night at 10 pm.

Today, my 5 year old is really sick, it will be again a really late night before I can work out as I have to wait for someone to watch the little guy so I can slip away.

I've tried the early morning thing before and I can't be consistent about it if my sleep hasn't been good. Because when it comes to choosing more sleep or working out? i'm going to choose sleep every time.

Yeah, I am a firm believer that the best time to exercise is whatever time allows you to fit it most comfortably into your regular routine. Even if all the studies in the world prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that exercising in the morning burns more fat by some margin, if you can't get into a comfortable routine of exercising at that time, it's better for you to exercise at some other time.

I'm an after-work exerciser myself. I am very much not a morning person. Trying to get up 90 minutes earlier to fit it into my morning is a recipe for failure! So even if it would be marginally more fat-burning, well any margin times nothing is still nothing!

I get up around 3:00-3:30 am and go to the gym, at first it was very difficult, but I'm getting use to it now. I find that it's nice to get it done first thing in the am, and have the rest of my day, meaning work lol. Sometimes it's hard to get into it at first, but I always manage to get a very good work out in, sauna, and take a shower, and go on about my day.

I'm a night person, so i find exercising before going to bed is when I give it my all. The study is interesting, but i don't think it will make me want to change my habits. I've consistently lost weight with exercising before bed, and I've maintained pretty well too since thanksgiving.

I honestly believe you will lose weight no matter which time you decide to exercise, as long as you do it.

i look at these things and find them interesting and used to have mini freak outs about them, but i've generally found that no matter how i do it, everything is great so long as i DO exercise.

all of this WHEN SHOULD I and HOW SHOULD I and SHOULD I EAT OR NOT things kind of strike me as silly now, because so much of it is speculation or conclusions that are drawn through use of very minimal empirical evidence. i knooow that's not what this thread is about, but i gotta say it -- just get out there and do it!

this article was an interesting read anyway -- thank you for sharing!

Originally Posted by sierra51390:
I get up around 3:00-3:30 am and go to the gym, at first it was very difficult, but I'm getting use to it now. I find that it's nice to get it done first thing in the am, and have the rest of my day, meaning work lol. Sometimes it's hard to get into it at first, but I always manage to get a very good work out in, sauna, and take a shower, and go on about my day.

Oh my goodness!! 3am?!

And I exercise at all times in the day, whenever I can fit in in, but I much prefer early morning before/after breakfast if I'm running. Then I feel all happy and energetic for the rest of the day.

I just can't exercise first thing in the morning. I'm a huge fan of the snooze button and I talk myself out of my work-out every single darn time I try and make it happen.
IMO, the best time to work out is today.

Originally Posted by :
all of this WHEN SHOULD I and HOW SHOULD I and SHOULD I EAT OR NOT things kind of strike me as silly now,

For me they're either a way to set yourself up to fail, or a way to tell someone else that they're failing (and get whatever feelings of power or virtue you get from your superiority).

For me I think my exercise should be at a time when I can give 110%. I could not give 110% on an empty stomach nor could I give 110% first thing in the morning. My favorite time is about 9-11AM. after breakfast and before lunch. On Wendesdays I workout 5:30-6:30. I find this difficult b/ I need a snack I usually don't eat. It is too early for dinner before I go- but I am hungry by then. I usually eat about 6:30. When I have my evening workout I en up eating after 7PM.

Originally Posted by MariaMaria:
For me they're either a way to set yourself up to fail, or a way to tell someone else that they're failing (and get whatever feelings of power or virtue you get from your superiority).

yes, i agree with that 100% -- especially the setting yourself up to fail part. no easier way to burn out than to force yourself into doing something that doesn't work for you just because you've seen a study that suggests that it's optimal.

it's also a good way to make excuses; if someone reads a study like that and thinks to themselves, "well, ****, i can't wake up that early!", a lot of times they just don't exercise at all.

siiiigh

I think the best time to work out is when you want to do it. I also do better if I've had something to eat before my workout. When I didn't eat anything and just got up and got on the treadmill I could only do like 45 minutes versus when I have breakfast then get on the treadmill I can go an hour and 40 minutes. Without food I feel weak and like I'm going to pass out.

I have a slightly different view point as to when the best time to work out for me is.

When I don't want to exercise, that is the best time for me.

My eating and my daily routine pattern has always been lacking any sort of self discipline. I am working hard to change that in me. If I am to make this a real permanent life change and not just a temporary change I will need all the self discipline that I can develop. :carrot:

Larry,
-------
Fitness - if it came in a bottle, everybody would have a great body. ~Cher

Originally Posted by Larry H:
I have a slightly different view point as to when the best time to work out for me is.

My eating and my daily routine pattern has always been lacking any sort of self discipline. I am working hard to change that in me. If I am to make this a real permanent life change and not just a temporary change I will need all the self discipline that I can develop. :carrot:

Larry,
-------
Fitness - if it came in a bottle, everybody would have a great body. ~Cher

that's another damn good way to look at it!

I just wanted to comment on that article and the study it references.

In the context of trying to lose weight it makes no difference when you workout because the workout just contributes to the energy expenditure for the day. So for the vast majority of us it makes no difference when you workout.

The study was one of excess calories. It is potentially relevant in the context of someone who is attempting to gain weight (muscle) because training in a fasted state appears to modify where the body partitions calories due to enhanced insulin sensativity. More carbs are stored as glycogen and more fat is burned as fuel. Thus you can workout fasted and overeat which will put your body in an anobolic state while gaining less fat. If you want to read all about fasting and training go to leangains.com

I'm at my best first thing on an empty stomach (maybe a little coffee) but this winter I have failed in that regard. I do get out there, but not at 6 am, plus I can't run like I can in the warmer weather when at least there's no snow and ice on the ground. So just remind me of this in August when I'm complaining about how it's too hot to run.

Originally Posted by JohnP:
I just wanted to comment on that article and the study it references.

In the context of trying to lose weight it makes no difference when you workout because the workout just contributes to the energy expenditure for the day. So for the vast majority of us it makes no difference when you workout.

The study was one of excess calories. It is potentially relevant in the context of someone who is attempting to gain weight (muscle) because training in a fasted state appears to modify where the body partitions calories due to enhanced insulin sensativity. More carbs are stored as glycogen and more fat is burned as fuel. Thus you can workout fasted and overeat which will put your body in an anobolic state while gaining less fat. If you want to read all about fasting and training go to leangains.com

thanks so much for that link -- i've been nosing around for information about those things without a lot of luck.

I've read from other trainers that they like working out first thing in the morning, but i know i just can't work out on a empty stomach...I've tried. I get shaky. =/

I figured a day i work out whenever i want is good enough for me. :p

I've Google'd this myself, and all i read is that it doesn't matter.

I HAVE to work out in the morning because I do a night shift (until midnight) and the gym closes at 10pm and I have roomates so nothing that late at home.

I also don't eat before I go, as I get a drive from my boyfriend and I usually want to get there ASAP.

So far I'm losing weight no problem (as per my ticker).

I honestly don't 'think' it matters either way.