When is the Best Time to Workout

Has it ever happened to you that before starting with your exercise routine, you start wondering, is this the right time to work out? When is the best time of day to work out? What time of the day would it be most effective? Many of us tend to do that and why not, what's the point of doing something with so much of dedication and vigor when you don't even know if it's worth the time and effort! Well, the fact of the matter is that there is no such time that is scientifically proven, as the best time to workout. When is the best time to work out has no relevance whatsoever on the effectiveness of your workout; be it morning, afternoon or evening. Yes it is also the answer to the lingering question in your mind, when is the best time to work out to lose weight or what is the best time to work out for weight loss. Anytime is as effective as the other times of the day. Having said that, there are different factors why people feel or rather believe that certain time of the day is best suitable to them and is most effective. Let's try to figure out those factors?

Best Time to Workout - Factors

Internal Body Clock
Our body gets used to our way of living and it adjusts its bodily functions such as sleep, eating habits, etc. accordingly. This is one reason why it's different for each individual. While some of us get up early in the morning; some don't, while some feel energetic at a certain time of the day; some don't; they are more energetic at a different time. Hence, exercising for some seems to be easygoing during the morning and for some it doesn't.

Before or After Eating
When is the best time to work out, before or after eating, is a valid question and it indeed has a reasonable answer. Although it is mentioned earlier that scientifically no time is proven to be the best time to work out, whether you eat before or after work out has a lot of significance. Why? Because when we work out after eating, we are actually burning the calories that we just consumed, whereas working out before eating means that the accumulated calories in the body are being burnt. It's not that work outs after eating is completely ineffective, it's just that it is not as effective as it is before eating.

Body Temperature
Some studies suggest that the best time to exercise is in the late afternoon when the body temperature is at a peak which makes it the best time for strength training and endurance demanding exercises such as cardiovascular and aerobic exercises.

Routine Setting
Another important factor that can help you decide on the best time to exercise is your routine or schedule. Many of us intend to work out at a certain time of the day and many a time, it so happens that we slip away from it because of change in office schedule or even because of home and family commitments. All of this changes our regime that we set for ourselves, for our daily dose of exercise. When for some reason we cannot follow the set regime, we start to wonder whether the work out would be effective or not. Well, this is true to an extent, if the changes in the schedule keep taking place every now, and then making the schedule very inconsistent, the effectiveness of the exercises would be less than it should be. Having said that though, the body also understands the changes in the body and starts to work accordingly. It's just that too much of inconsistency cannot be handled by the body. One must try to be as consistent as possible to decide on what is the best time to work out.

What to eat before and after workout is as important or rather more important than thinking about when is the best time to work out. So, maintain a healthy diet and set your exercise regimen in such a way that it does not clash with any of your other daily duties and responsibilities. Devote some time for yourself to ensure a healthy future. Take care, stay healthy!