When Is The Best Time To Exercise?

The early bird gets the worm, but does the early bird get thinner? The social trend seems to be to wake up and workout before the day gets started. Often times if one doesn't hit the gym before starting their day, then the gym gets skipped.  As someone who is not a morning person, I'm impressed with those that are able to hit the gym every morning before going to a job that starts at 8:00 am. .  I want to tell the early morning gym rat that I am motivated by their promptness and commitment to fitness.  Working out at 5 am is more of a fluke than a regular routine for me and I wonder if not being able to get on board with early morning exercise has cause a hindrance to my fitness goals.

Well it turns out that the time of day that one works out may not be based on what one may think.  Exercise is best when your body is warm. Studies show that an afternoon workout might be more beneficial. During the afternoon, the body temperature typically increases allowing for muscle strength and endurance to peak. In addition, heart rate and blood pressure are normally at its lowest, which makes the afternoon schedule a great time to get in some reps.



All in all, I believe that your body will tell you the best time to workout. I often feel that there are benefits associated with working out at the same time each day regardless of the time of day that's set. The atmosphere where I'm working out also play a huge impact on my motivation and eagerness to run repeatedly on a treadmill that leads to nowhere.  I find myself in the whole hamster wheel world on a treadmill and can find it to not be enjoyable for me.  There is a time when I find an increase desire to want to work out and that is when I'm on vacation.  If you know anything about me, I tend to travel a lot.  My husband and myself enjoying checking out new destinations and luxury resorts when we are able to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.  It is often these relaxing trips that lead me into the gym to enjoy a nice full body workout.  There's nothing like a new environment to ignite the workout bug in me.  A fresh crisp apple, bottle water, and a cool towel are little gym perks that will keep me returning.

Now it may not be realistic to be able to workout at different resort gyms every week, but I think it is reasonable to say that one can change their workout scenery.  Go running in a new park, try a yoga class at a fitness studio, get a free guest past at a new gym that you've never tried. Go visit a nearby community center and sign up for free Zumba or enroll in a aquatics class at your local community college.  When the weather is nice outside, try taking a walk.  I love going to a nearby drugstore that's about 3 miles away.  I'll jog over, take a break to purchase more water and a protein bar, use the bathroom, and then head back home. That's a 6 mile run.  So it doesn't matter if the workout is 6 miles on the street of Small Town, USA or 6 miles at the Phoenician Athletic Club. What's important is that we take the time out of our day to workout and treat ourselves right. We only get one body on God's green earth. Let's take care of it.