Is Working Out in the Morning Better for You?
If you have heard that working out in the morning is good for you, there’s a reason why. Engaging in exercise in the morning does offer many benefits to the exerciser, including enhancing metabolism, improving physical and mental energy, encouraging better sleep, and more.
Here are some great reasons why exercising in the morning can be good for your health, can be optimal for losing weight, and may be a better than working out in the afternoon or evening.
Benefits of Working Out in the Morning Include...
You're More Likely to Work Out Consistently
Although you may have every intention of exercising after work, depending on how your day goes, you may become too busy, something unexpected might pop up, or you will simply feel too tired to do anything active. Exercising in the morning ensures that no matter what the day might hold, you’ve already exercised.
As much as you might not like getting up to hit the gym or going for a jog at the crack of dawn, in the long run, it’s easier to stay consistent with exercise when you commit to working out in the morning.
Plus, the American Council on Exercise has stated that individuals who work out in the morning are not only more consistent, they also tend to exercise more than people who exercise at other points of the day. Working out consistently and working out more can lead to a fitter, healthier, and leaner you.
Boosted Metabolism
Exercising in the morning enhances your metabolism, allowing your body to burn more calories after you work out. You might be thinking that exercise will enhance your metabolism, regardless of what time of the day you engage in it, and you would be right.
However, the reason why working out in the morning is particularly beneficial is that you’ll have increased metabolism during the day when you eat foods compared to at night when you’re sleeping. An elevated metabolism will help you burn calories all day long, when calorie burning matters most.
More Physical and Mental Energy
According to a study conducted by researchers from Saint Leo University, exercise plays a role in how people think they can manage their work-life balance. In other words, they are less stressed and feel more emotionally and socially balanced.
The extra energy boost you receive from working out in the morning gets your endorphins going. This can boost both mental clarity and physical drive. Your productivity levels can soar. Plus, by adding coffee to your morning routine, or even the best weight loss pills, you can take your energy even further if you’re looking for an added boost.
Improved Sleep
Exercising in the morning can lead to a better night’s sleep compared to exercising in the evening. Exercise stimulates your body and energizes you. This stimulation, while excellent for keeping you motivated and driven all day, can work against you if your goal after exercise is to relax and sleep.
Many experts agree that regularly working out in the morning leads to a more quality and restful slumber. This is because exposure to daylight early in the day seems to send a message to the body to slow down at night. In fact, researchers at Appalachian State University found that exercising in the morning reduces your blood pressure and improves sleep compared to afternoon and evening exercising.
Better Chance of Weight Loss
According to research published in The Journal of Physiology, you’re more likely to burn fat when you fast and exercise. In other words, working out in the morning when you haven’t yet eaten your breakfast means that you are more likely to burn fat stores instead of carbohydrates from foods.
What’s more, a BYU study discovered that after working out in the morning for 45-minutes, women were not only more likely to eat less for breakfast, but they also made healthier food choices. It was also found that the women engaged in more physical activity throughout the day.
These benefits, coupled by the boost in metabolism, can be highly advantageous to individuals who want to shed excess pounds.
More Time to Enjoy the Rest of Your Day
Let’s face it, sometimes exercise can feel like a serious chore. If working out in the morning is the first thing you do after you get up, it’s done and you can move on with your day, guilt-free.
With your workout out of the way, you’ll be in the clear for the rest of the day. You don’t have to worry about trying to fit exercise in after a long grueling day at work or before you go to bed.
Essentially, you’ll have time for other priorities, and you can always feel proud of yourself for not having to make an excuse to skip your workout.
A Reduction in Your Blood Pressure
According to Total Wellness, exercising regularly is a good way to help reduce your risk of high blood pressure, as well as reduce your blood pressure if it is already high. However, if you exercise during the morning hours, you might be able to get even better results.
Researchers discovered that working out in the morning is the optimal way to reduce your blood pressure, so this might be a great way to deal with your blood pressure issues in a natural way. To be more specific, during a study, individuals who exercised during the morning showed a 10% reduction in their blood pressure. Not bad at all!
The best part is that this reduction in blood pressure is not temporary either. In fact, the study participants experienced that reduction in blood pressure for the rest of the day. Wow!
Give it a try by working out in the morning and checking your blood pressure with a machine that you can purchase for at-home use. If you notice that your blood pressure is lower after you work out in the morning, you know that this is the most beneficial time of day for you to exercise.
Benefits of Working Out in the Evenings Include...
Can’t always fit working out in the morning into your lifestyle? Don’t sweat it! You’ll be pleased to know that exercise benefits are not reserved only for morning exercisers. As it turns out, strength and endurance are higher in the afternoon, and you’re at less risk of injury.
Furthermore, body temperature is typically at its lowest around 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. This can improve power and performance. Also, during this time of day, muscles tend to be more flexible compared to working out in the morning. Reaction times are quicker, blood pressure and heart rate are low, and this is also the time of day when protein synthesis peaks. Since this is the case, some would argue that intense workouts, such as hard cardio and weight training, are better suited to the afternoon and evening.
In addition, a study conducted at the Clinical Research Centre of the University of Chicago found that people who went to the gym after work were more likely to achieve a higher degree of fitness compared to those working out in the morning.
Keep in mind that even if you discover that exercising in the morning is the right fit for you, this doesn’t mean that you can’t also engage in a little physical exertion later on in the day. After all, exercise is also a great way to blow off some extra steam!
Working Out is the Ultimate Goal
What it all comes down to is that it doesn’t matter if you choose exercising in the morning, afternoon, or night. Working out at any of these times has its benefits and drawbacks. What matters is that you exercise at some point each day, and you are consistent about it.
While it’s a good idea to try to get active in the morning, especially for consistency’s sake, at the end of the day, what is more important than when you exercise is that you actually do it. Don’t obsess about the time of day when it comes to exercise. Focus on fitting it in to your lifestyle.
Finally, do keep in mind that it’s important to make sure that you don’t overdo it. Working out is important, but to get the most benefits from it, you shouldn’t exercise beyond our fitness level or exercise too much. Over-exercising increases the risk of injury and can have negative effects on your health, as well as make you tired instead of energized. Be good to your body, and it will be good to you.ur body and it will be good to you.
