Does What Time you Train Matter?

MORNING VS EVENING SESSIONS - WE PUT THEM TO THE TEST

It’s an age-old debate… should we exercise in the morning or evening? And does it really make a difference to your results? Research has shown some small differences between morning and evening exercise in terms of performance and the effect exercise has on the body - but are these big enough that we need to overhaul our workout routines? Read on to find out…

Benefits of the morning sweat session

Whether you bound out of bed excited for your morning workout, or you hit the snooze button several times before dragging yourself to the gym, the affect is the same - you’ve already done your workout before most people are even awake! If you’re currently a morning exerciser, you may be familiar with the huge range of reasons why a morning workout is the best. These include:

• Better energy and productivity throughout the day
• Feeling better while training (because you have an empty stomach)
• It can be easier to stick to consistently long term (which is key to results!)
• Frees up your evenings for other things
• Plus research shows morning exercise has a positive effect on metabolism and can aid with weight control.

And benefits of the evening workout

In the other corner, we have our evening exercisers - those who have soldiered through their days juggling all their responsibilities, and still squeeze in time for their workout. Those of you who are regulars at our evening sessions know how hard it can be to show up sometimes after a long day, but it’s always worth it for how good you feel afterwards. Some other great things about evening exercise include:

• It helps you walk away from and wind down from work
• Can help you sleep better
• Your body is fuelled from eating during the day and ready to perform No early morning alarms!
• Plus research shows some improved performance in the evening - ideal for weightlifting and intense cardio 

The verdict

Don’t get too caught up in whether morning or evening exercise is “better” - the workout you are actually going to do is far superior to one you intended to do! Work with your natural energy highs and lows to determine which might suit you better - those with higher energy levels in the morning would obviously do better in the morning training sessions, whereas night owls may find the evening sessions better suited. Just get it done!