I’m a fitness expert and there’s an ideal time of day for a workout if you want to lose weight

By James On Apr 15, 2023

Whether you’re an early riser or enjoy a late night, exercising can provide health benefits.

And DDepending on your training goals, these pros and cons can significantly affect the efficiency of your training.

Now the sports nutritionists at Bulk told FEMAIL the benefits of working out between 5-8am, as well as the benefits of a gym session after 7pm.

she rrevealed tEither way, morning workouts can improve your weight loss as they can help boost metabolism and burn more body fat.

Meanwhile, muscle strength and function peak in the evening, which can make workouts more effective.

Bulk’s sports nutrition experts weighed the pros and cons of early morning and late evening workouts (stock image)

Early morning workout – 5am – 8am

ADVANTAGES

1. Increased alertness

Believe it or not, one of the biggest benefits of an early morning workout is that you feel more alert.

While you may feel exhausted as you drag yourself to the gym, your body produces the hormone cortisol, which is at its peak around 8am.

Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, helps you stay awake and alert. You only get problems from this hormone if there is too much or too little of it.

Therefore, if you have a healthy circadian rhythm — the 24-hour cycle that includes physiological and behavioral rhythms like sleep — your body will be better prepared to exercise early in the morning.

2. May Improve Weight Loss

For those looking to shred some body fat, a great benefit of working out in the morning is that it’s generally better for weight loss.

Elevated cortisol levels and growth hormone in the morning are both associated with your metabolism.

Therefore, vigorous exercise in the morning can help boost metabolism and burn more body fat, drawing more energy from your fat stores.

3. Improves your body clock

A study published by the Journal of Physiology found that exercising at 7 a.m. can shift your biological clock earlier.

Not only will this improve how alert you are in the morning, but it can also prepare you to fall asleep more easily and earlier that night.

This will allow you to get enough rest to wake up and repeat the same routine again the next day.

4. Helps control appetite

Exercise generally helps control your appetite.

Studies have now shown that aerobic exercise, such as running, cycling and swimming, reduces appetite. This is because it changes our hormone levels that cause hunger.

The theory behind exercise as an appetite suppressant or stimulant is based on the activities of two key hormones, ghrelin and peptide YY.

These are hormones with opposite actions, both of which are released during exercise. Ghrelin stimulates appetite, while peptide YY decreases appetite.

Since exercise suppresses the ghrelin hormone, it will thus help you control your appetite.

Disadvantages of an early morning workout

1. Less time to warm up for weightlifting

For those looking to build muscle or tone up, an early morning workout can do more harm than good.

This is because the body needs time to warm up before lifting weights. If you don’t give your muscles enough time to loosen up, you could be injured.

2. Lack of sleep

If you didn’t go to bed early enough the night before or perhaps had a restless sleep, getting up early and exercising can also be extremely taxing on the body.

It is extremely important to ensure that the body is fully rested before starting a workout.

If you worked out the night before, sleep is what gives muscle tissue time to recover between workouts.

Adequate sleep is also important to have the energy to exercise, which is why not enough sleep can cause you to be less physically active during the day and reduce muscle strength during workouts.

3. Inability to build muscle

Exercising early in the morning generally does not help build muscle.

This is because your body needs a few hours to replenish supplies it has used up during the night.

Your muscles primarily use glucose to fuel weightlifting and resistance exercise. A morning workout won’t result in significant gains in muscle mass or strength because you don’t have enough supplies yet.

Therefore, if muscle or strength gains are your primary goal, workouts later in the day will yield more benefits.

4. Metabolism can affect eating habits

Because an early morning workout boosts your metabolism early in the day, your metabolism generally slows down again in the evening.

While an afternoon or evening workout will boost your metabolism later in the day, which is more beneficial if your dinner is your main meal of the day as it contains the most calories.

For those looking for weight loss or weight maintenance results, ideally you’ll want to match your workouts to your highest calorie intake to ensure the best results.

If you want to burn calories and fat, it can be very beneficial to change your exercise routine to the time of day when you eat your largest meal.

Evening practice – 7:30 pm and later

Advantages

1. Higher energy levels

A study by The University of Birmingham shows that you can go up to 20 percent longer if you train in the evening, at a higher intensity.

Therefore, workouts with a longer, faster and stronger pace will produce results much faster.

2. Muscles tighten faster

Muscle strength and function peak in the evening, as fluctuating hormones can make workouts more effective later in the day.

High levels of cortisol in the morning can prevent muscle growth, but high levels of testosterone in the evening stimulate it.

3. It’s a myth that PM workouts negatively affect sleep

While many people believe that exercising late at night can greatly disrupt your sleep quality because endorphins are still buzzing, this is a myth.

Endorphins actually help improve sleep ability, which also helps reduce stress.

A study in Sleep Medicine found that only two percent of vigorous exercisers said workouts interrupted their sleep, as 30 percent slept better after sweating profusely.

Of course, depending on what time your workout is, people may tend to rely on caffeine and taurine, which are known as popular pre-workout supplements.

While there’s a lot of research to support their performance benefits, especially if you’re weight training, the caffeine can be problematic and affect sleep quality.

Therefore, a better option is to opt for caffeine-free pre-workout, which contains beta-alanine and citrulline malate, which help maintain muscle pH and acidity, slowing the buildup of lactic acid and muscle fatigue.

4. Effective stress relief

After a long day, exercise can help you relax and de-stress.

This is because physical activity produces endorphins, which are chemicals in the brain that act as natural pain relievers.

Studies show that among those who exercise, 33 percent of high-stress adults said they feel less stressed after exercising, compared to 18 percent of low-stress adults.

Disadvantages of a night workout

1. Can affect consistency

Exercising later in the day can make it much more tempting to move it to the next day because you’re too tired.

Studies also suggest that it may be easier for you to make exercise a daily habit if you schedule your exercise session for the morning rather than the evening.

2. Your post-workout fuel is being used up too late

It is important to help your muscles recover to replenish their glycogen stores.

Therefore, it is recommended to eat a meal that contains both carbohydrates and protein after your training session.

However, if you finish a workout late at night, it can take much longer for your hunger pangs to kick in, which is why you eat extremely late.

Eating late at night goes against your body’s circadian rhythm, affecting your metabolism and making it harder to maintain blood sugar levels.

3. Less time for stretching after training

You might go to the gym at 9 p.m., but it closes at 10 p.m., leaving you running out the door.

Not giving yourself enough time to stretch thoroughly before and after exercise puts you at risk of injury.

Muscles and tendons that are not properly stretched after exercise can be more prone to injury.

While it’s not only important to make sure you stretch after exercise, but also that you’re doing the right types of stretches.

Bulk.com experts recommend using the RAMP method to structure your workouts.

Following these steps for a warm-up that should take about 15-20 minutes will put you in an optimal state to perform your workout.

A spokesperson for Bulk said: ‘There’s no bad time to exercise, it just depends on the type of workouts you’re doing and the results you want to achieve.

“In general, an early morning workout is more effective for those looking to lose weight, and for those looking to build muscle and tone, an afternoon or evening workout is better.”

“The most important thing is to find a time that works best for you, and if you feel better about working out early in the morning rather than late at night or vice versa, do that.” A workout should give you a sense of accomplishment and make you feel good.

“For those who have certain body goals, consistency is key, so pick a time you can stick to to help your body relax into a comfortable routine.”