Does it matter what time of the day I work out?

[KlokWyze]

I've read recently that if your goal is to burn fat that the morning is the best time to do cardio. Is the difference between running in the morning or evening night & day? (pun unintended ) Is weight training also effected by the time of day you work out?

Let me add that when I say time of day I mean in relation to sleeping/waking cycles, etc.

 

[Atty]

The only reason people claim burning fat is done more so in the morning rather then at night is because you're stomach is empty and you're simply burning fat from fat cells, through out the day you're body will use the same amount of calories no matter what time you do the cardio and you're intake won't change based on when you do it, so you can work out at anytime and still lose the same amount of fat per day.

Personally, I prefer to workout in the late afternoon, after a small dinner, with the only thing I eat afterwards being a protein shake. I go to sleep feeling tired and wake up with an appetite for a good breakfast to start my day out right.

To answer your question in short: No, it doesn't.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Burning fat is not a time-of-day process. It is an overall calorie intake process so NO you won't burn more fat. However, I have heard people work out in the morning moreso mainly because you have the highest waking levels of growth hormone, which is secreted during sleep. So YES, it may matter what time you work out if you're lifting. If you're just doing cardio though, your GH levels don't really effect what you're doing.

 

[KlokWyze]

Originally posted by: iAtticus
The only reason people claim burning fat is done more so in the morning rather then at night is because you're stomach is empty and you're simply burning fat from fat cells, through out the day you're body will use the same amount of calories no matter what time you do the cardio and you're intake won't change based on when you do it, so you can work out at anytime and still lose the same amount of fat per day.

Personally, I prefer to workout in the late afternoon, after a small dinner, with the only thing I eat afterwards being a protein shake. I go to sleep feeling tired and wake up with an appetite for a good breakfast to start my day out right.

To answer your question in short: No, it doesn't.

Ok, so it's the whole total calories in/out thing again anyways, so as long as I'm consistent, it shouldn't matter...

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
Burning fat is not a time-of-day process. It is an overall calorie intake process so NO you won't burn more fat. However, I have heard people work out in the morning moreso mainly because you have the highest waking levels of growth hormone, which is secreted during sleep. So YES, it may matter what time you work out if you're lifting. If you're just doing cardio though, your GH levels don't really effect what you're doing.

That's interesting, I've never heard of growth hormones... I've read a few books here & there, but nothing mentioning this. Will check some stuff out.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: KlokWyze

Originally posted by: iAtticus
The only reason people claim burning fat is done more so in the morning rather then at night is because you're stomach is empty and you're simply burning fat from fat cells, through out the day you're body will use the same amount of calories no matter what time you do the cardio and you're intake won't change based on when you do it, so you can work out at anytime and still lose the same amount of fat per day.

Personally, I prefer to workout in the late afternoon, after a small dinner, with the only thing I eat afterwards being a protein shake. I go to sleep feeling tired and wake up with an appetite for a good breakfast to start my day out right.

To answer your question in short: No, it doesn't.

Ok, so it's the whole total calories in/out thing again anyways, so as long as I'm consistent, it shouldn't matter...

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
Burning fat is not a time-of-day process. It is an overall calorie intake process so NO you won't burn more fat. However, I have heard people work out in the morning moreso mainly because you have the highest waking levels of growth hormone, which is secreted during sleep. So YES, it may matter what time you work out if you're lifting. If you're just doing cardio though, your GH levels don't really effect what you're doing.

That's interesting, I've never heard of growth hormones... I've read a few books here & there, but nothing mentioning this. Will check some stuff out.

This link explains some of the benefits of growth hormone (not hormoneS - sorry had to correct it since it's one hormone) through good sleep and rest periods. It IS highest in the morning so it is a simple conclusion to draw.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
Burning fat is not a time-of-day process. It is an overall calorie intake process so NO you won't burn more fat.

Definitely true:

From cnn.com:
Some health experts recommend exercising in the morning because the body's metabolism will get an early start at burning calories and sustain that higher metabolic rate during the hours after.

But for one fitness expert, that might not be enough of an argument for morning exercise.

"There is some evidence that morning exercise promotes more fat burning than other times of the day, but the difference is so small that it really wouldn't matter," said Richard Cotton, an exercise physiologist.

From "What is the Afterburn effect?":
"Caring how much fat is burned during training makes as much sense as caring how much muscle is built during training".

As far as weight loss goes, calories in vs. calories out supersedes just about all other factors, including the time you exercise, the type of exercise you do, and the type of food you eat. Now, you'll want to consider the other issues for health reasons, but if losing weight was your only goal, the caloric balance is all you need to worry about.

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
However, I have heard people work out in the morning moreso mainly because you have the highest waking levels of growth hormone, which is secreted during sleep.

Here, I have to disagree. I've read a number of articles that suggest that most people perform better in the afternoon/evening than they do in the morning, with the main factor being circadian rhythms:

From acefitness.org:
Body temperature is at its lowest about one to three hours before most of us wake up in the morning, in contrast to late afternoon when body temperature reaches its peak.
...
Studies have consistently shown that exercise during these late-in-the-day hours produces better performance and more power. Muscles are warm and more flexible, perceived exertion is low, reaction time is quicker, strength is at its peak, and resting heart rate and blood pressure are low.

From cnn.com:
"One of the things that circadian rhythms does is that it determines when your best performance time is," Zee said. "Your ability to perform changes throughout 24 hours."
...

Circadian rhythms also control body temperature, a key element of a more productive workout. According to Zee, by the afternoon, body temperature is between one and two degrees warmer than in the morning, making muscles in the body more supple and lowering the risk of injury.

In short, most people will perform better in the afternoon/evening than in the morning. Having said that, you should exercise at whatever time you can do it consistently. That is, going consistently, even at a sub-optimal time of day, will be FAR more effective than going inconsistently at just the right time.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Well, that also makes sense. I personally wouldn't want to lift shortly after waking up. I wouldn't be paying enough attention to form, methinks.

 

[KlokWyze]

Originally posted by: brikis98

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
Burning fat is not a time-of-day process. It is an overall calorie intake process so NO you won't burn more fat.

Definitely true:

From cnn.com:
Some health experts recommend exercising in the morning because the body's metabolism will get an early start at burning calories and sustain that higher metabolic rate during the hours after.

But for one fitness expert, that might not be enough of an argument for morning exercise.

"There is some evidence that morning exercise promotes more fat burning than other times of the day, but the difference is so small that it really wouldn't matter," said Richard Cotton, an exercise physiologist.

From "What is the Afterburn effect?":
"Caring how much fat is burned during training makes as much sense as caring how much muscle is built during training".

As far as weight loss goes, calories in vs. calories out supersedes just about all other factors, including the time you exercise, the type of exercise you do, and the type of food you eat. Now, you'll want to consider the other issues for health reasons, but if losing weight was your only goal, the caloric balance is all you need to worry about.

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
However, I have heard people work out in the morning moreso mainly because you have the highest waking levels of growth hormone, which is secreted during sleep.

Here, I have to disagree. I've read a number of articles that suggest that most people perform better in the afternoon/evening than they do in the morning, with the main factor being circadian rhythms:

From acefitness.org:
Body temperature is at its lowest about one to three hours before most of us wake up in the morning, in contrast to late afternoon when body temperature reaches its peak.
...
Studies have consistently shown that exercise during these late-in-the-day hours produces better performance and more power. Muscles are warm and more flexible, perceived exertion is low, reaction time is quicker, strength is at its peak, and resting heart rate and blood pressure are low.

From cnn.com:
"One of the things that circadian rhythms does is that it determines when your best performance time is," Zee said. "Your ability to perform changes throughout 24 hours."
...

Circadian rhythms also control body temperature, a key element of a more productive workout. According to Zee, by the afternoon, body temperature is between one and two degrees warmer than in the morning, making muscles in the body more supple and lowering the risk of injury.

In short, most people will perform better in the afternoon/evening than in the morning. Having said that, you should exercise at whatever time you can do it consistently. That is, going consistently, even at a sub-optimal time of day, will be FAR more effective than going inconsistently at just the right time.

Informative as always dude. You, SC & a few others on here should write a book.

plus that works out good for me since I typically work out pretty late. I just need to work on the consistency part. hehe.....

 

[Bateluer]

Ideally, I would like to go running in the morning. Then I'm awake and alert for the day. But, I have to be at work too early to allow this to be particularly feasible, so I go running after work.

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Ideally, I would like to go running in the morning. Then I'm awake and alert for the day. But, I have to be at work too early to allow this to be particularly feasible, so I go running after work.

Same here, but on the weekends I go very early, sometimes as early as 7am. I do like running early, it sets a great tone for the rest of the day.

 

[KoolDrew]

I lift best in my sleep.

 

[EvilYoda]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew
I lift best in my sleep.

I lift best while neffing.

I'm squatting 500lb right now.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: Megatomic

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Ideally, I would like to go running in the morning. Then I'm awake and alert for the day. But, I have to be at work too early to allow this to be particularly feasible, so I go running after work.

Same here, but on the weekends I go very early, sometimes as early as 7am. I do like running early, it sets a great tone for the rest of the day.

I rarely ever go running after work - just would rather veg or don't have the energy for it. I often wake up at 4-5am to go run/workout if I have an early day. I'll normally on my long days (Saturdays) wake up at 4:30 and go to the lake, run a lap or two depending on distance that day, and then have the rest of the day for whatever else I have planned.

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: Megatomic

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Ideally, I would like to go running in the morning. Then I'm awake and alert for the day. But, I have to be at work too early to allow this to be particularly feasible, so I go running after work.

Same here, but on the weekends I go very early, sometimes as early as 7am. I do like running early, it sets a great tone for the rest of the day.

I rarely ever go running after work - just would rather veg or don't have the energy for it. I often wake up at 4-5am to go run/workout if I have an early day. I'll normally on my long days (Saturdays) wake up at 4:30 and go to the lake, run a lap or two depending on distance that day, and then have the rest of the day for whatever else I have planned.

I'm up at 4am every weekday for work. I'd have to get up at 2am to run before work. I HAVE to run after work if I'm going to run on a workday. There's no way around it.

But as I said, I prefer my weekend runs. Running early is the best IMHO.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: Megatomic

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: Megatomic

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Ideally, I would like to go running in the morning. Then I'm awake and alert for the day. But, I have to be at work too early to allow this to be particularly feasible, so I go running after work.

Same here, but on the weekends I go very early, sometimes as early as 7am. I do like running early, it sets a great tone for the rest of the day.

I rarely ever go running after work - just would rather veg or don't have the energy for it. I often wake up at 4-5am to go run/workout if I have an early day. I'll normally on my long days (Saturdays) wake up at 4:30 and go to the lake, run a lap or two depending on distance that day, and then have the rest of the day for whatever else I have planned.

I'm up at 4am every weekday for work. I'd have to get up at 2am to run before work. I HAVE to run after work if I'm going to run on a workday. There's no way around it.

But as I said, I prefer my weekend runs. Running early is the best IMHO.

Been there done that my friend. I feel for ya there That's rough, running or not. Prob moreso when I used to stay up and play XBox till 1 and wake up 3 hours later.

 

[purbeast0]

In general I am not a morning person, so me personally, I don't have much energy for lifting when I wake up.

From my experience with lifting, it seems to be that way too. I personally have more energy in the evening after i've been sitting on my ass all day at work.

I also prefer to workout when the gyms aren't empty and have others working out. I don't know if it's just motivation seeing others workout as well, or there is just energy in the gym at those times, but if I go to an empty gym, I never workout as well as I do when I go at my normal time after work and it's crowded (but not too crowded).

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: EvilYoda

Originally posted by: KoolDrew
I lift best in my sleep.

I lift best while neffing.

I'm squatting 500lb right now.

Hah, noob. I squat 700 pounds continuously through the day. It's my LSS cardio.

 

[KlokWyze]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
In general I am not a morning person, so me personally, I don't have much energy for lifting when I wake up.

From my experience with lifting, it seems to be that way too. I personally have more energy in the evening after i've been sitting on my ass all day at work.

I also prefer to workout when the gyms aren't empty and have others working out. I don't know if it's just motivation seeing others workout as well, or there is just energy in the gym at those times, but if I go to an empty gym, I never workout as well as I do when I go at my normal time after work and it's crowded (but not too crowded).

Definitely the opposite with me. I love my gym only when it's empty, I go to my neighborhood gym which is pretty small so whenever there are even just a few people they get in your way a lot, etc.