The Best Time to Exercise
December 11th, 2006The best time to exercise is first thing in the morning if you have the time to exercise then. However, since most people live busy lives and tend to have a generally full schedule it can be difficult to choose a particular time of the day they would prefer to exercise. This means for most people their best time to exercise is late in the day when the working day is over and all other responsibilities are taken care of. Well the good news is it’s certainly better to make time each day or at least on most days to exercise as opposed to not doing any at all. However, exercising late in the day or in the evening can be disruptive to your sleep and might not be the best time to exercise if you have trouble sleeping or could manage to exercise earlier in the day.
After a regular exercise session of let’s say about 1 hour your core body temperature has risen dramatically. In fact it starts to rise shortly after you begin your workout but after prolonged exercise your internal body is really burning up. This is not a bad thing in fact it’s very healthy, hence the term, burn fat. If burning fat is one of your goals through working out, the raising of your core body temperature on a regular basis is a step in the right direction towards the realization of that goal and in this case any time is the best time to exercise.
When you exercise in the morning, the raising of your core body temperature has the added effect of helping you to continue to burn fat in the following hours after you have finished your workout while you are still awake and active meaning this is probably the best time to exercise. However, don’t think that after you have exercised you can start eating anything and everything you like and you won’t get fat as unfortunately it doesn’t quite work that way. What does happen is during and after your workout for a number of hours, that number is different for each person but for approximately 2-3 hours your body has an elevated level of the endorphin hormone in the system and this gives you a natural high sensation. Similar, but a healthy version, to what others may use drugs to achieve. You would have noticed this endorphin rush after you have exercised before, but perhaps not been aware of why you felt so good, it can best be described as a general feeling of well being when any problems or stresses you may have felt before exercising are somewhat diminished. It is this heightened sense of well being that gets people hooked on exercise in the same way others may get hooked on drugs. Also, while the endorphins are rushing through your system and your core body temperature is elevated you would be less likely to crave any unhealthy foods you might normally crave at other times. So this also adds weight to the idea that any time can be the best time to exercise.
Exercising in the late afternoon or evening is still extremely beneficial to your mind, body and health and you will get the same good hormone release you would get from exercising earlier. However, by exercising late in the day you ultimately increase your core body temperature into the night and depending on when you go to sleep this could cause some minor sleeping problems. After a workout session you normally have a shower, cool down, get changed and then eat dinner. On top of this, with the added endorphins flooding your system, you feel on top of the world. The thing is though, internally your core body temperature stays elevated for up to 4-5 hours, so unless you stay awake this long after your workout it may cause you some trouble falling asleep or even if you are very tired you may be restless during sleep. Training in the evening or night might not be the best time to exercise but it is certainly better than spending no time in the day working out. This enforces the idea that early in the day really is the best time to exercise but it needs to be clear that by working out in the evening it still could be considered the best time to exercise for an individual who couldn’t workout at any other time.
There isn’t a great deal you can do about this if the only time you have to exercise is late in the day but once you are aware of your elevated core body temperature you may consider doing your workout a little earlier if possible or try taking an extended cool bath or shower after your workout or before bed to help lower your body temperature. Another effective method would be to drink a few glasses of cold water in the hours leading up to your bedtime. In any case I believe it’s always better to exercise at some stage than to not exercise at all. The body has an incredible ability to adapt in the same way our bodies have evolved into stronger and more intelligent beings over time. So rememeber the best time to exercise for you is to exercise when you can and try your hardest to never miss an exercise session as you will notice an overall improvement in your body and mind when you get into the habit of exercising regularly.
If you find this site helpful, please leave a donation for John
Other Related Posts:-
January 18th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
[…] Universe of Success have posted a detailed description of when the best times to exercise are. I have often written about this but this goes into a bit more detail. […]