Morning vs Evening: Which is a More Effective Time for Working Out?

In the fitness realm, there's a hotly debated topic about the best time to exercise: morning or night? However, experts Jillian Michaels and W. Chris Winter are here to weigh in and provide their insights on each. They'll outline the advantages of both options before rendering a verdict on the age-old rivalry.

There are plenty of benefits to waking up before dawn, particularly when it comes to working out.

Ultimately, how consistent you are with exercise depends on your tenacity and schedule. When it comes to working out in the morning, it's easier to stick to a routine. You can check off your workout early in the day and not have to worry about unexpected events that could derail evening workouts such as errands, extra work, familial obligations, or social gatherings. Additionally, drinking alcohol after exercising can disrupt bodily recovery and negate the benefits of your workout. Fortunately, morning exercise provides enough time for your metabolism to recover from your workout, making it less likely for a post-work happy hour to cause issues.

'Research suggests training at the beginning of your day can help improve your focus the rest of your day,' says Michaels. A 2019 research study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that exercising in the morning resulted in higher cognitive functioning throughout the day compared to those who didn't exercise until after a day of being sedentary. In addition, morning exercise led to increased serum brain-derived neurotrophic growth factor, which improves memory and learning.

Furthermore, if weight loss is your goal, training before noon could lead to greater weight loss compared to exercising at night. A 2019 study published in the International Journal of Obesity found that overweight, physically inactive adults lost more weight by working out in the morning five days a week for ten months than those who followed the same workout at night.

However, if you're unable to work out in the morning, exercising at night can still provide benefits for weight management and sleep regulation. Physical activity in any form helps to promote sleep, particularly benzene production. However, be wary of exercising too close to bedtime, as the surge of hormones it produces can make it challenging to fall asleep. If you exercise at night, it's essential to engage in relaxation activities such as meditation or yoga to counteract the effects of the rush of hormones and to help you get to sleep.

In conclusion, the best time to work out two based on your schedule and goals. Morning workouts are more practical for those who want to promote consistency or improve cognitive functioning throughout the day. However, working out at night can help with weight management and sleep. Regardless of when you choose to work out, remember to prioritize exercise as an essential aspect of a healthy lifestyle.

Feel like you're sleepwalking on the treadmill when you work out in the morning? It's not all in your head. When you're low on sleep, your physical performance, coordination, and endurance suffer, which can make early-morning exercise feel harder and also potentially lead to injury. And injuries, of course, will ultimately sideline you from being able to work out.

Not to mention, if you work out in the morning, you have that whole 'should I eat before my workout?' conundrum to consider. (Spoiler: It's okay if you don't like to eat beforehand, but you might not perform at your best, since your body doesn't have fuel at the ready to power your muscles.)

Meanwhile, if you work out at night, you'll have had the whole day to fuel your body with food (and caffeine!) and build the level of alertness and energy you need to crush your workout.

'When I train in the evening, it helps me blow off some of the stress that has accumulated over the course [of the day],' says Michaels. This makes perfect sense given that exercise is a serious stress-reliever.

Having an outlet (might we suggest you consider boxing?) at the end of the day can provide a healthy outlet for releasing those daily stresses. And, if you work from home, it can also be helpful to have an activity like a workout to signal that you're done with work for the day and mark a transition into your personal time.

'Research suggests you might have longer and stronger workouts later in the day than in the morning,' says Michaels. One study published in the Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, for example, found that people demonstrated better exercise performance in the early evenings. Why? Because their core body temp was already up after a day of *cue Rihanna* 🎵 work, work, work, work, work as opposed to in the morning, when the core body temperature is at the lowest it'll be all day. (That said, the researchers note that getting your core body temp up — and then crushing it at the gym — is as simple as doing an active warm-up.)

It's easier to find a friend who's willing to meet you for a 5 p.m. workout versus a 5 a.m. class — and accountability is a key factor in sticking with your workout plans.

Plus, it's less likely that you or your workout buddy is going to hit snooze on their alarm or accidentally sleep through a workout. (Hey, it happens to the best of us!)

While the above may make you question your own habits, luckily the answer is pretty simple: 'There is no right or wrong time to work out,' says Michaels. 'Working out whenever your schedule allows is the best time to work out.'

That said, if you have the luxury of training at whatever time you want, she recommends a trial and error situation while 'paying attention to how training at different times of the day makes you feel.'

As you do, Michaels suggests asking yourself:

Once you find a time of day to work out that works best for you, stick to it, agree both Michaels and Dr. Winter.

'Training at the same time of day is ideal,' says Michaels. 'It lends to building fitness into your routine, making it easier to establish working out as a healthy habit,' she says. Research in the journal, Obesity, backs this up.

If you train at the same time of day every day, your body is literally able to predict when it will have physical demands put on it, thereby shifting your biochemistry to give you more energy and strength at that particular time of day. If, for example, you always go on a run at the same time in the morning, Dr. Winter says after a few weeks you can expect your body to start naturally waking you up right before your morning run alarm would go off. Likewise, if you always work out after your 9-5 duties, your body will know to get a 'second wind' right around when you shut your laptop each night. The body is pretty stinkin' smart, right?