What Is The Best Time to Exercise? Do you have friends who get up at 6 a.m. and jog every day while you can barely get up from the bed? Are you more of an evening workout person? Or are you fond of those neighborhood walks after the dinner?
When it comes to exercise, we all have different qualms and thoughts about how and when we should be exercising. However, we still need to know what is the best time of day to exercise? Should you be psyched up about exercising in morning or evening? Let’s explore it!
Related: Light Exercise Make You Live Longer. Yes It’s True!
Contents
Why Should You Be Exercising?
Before you learn when to exercise, you should study why you need to exercise.
Basically, our modern lifestyle has led to a dramatic rise in the prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes. This is also the reason behind an increase in cardiovascular diseases and many other lifestyle conditions.
Also Read: Diabetes Diet Ideas.
We hardly move around as much as our ancestors did a generation or two before. Therefore, it is important to improve strategies that are aimed to prevent and/or treat insulin resistance, which one of the major factor contributing towards the development of type 2 diabetes.
So, you should be exercising, at least, 30 minutes a day, five days a week if you want to maintain weight. Exercise more if you want to lose.
Also Read: Exercise to Stay Young.
The Best Time to Exercise
A fat rich, energy dense (carbohydrate rich) diet causes spikes in insulin, which results in weight gain as well as lifestyle diseases. The effects of insulin can be dealt by turning fat into muscle, which can be achieved through exercising. So, what is the best time to exercise?
According to a 2010 study, training in a fasted state improves glucose intolerance, which in turn helps in maintaining-reducing weight while keeping us fit. Evidence supports that exercising in the carbohydrate-restricted state can stimulate training-induced alterations in muscle cells to assist oxidative energy turnover with the transport of fatty acid.
Therefore, exercising in a fasted state, irrespective of the time of the day will help you stay fitter. This study was conducted on 28 healthy young male volunteers in the age group of 18-25 years. All the subjects were physically active (@3.5 hours/week) and participated in regular sports.
However, none of them performed endurance training such as cycling or running. The volunteers in this study were required to consume a hyper-caloric fat-rich diet (consisting of 30% more calories and 50% more fat than what the men had been eating) for 6 weeks.
After that, some of the subjects were asked to perform endurance exercises (as per the study’s protocol) 4 days each week in a fasted state whereas some were asked to consume food (primarily carbohydrates) before and during the exercise sessions.
The remaining formed the part of the control group who had the liberty to gorge while remaining sedentary.
At the end of six weeks, it was found that the body weight of the members of the control group has increased 3 kg on an average. Researchers also noticed that these participants developed whole-body glucose tolerance with increased Matsuda insulin sensitivity.
However, men who have exercised in the fasted state were found healthy and had gained no weight. It was also noticed that their Muscle GLUT4 protein content increased by 28%, carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 mRNA levels and AMP-activated protein kinase α phosphorylation by 25%.
According to the study’s author and professor at the Research Center for Exercise and Health at Catholic University Leuven in Belgium, Peter Hespel, early morning fasted exercise did inhibit gain in body weight and may help in inducing weight loss when combined with a healthier diet.
What Does This Study Indicate?
This study points out that there is no reliable evidence to suggest the best time for exercise! However, it does suggest that the time of the day can influence how you feel while exercising.
For example, if you are an evening person, you might feel fitter exercising at night than during the day.
So, what should you do? For starters, understand the research. Realize that exercising, without consuming carbs just before or after the workout will actually help you lose weight and stay fit. Next, choose a time of the day to exercise and stick with it. This will assist in building a habit, which will help you stay fitter!
Know Circadian Rhythm
Your circadian rhythm will automatically determine the best time for workout. Circadian rhythm has a 24-hour pattern that influences your body’s functions including temperature, heart rate and even the hormones, which affects your body’s readiness for exercise.
So, use your body as a guide. This will help you stay consistent. If you are still confused, just try working out in the morning for 10-15 days and then try evening or afternoon workout for similar periods. Know when you enjoy exercising the most. Then, stick to it!
So, go ahead and warm up and we hope now you know the best time to exercise!
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