Choosing The Best Time To Train

The training schedule you choose should depend on what you want to achieve. If you want to lose weight, you cannot train in the same way as someone who wants to build muscle mass.

Exercising is one of the healthiest things you can do. However, choosing the best time of day to exercise depends on your individual goals.

For example, those who want to lose weight cannot train in the same way as someone who is working on gaining muscle mass or increasing their anaerobic resistance.

Many people determine their training schedule according to their availability, this is not always the right thing to do.

There are many parameters that will help you figure out when you should or shouldn’t give your body physical activity. Just as there are sleep and hormone cycles, there are also cycles to train.

As many experts have confirmed, the biological rhythm of sleep and wakefulness (our internal clock) determined by the sun also controls our functions related to physical activity.

Therefore, athletes should first look at their internal clock and see how it affects their performance, speed and strength.

What is the best time of day to exercise?

Those who habitually engage in light to moderate exercise can do so at any time of the day, as long as they are in good health and not doing anything excessive.

However, it is important to keep the following things in mind when determining the best time:

In the morning our body temperature is lowest, so our energy and blood flow is slowed down. The coldness and tightness of our muscles increases the risk of fractures or injuries. Recent studies seem to indicate that training sessions in the morning damage our immune system. This increases the risk of bacterial or viral infections.

Our body temperature and hormones reach their highest peak at 6:00 PM. So right now, our body responds better to demanding workouts.
Our lungs work best between 4 and 5 pm. Our muscles become more flexible, the intensity is greater, our performance is better and we can release stress more easily.
Exercising between 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM helps regulate food digestion.
Exercising at the start of the day provides consistency and forces you to rest well. However, you need to warm up more intensely because of the hours of inactivity while you were sleeping.
Exercising generates adrenaline. Doing it in the evening can lead to insomnia and difficulty controlling heart rhythm. Ideally, you should exercise 2 hours before going to bed.

Why would you choose one time of the day to exercise?

To achieve the goals you’ve set for yourself, you need to know how to choose the best time of day to exercise. Depending on what you hope to achieve, you can choose the following way:

Burning calories

Those who want to lose weight can exercise in the afternoon, when your metabolism starts to slow down. The colder the environment you work in, the more calories you can burn.

Increase aerobic resistance

This is the biological ability to perform extended exercise at medium or low intensity. Your performance is the same no matter what time you choose to train.

Increase anaerobic resistance

Which means you’re doing short-term, high-intensity activities. To become more flexible, stronger, more powerful and faster, it is best to train after 6 pm in the afternoon, or even in the evenings. Athletes train at the same time as their competitions to monitor their performance.

Build muscle mass

Your hormones are most helpful for building muscle if you exercise first in the morning or later in the evening.

Every body is different

While there are many general suggestions, it is important to remember that every body is different. The response to stimuli will not all be the same.

So calculating your body temperature, in accordance with your circadian cycle, is one way to determine the best time of day for you to exercise.

To do this, you need to monitor your temperature for five or six consecutive days (with one reading every hour) to determine an average. It is best to train three hours before or three hours after the time when your temperature is highest.

If this is too complicated and you just want to keep your body healthy, then there are other options.

You don’t have to subject yourself to strict routines and make sacrifices. Just 30 minutes of training a day is enough. Getting outside to get some fresh air brings you many benefits. You should avoid being outside during the summer when it’s hot between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. and doing strenuous exercise.