Sports morning and evening: how to choose an effective strategy. Is it possible to go to workouts in the morning: research and recommendations

Everyone is interested in learning about when it is better to exercise in the morning or evening, and how to properly plan and distribute fitness loads. This article is devoted to this topical topic.

Fitness in the morning

Interesting facts about morning fitness

Morning workouts are designed for people whose bodies work like early risers. It is important that the work schedule can be coordinated with classes without prejudice. This option is suitable for lazy people with weak motivation: there is a chance to successfully study in the morning, since the brain, which has not had time to wake up, will take the activity for granted. Exercising early helps you burn maximum calories throughout the day. The fact is that this type of physical activity creates all the conditions for accelerating metabolism. Morning exercise helps you tune in to an active pastime during the day, and in many cases helps to wake up the body and gain a lasting charge of vigor.

The real benefits of morning fitness

Appetite control

Early exercise provides comfort and protection from overeating during the day. This fact is confirmed by the fact that British researchers surveyed fans of morning running and other types of fitness. As it turned out, such people felt comfortable during the day; they did not suffer from a debilitating feeling of hunger. Those who like to exercise in the evenings are less likely to achieve similar success. According to experts, morning workouts suppress the production of hormones responsible for increasing appetite. It turns out that for people with a tendency to overeat, morning exercise acts as a protection against this harmful habit.

Intense fat burning

In the morning, the fat burning process is most effective. When our body experiences physical activity, its carbohydrate reserves are first exhausted, and only after 20 minutes of continuous work, the muscles begin to be nourished using energy obtained from fat reserves. For this reason, only long workouts, from 40 minutes, are considered effective in losing weight. Foreign scientists who study the body of athletes know exactly when it is better to exercise, in the morning or in the evening, in order to lose weight. So, they believe that training in the first half of the day will be effective and fat-burning, even if it lasts up to half an hour. This load is equivalent to a 40-minute fitness class in the afternoon. As doctors say, until 5 pm, metabolism is predisposed to intense energy consumption. After this threshold, the rate of metabolic processes physiologically decreases. Restoration occurs in hormonal and other systems. This is why fat reserves that are difficult to burn in the morning are easier to destroy.

Minimal risk of muscle injury

We continue to talk about when it is better to exercise in the morning or evening for health and quick weight loss. Interestingly, after early sports activities, the feeling of fatigue is neutralized more quickly, and muscle tissue is restored better. This effect was noticed by authoritative foreign researchers. When observing three thousand fitness enthusiasts, it turned out that it was after morning workouts that the body’s recovery proceeds 20% faster. Evening training is inferior to morning exercises in this regard. The test results proved that the same loads during training cause microtraumas of muscle tissue and negative changes in the composition of the blood more often during evening fitness.

Cons of morning fitness

We will not describe in detail the negative aspects of evening training; we will touch on them briefly, since these arguments are very doubtful.

Firstly, there may be problems with the combination of fitness and breakfast.

Secondly, in the morning a person’s blood is thick.

Thirdly, for some people it is problematic to exercise in the morning, since the body cannot wake up.

Fitness in the evenings

Interesting facts about evening fitness

For people whose bodies are close to owls, evening sports are definitely suitable. It’s good that after a working day you can work out the necessary muscles. It’s great if you have the opportunity to stop by the gym on the way from work. Evening exercise helps relieve stress, distract you from workloads and all sorts of problems that have accumulated during the day. Moderately stressful activities help improve sleep.

The benefits of fitness in the evenings

Acceleration of metabolism

We know that in the evening the metabolic rate in the body decreases. For this reason, sweets consumed during breakfast minimally spoil the figure, and the same high-calorie foods added to dinner are highly likely to cause obesity. Smart workouts are an excellent tool for accelerating your metabolism to the desired level. The main condition is maintaining moderation in everything. You need to study without fanaticism.

Long lasting fat burning

The post-workout period during night sleep is associated with the effective breakdown of excess fat. After the evening load, the destruction of fat reserves does not stop; it drags on for another 12 hours, no less. Muscles draw energy reserves from the body to successfully repair fibers. At night, only a light dinner is allowed.

Disadvantages of evening fitness

You can feel all the negative aspects of exercising before bed on your own; it’s individual. But let’s briefly touch on the disadvantages of this approach.

Firstly, evening sports can be hampered by fatigue after a hard day.

Secondly, after late workouts you may be very hungry, which results in a risk of overeating.

Thirdly, if the exercise is intense enough, it can interfere with restful sleep.

Now you know all the intricacies of fitness at different times of the day, and it will be easier to decide on the best option for yourself. The main condition is that you need to exercise with pleasure, constantly looking for motivation to improve your results.

You've finally decided it's time to go to the gym or lay out the mat at home, but then the question arises - in the morning or in the evening? Maybe you want to create a schedule for yourself to get the maximum benefit? If so, here's information from restless researchers to help you decide whether morning exercise or evening exercise is best for you.

Benefits of exercising in the morning

Study

Research has shown that exercising in the morning is best for lowering blood pressure and improving sleep.

Dr Scott Collier from Appalachian State University, USA, looked at the effect of exercise on blood pressure. Together with researchers Kimberly Fairbrother and Ben Cartner, he tracked the blood pressure levels and sleep patterns of a group of people aged 40-60. These people received moderate exercise three times a week for 30 minutes. They were carried out at different times during the day: 7 am, 1 pm and 7 pm.

Result

All participants who exercised in the morning showed a 10% decrease in blood pressure. This reduction in blood pressure levels continued throughout the day. At night, these people slept longer, had better sleep cycles, and ultimately experienced a 25% drop in blood pressure.

Dr. Scott Collier reported:

“Much to our surprise, exercising at 7 a.m. was better for lowering blood pressure throughout the day and benefiting sleep better than exercising at 7 p.m., and there was little benefit for sleep and blood pressure when exercising at 1 p.m.” .

"We don't yet know the physiological mechanisms that lead to these changes, but we know enough to say that if you need to lower your blood pressure and if you need to improve your sleep, then 7 a.m. is probably the best time to exercise."

So if you're at risk for heart disease or suffer from high blood pressure or insomnia, working out in the morning may be better for you. However, there are various benefits that you can get from exercising in the evening.

Benefits of exercising in the evening

Study

A study conducted at the University of Chicago Clinical Research Center found that people who exercise after work achieve higher levels of physical fitness than people who exercise in the morning.

The study involved 40 healthy men aged 20-30. The men were divided into five groups. Four teams received intense physical training in the morning, afternoon or evening. The fifth group did nothing at all. The researchers obtained blood samples from each of the participants to determine levels of two endocrine hormones: cortisol and thyroid-stimulating hormone.

Result

It was found that both of these hormones increased the most in those people who exercised either late in the evening or at night. Additionally, the same group of people experienced a drop in their glucose levels.

Dr Orfeu Buxton, who led the study, said: "These are signs that your metabolism is adapting well to regular exercise and suggests it may be better to go to the gym after work rather than in the morning."

Eventually

John Trower, an athletics coach at Britain's Central Lancashire University, said top athletes typically do technical training in the morning and intensive training between 4 and 6 p.m.

“Although not everyone is happy with it. Some of them have more energy in the morning than in the evening. It's a personal choice."

So if you're trying to figure out when to fit exercise into your busy work schedule, take a look at your goals. If you want to improve your heart health and sleep, this is the morning. If you want to tone up, get stronger, and reduce your risk of diabetes, an evening exercise routine is your best option.

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The question of when exactly to exercise is on the minds of many women.

The question of when exactly to play sports occupies many women. After all, some of us can go to the fitness center early in the morning, while others prefer to run on the track late in the evening, after work. Unfortunately, few people can afford to choose the time of classes: we always adapt to work hours. And yet, when is it more useful to exercise, that is, provided that you can choose the time when you go to exercise.
But no one can answer this question unequivocally - neither coaches, nor doctors, writes Argumenty i Fakty. But each class time has its pros and cons. As practice shows, those who most insist on early classes are those who wake up easily - these are mostly “larks”. And there are approximately 20-25% of such lovers of morning exercises. But there are more “night owls” among us - there are 30-40% of them - and it is more pleasant for them to go to the gym in the evening. And the rest - the mixed type - don’t care when to get up, be it early in the morning or almost before bed.

And now all the arguments are in favor of morning exercises.

Firstly, experts claim that after morning exercise, appetite decreases for the whole day: English scientists compared data from surveys conducted among morning joggers. It turned out that those who ran in the morning then experienced hunger less often during the day than fans of evening physical exercise. As a result, researchers have suggested that morning exercise suppresses the release of hormones that are responsible for our appetite, writes AiF. That is, those ladies who are prone to overeating will find it easier to cope with the habit of chewing something all the time during the day after a morning workout.

In addition, during physical activity, carbohydrates are first consumed, and only after the 20th minute of training do the muscles begin to receive energy from fat - trainers probably warned you about this. Therefore, those who plan to lose weight through training are always recommended to exercise for at least 40 minutes. However, recent research from the American College of Sports Medicine shows that just 20-30 minutes of exercise in the first half of the day is enough. By the way, in terms of the fat-burning effect, this will be identical to 40 minutes after lunch. And the whole point is that until 17.00 our metabolism is set to consume energy, including fat. And after this “rush hour” the intensity of metabolic processes fades away, the hormonal and other systems are already focused on replenishing reserves. Therefore, in the morning, stubborn fat deposits disappear more easily. Again, after a morning workout, AiF believes, fatigue goes away faster and muscles recover better. This is evidenced by a new study from the Canadian University of Toronto.

Doctors observed 3,000 people who were passionate about fitness and found that after morning training, the pulse returned to normal on average 20% faster than after evening training. In addition, a blood test showed that with the same intensity of training, microtrauma to muscle fibers and associated blood changes in the morning occur less frequently.

And now the arguments against morning classes

Most often in the morning we simply do not have time to have breakfast, and training in the morning on an empty stomach is even harmful and excessive training can lead to fainting. Without breakfast, our energy and strength will only be enough for light exercise. And what should you do in this case? Get up two hours earlier, have breakfast and wait a whole hour for breakfast to digest? Then run to training, and then also to work? Of course, this option is not suitable for anyone. True, you can drink sweet tea with a piece of chocolate or coffee with sugar, or freshly squeezed juice, eat a handful of raisins or dried apricots - all these products will be absorbed quite quickly while you get dressed. In addition, during sleep you did not drink any liquid for at least 7-8 hours. And since the fluid is gone, it means the blood has become thicker; increasing its circulation in such an “undiluted” form means overloading the heart and veins. Therefore, before training, you should definitely drink 1-2 glasses of liquid and wait 5-10 minutes for the moisture to be absorbed. “Also, after sleep, blood circulation throughout the body is slowed down, the lungs are narrowed, and the nervous system is inhibited. Therefore, it is necessary to start charging with a warm-up, gradually increasing the load. Beginners are not recommended to give themselves serious exercise such as running or strength exercises in the morning; it is better to take a walk, ride a bike, or swim,” writes AiF.

And now the arguments for evening sports activities

Even amateurs already know that in the evening the metabolism slows down, and therefore the chocolate we ate for breakfast will have almost no effect on our figure, but a piece of cake at dinner will immediately be deposited in the waist area the very next morning. Therefore, moderate physical activity in the evening is a great way to speed up your metabolism. However, the load must certainly be moderate - no sports records or Olympic achievements! It is also known that burning calories does not stop with the end of the workout - by inertia, the muscles continue to consume energy for recovery for at least 12 hours. Now imagine that after training you ate a light dinner and went to bed. There is no more food, new energy is not coming in, which means the body will be forced to turn to stored fat. And so on until the morning. And in the morning, metabolism also has no time for reserves, and, as a result, weight loss is inevitable.

And the evidence against fitness in the evening: not everyone can force themselves to go to the fitness center after work or visit the pool after swimming a certain number of kilometers there. It’s just that some people cannot find the motivation to break the usual stereotype and do something active in the evening, while others are really too tired physically after the service. In addition, there is a huge “minus” - this is a huge desire to eat after training before going to bed. Moreover, at night you always want to “visit the refrigerator”. Experts from the Swedish School of Sports and Health Sciences believe that this is an indicator of the wrong training. It was clearly either too intense or too long. Therefore, it is better to replace running with a walk, aerobics with an exercise bike, and shorten classes from an hour to 40 or 30 minutes. In addition, it often happens that it is difficult to fall asleep after training - this is a consequence of too intense exercise.

Now let’s summarize: both morning and evening have their pros and cons. So proceed from your own preferences, or, what, unfortunately, is more important, from your work schedule. In any case, moving when you feel comfortable and comfortable is much healthier than not moving at all.

Several reasons to exercise in the morning

There has been debate for a long time about when is the best time to exercise. Some argue that exercise in the morning is beneficial, while others lean towards evening workouts.

Conducted medical studies have not provided an answer to this question, so experts have still not come to a common opinion. There is a popular version that working out in the morning helps suppress hunger and achieve your goal of losing weight. Others are confident in the benefits of evening exercise, since this time of day is favorable for improving their results. However, it is wrong to talk exclusively about physiology, since there are a number of social and psychological factors that confirm that it is better to train in the morning.

Exercising after you wake up is not an easy task, but over time your body will get used to exercising after waking up. At first the body will resist, but in this case you need to endure it. Exercises will become effective when the consciousness awakens and the body prepares to receive the load. Before starting a workout, you are allowed to drink a glass of water to activate the work of your internal organs. In addition, it is recommended to warm up for 5-10 minutes.

Let's look at 5 reasons why you should exercise in the morning.

1. Working out in the early hours will save time.

People prefer to spend evenings in the company of friends. How not to miss a class and make it to a meeting? Of course, in this case, a morning workout in the gym will help.

2. Increased energy

If you do regular workouts, the exercises will become beneficial. For example, exercising in the morning at home helps deliver oxygen and nutrients to your muscles and organs. This has a positive effect on the functioning of the cardiovascular system and has a beneficial effect on tone and energy.

3. Activation of the brain

The day starts with breakfast, but sometimes it makes sense to skip it for a while in favor of exercise. Exercising in the morning on an empty stomach is useful: during its implementation, the body’s own resources are consumed to obtain energy instead of carbohydrates not received from the outside. Exercises in this mode are especially important for people who dream of losing weight. If the main goal is to gain weight, then physical exercise on an empty stomach will help break down fats and dry out muscle tissue.

One of the main advantages of training in the morning is the activation of brain function. If you start your day with regular physical exercise, your brain will soon receive a powerful impulse that will awaken it. And you don't need a cup of coffee!

4. Increased motivation

When planning a workout for the morning, the likelihood that it will take place increases significantly, since during the day or in the evening there are things to do, excuses and other reasons that interfere with the implementation of your plans.

Athletes know the benefits of strength training, which helps increase endurance and strengthen the body. Strength training is a way to strengthen your immune system and improve your health. If strength training is carried out regularly in the morning, then metabolism is normalized. According to some athletes, strength training will bring more benefits if you do it on an empty stomach.

5. Reduced hunger

Let's take an example of one study in which two groups of people participated: the first group included people without problems with excess weight, and the second included people who were obese. Each person's day began with a morning workout, after which their hunger decreased.