Professional athletes usually organize their life around their training. Some of them practice twice or even three times a day, and that is their job, so their personal life, friends, family and errands come behind. Just as it happens with athletes, for us, regular people, out job also usually comes first in terms of prioritizing our time of day. That’s why we work our gym workouts or sports practices around our job schedule. Some of us like to go to the gym before work, claiming that the energy rush we get lasts throughout the day, and others prefer evening workouts in need to distress.

But is there really a “right” time to work out?

Generally speaking working out at any time of day is beneficial to our health. To go even further, any type of movement weather it is walking, running errands or even doing house chores, could be good exercise. With that being said there are different benefits to working out in the morning vs. at night.



Advantages of a morning workout

You will be more persistent

A morning workout will not only energize you for the day, but also make you more focused on your athletic goals. You are less likely to lose motivation. Look at it from this point of view. You've had a hard day at work and you've yet to hit the gym. In addition, a number of unforeseen events can pop up during the day to ruin your evening workout. The morning workout does not engage you at the end of the day when you feel tired and you could easily go out with friends without the remorse that you crashed out of the gym today!

Improves concentration

A morning run, for example, will tone and energize you throughout the day. Inevitably, this will improve your focus and concentration for the rest of it.
It stimulates weight loss and does not interfere with sleep
Exercising in the morning will rev up your metabolism and burn more calories throughout the day. Of course, the results depend mostly on the right diet. Unlike evening workouts, morning workouts can't affect your sleep. Exercising shortly before bedtime can prevent you from falling asleep, as your body will be energized and toned as adrenaline and cortisol in your bloodstream have increased.



Advantages of an evening workout

Lack of fatigue

The chance of feeling tired or lacking strength during evening training is small, since we will have acquired a greater part of the nutrients during the day. They will give us the necessary energy and strength to do a quality workout.

More time

Knowing you’re not going to be late for anything since you’ve completed your tasks for the day can allow you to spend more time in the gym. This in turn will increase your focus, you can do more reps or sets if you need and it would allow you to pay closer attention to your individual reps.

More social contacts

It is no coincidence that between 17:00 and 20:00 are peak hours in gyms. Many people go to the gym immediately after work, and the chance of having company to work out with is much higher than if you go for a sunrise jog.
 
There is no right or wrong time to exercise. Sports should be present in your life in any form and in any time of day. Based on your goals and your schedule, choose what time is most convenient for you so you can stay consistent and view sports as a fun hobby rather than a chore. Go for trial and error and see how you feel best.

If you’re curious about more sports and nutrition topics you can read the rest of our articles.