Do you like it in the Morning or Afternoon?

I’ve been doing my Insanity Workouts in the afternoon after I get off from work. But as I was planning my day, I realized today’s workout will be hard to squeeze in and maybe I should be working out in the morning to increase the amount of calories I burn throughout the day.

So I did some research….I have my personal beliefs as to why I’ve always worked out in the afternoons but I wanted some facts because I am an over-analyzer.

So here’s what I’ve found.

Morning Workouts

• Increased commitment: Working out in the morning ensures you actually workout.  There is no excuse.  You can free yourself up the rest of the day to focus on your daily activities without having to worry about squeezing a workout in.
• The “all day” effect: Working out gives you a buzz from the adrenaline that is released during the workout.  By releasing these endorphins early in the day, they can stick with you for the remainder of the day.  They also say you will be more conscious of what you eat for the rest of the day as you don’t want to ruin the work you’ve already put in (I call BS… I will probably eat worse knowing that I’ve already done some thing healthy.  I can afford that large pizza and 2 liter of coke)
• Metabolism race: Now here is where it gets controversial.  “They” say working out in the morning will jumpstart your metabolism so it burns more calories throughout the day.
• Burn fat not food: The second part of the controversy says that since your body uses glycogen (carbohydrates) stores to fuel your workouts before it starts burning fat, by working out in the morning you maximize your fat burning because these carbohydrate levels are low when you wake up.

These arguments make sense.  The last two are controversial because they make sense in theory but I wasn’t able to find any scientific evidence to support them.

Afternoon Workouts:

• Better workout: I’m not a morning person.  Getting out of the bed is difficult enough for me at 7AM, why would i complicate that with trying to find the motivation to put on my cross-trainers?  In the afternoons, you are wide awake, energy pumping and able to give your workout 110%.
• Body Heat: In the afternoon your body temperature has reached normal levels.  This helps you prevent injury.  Studies (and common sense) have shown that you perform better in strength and endurance events when your muscles are properly warmed-up.  Even your aerobic capacity is higher when your body temp is higher.

As you can see there are definitely positive effects of working out in the morning or the afternoon.  So here’s what I’ve come up with.

In order to get those adrenaline pumping, endorphin popping effects of the early morning workouts, I suggest a light aerobic activity in the morning.  A short, slow jog…. a few laps in the pool…. or a spin around the block on your bike.  The idea is to get your blood pumping without taxing your muscles to the point of fatigue.  The goal is to feel the satisfaction, get your metabolism pumping and burn some fat.

Save your strenuous workout for the afternoon.  Lift weights, long runs or GET INSANE in the afternoons when your concentration is higher and muscles are warmer.  Studies have shown that working out in the afternoon leads to greater gains in lean muscle mass and a greater decrease in bodyfat.  And that is attributed to the fact that you are able to put more into your workouts.

So get up early, spend 15-20 minutes doing some light aerobic work and between 4-5 PM (optimal according to this study and this study) it is time to go INSANE!

Case closed….
Mike