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The Best Time of Day to Exercise
There are many conflicting ideas of the when is the best time to
workout. In reality, it is a personal decision, but here I will lay out
the information you need to know as far as working out at different
times of the day, so you can make the best decision for yourself. Let's
begin with a big myth about morning workouts: if you workout before you
eat breakfast, you will burn more fat, because you do not have any
carbohydrates in your system. The truth is that if exercise on an empty
stomach, your body will need to take its energy from somewhere and
without sufficient carbohydrate stores, your body will use protein as
the source of energy. Where does the protein come from? Your body will
begin to break down muscle in order to get the energy it needs.
Remember, the more muscle that is broken down, the less fat that gets
broken down. So, this actually causes more harm then good. On the
other hand, exercising in the morning after you have eaten a small
snack will give a big jump start to your metabolism. As the body comes
out of sleep, the metabolism is at its slowest point. The body has
spent the night repairing itself and it now needs that energy to
function for the day. When you get up and move first thing in the
morning, you get the blood moving, as well as the digestive system as
the body warms up. I have found this is an ideal time to workout,
because your metabolism will be higher the rest of the day and you will
feel a heightened sense of well-being from the workout. Exercising
in the evening has been said to help achieve better sleep. This is true
only if you allow yourself adequate time to wind down. Attempting to
exercise right before bedtime may actually lead to problems falling
asleep. The body is wound up, the blood is moving fast, and the heart
is beating harder. Keep in mind it is very important to get adequate
sleep to allow the body to repair itself. However, if you have adequate
time to wind down, you should be fine. One of the advantages of working
out in the evening is that your body is warmed up from the day's
activities and it can be a wonderful stress reducer. Exercise
time really comes down to when you are able to take the time. If you
are a morning person, most likely you will get more benefit out of
exercising in the morning. If you like evenings, exercise in the
evenings. Just remember to allow adequate warm up time in the morning
and cool down time in the evening. The key to any exercise
program is consistency, not the time of day you choose to work out. Try
out different schedules and see which one keeps you the most motivated
or which one gives you the best results. The faster you can figure out
what works best to keep you on track, the easier it will be to reach
your goals.
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