When is the best time to practice? [best time] [calories]
Ive never really known the answer to this question, can anyone help. Is it better to exercise early in the day or the last thing of the day. Ive heard that after you continue exercising to burn calories, is this true?
I exercise, or about 1 or 2 hours if I could do after everyone is asleep, about 10 or 11 hours. Which would be best?
Thanks
Stephanie
Reply:The time of day you exercise is really a personal choice. The bottom line is that as long as you exercise you are going to benefit. Exercise can help suppress appetite in some but has the opposite effect on others – we are all built differently. I exercise before lunch because I don't want to get up at 5am to do it before work and by the time I finish work don't feel like doing anything.
guy and guy – doing 10 or 20 minutes of cardio is better than none. If you can only do 10 minutes, try and do 3 lots of 10 minutes during the day and build it up from there – we all have to start somewhere. You should improve over time as long as you do it regularly and no-one can go from being very inactive to very active overnight. Increase the time gradually rather than the pace and when you can do a continuous 30 minutes, work on increasing the intensity that you work at during that time, ie. speed it up, increase the resistance etc.
Reply:Wow, how anyone can do an hour of cardio is beyond me! I get way too bored and out of breath in 20 minutes! You go!!
I run out of breath in 10. 
But anyhow, I've read somewhere that the 'best' time of the day to exercise is to exercise after work/school. It's suppose to reduce your appetite, as well as relieve stress from work/school.
Reply:Wow, how anyone can do an hour of cardio is beyond me! I get way too bored and out of breath in 20 minutes! You go!!
Reply:It depends on your goals and the kind of exercise you're thinking of doing. I'll assume your goal is to lose fat and that building muscle is secondary.
For cardio, the best time is first thing in the morning. You blood glucose and muscle glycogen will be at their lowest forcing your body to draw on fat. The idea that morning cardio will cause you to lose muscle is a myth that was started by bodybuilders. If you're doing morning cardio and losing muscle, that usually means you're not eating enough. If you can't wake up early, the second best time to do cardio is right after a weight training session. The weight training will lower your blood glucose and muscle glycogen so any cardio you do afterwards will burn fat. In both cases, the cardio is assumed to be moderate intensity. High intensity cardio will be driven by glucose but will result in an afterburn effect where you do burn fat. Of course, if you do this cardio at the end of the day, you won't have as many hours left to benefit from the afterburn effect.
For weight training, it's best to do it 1 hour after a meal which rules out doing first thing in the morning. And if you're trying to gain muscle, getting enough rest is especially important. By doing weight training in the morning, you'll have to wait the whole day before you can sleep. That's why it's better to do weight training in the evening.
Everyone has preferences and differing schedules. But if it's really important to you, you'll make the time. I personally hate getting up at 5:00 in the morning. But I hate having a belly even more. Plus doing it first thing makes me feel like I started the day off right. This might sound excessive, but it worked for me. I got up at 5:00 in the morning and did 1 hour of moderate intensity cardio. In the evening, I lifted weights for 45 minutes and then did 30 minutes of cardio. It was a lot of work, but being able to fit into size 29 pants and have everyone ask, "Have you lost weight?" was worth it.
Reply:I agree with Never2L8, when you exercise is really personal. Some people are energized by exercise, so they probably wouldn't want to exercise right before going to sleep. Others have no trouble falling asleep immediately after exercise. I personally like to exercise in the morning around 6 am before my classes because it energizes me and wakes me up.
I would say that whenever you feel best exercising should be when you go for it. The important thing is to just do it and (hopefully ^_^) have fun doing it.
Reply:I disagree about not exercising at night and it messing with your sleep. I actually sleep BETTER when I exercise late at night. I'm tired by the end of exercise and ready for bed. I don't sleep well at all if I don't exercise at night. And vise versa mornings…I also do a little cardio in the morning and it does not wake me up in the least. Just my thoughts.
Reply:When you exercise is a personal thing and also depends on what exercise you are doing – there is no right or wrong time.
Exercising early can really get your body going for the day. Some exercise before breakfast and this is supposed to be good for fat burning. This may work for cardio fitness and weight loss but not necessarily for strength/weight training as your body needs to be energised.
Exercising too late at night can play havoc with sleep, it gets the body going, adrenalin pumping and can actually wake you up. Once again it is personal choice and not everyone has this problem anyway. If you want to exercise in the evening, try and do it at least an hour or two before going to bed to give your body a chance to relax.
If I were you, 1-2pm would be my choice time for exercise, I would have a light lunch before midday and have another light meal/snack after the exercise.
My recommendations: don't exercise too soon after a meal (inside 60 minutes), don't exercise right before you are due to eat – you will lack energy, feel hungry and may cut the exercise short. If you exercise outdoors only do it when you feel safe outside so that you can relax and enjoy it. Do it at a time when you know you are going to be free at the same time every day so that you get into a routine or habit.
The bottom line is that when you exercise is not the main issue as long as you do it. Experts say that your body does continue to burn calories after exercise, this mainly applies to cardio exercise and is not really affected by when you exercise.
