When Is The Best Time Of Day To Exercise?
When is the best time of day to exercise?!
So you stopped making excuses that you don’t have time to work out and have become a convert to the crazy idea that seeing results is about taking your ass to the motherfucking gym…no…matter…what, huh?1You finally cut the crap that you’re somehow busier than Warren Buffett, Oprah Winfrey, and 50 Cent, people who are disgustingly wealthier and more successful than you and make the world spin on its axis but who mysteriously make exercise part of their daily routine. <slow golf clap>Hooray for you!</slow golf clap>
That’s why you’re now asking me that question. And you know what, you’re absolutely right! If only you knew the best time to work out, then your horrible body wouldn’t be so horrible.
Nope, the way you look has nothing to do with your garbage nutrition that would make a raccoon jealous; or piss-poor intensity level that would make Lazy Smurf look at you side-eyed; or bad lifting form that would make a certain trainer at The Gym cringe at how bad it is.2The Gym is my base of operations here in San Diego, and it’s saying somethin’ about your form if even this certain trainer thinks it’s bad!
Yup, your horrible body being so horrible has to do with the time of day you’re working out. So fix it (maybe) by finding out what time you should go to the gym!
When is the best time of day to exercise?
Like, is beginning your training session right on the dot at 2:57 PM instead of at 9:32 AM going to be the difference between you adding one ten-thousandth of an inch more to your biceps or booty?
What time is the bestest time in the whole wide world to give you the competitive edge?
You’ll be glad to hear the answer is…
Wait, hold up!
Are you a professional athlete or someone who takes fitness very, very seriously, like an elite level bodybuilder?
If you’re involved in some activity where every little bit matters, no matter how small, then it may be of interest to you that morning workouts help jumpstart the metabolism to burn a few more calories throughout the day and power and strength are at their highest in the afternoon. The difference between the two times of day isn’t large enough to be of statistical significance, though.
As such, for the average gym warrior, the decision of which is better — working out in the morning or afternoon — is something they need not concern themselves with.
Since it doesn’t really matter whether you train early or late because there’s no clear-cut physiological advantage placing one over the other, your best bet is to find a time in your schedule that allows for you to do that thing you have a problem doing.
What’s that?
…
Yup, being consistent!
Much like the Tooth Fairy and American Dream don’t exist, neither does a best time to exercise.3Know what else is beyond existence? A good Star Wars movie after the first three, if you even want to count the first as good!!!
Instead, the best time to go to the gym is whenever the fuck you want to, so long as you can do so on a consistent basis. Because we’re all different, that specific time will vary from person to person.4Some things that can influence this decision are your work and daily schedule, energy level, how busy your gym is at a certain time and if you’ll have to wait for equipment or even want to be around people, and many other considerations that are unique to only you because you’re as special as your mother says you are, snowflake!
As an illustration, some people can achieve training consistency by working out in the morning. Early bird sessions allow these morning loving wackjobs to get their training out of the way so they can’t find a way to weasel out of it later on during the day.5An example? How about the ever popular “…but I’m tooooooooooooo tired from [insert NOT labor-intensive job] to go to the gym. Boo-hoo! Waaaahhhh!!!”
Besides saving you from sounding like an excuse-making excuse maker, another perk of morning workouts is that they free up the rest of your day, allowing for you to go out with your friends, pick up groceries and run all those other important errands, attend your rugrat’s school play to keep up the charade of being a good parent, that sorta stuff.
For others, training consistency is achieved by working out at any other time than in the morning.6Yes, there are people like me who just aren’t ready to climb out of bed and get after it at the ass crack of dawn. For these people, mi gente, training in the afternoon or evening is much more preferable. Doing so not only gives you more time to mentally prepare yourself but also lets you put at least two solid meals in you, meaning that you have a source of fuel to power you through your workout.
Additionally, training later provides you with an honest excuse you won’t burn in hell for when you tell that friend who isn’t really a friend (but thinks you’re best buds) that you, unfortunately, won’t be able to make it to their monthly Mahjong soiree — always a lively affair — because of the gym, a prior commitment.7From personal experience, the hotties with the bodies are usually at the gym later in the day. This is another advantage of working out around then, as there’s more eye candy for you to get your perv on. If you’re in a relationship and are stupid enough to be faithful and don’t want even the slightest bit of temptation, then working out in the morning may be more preferable. If that’s the case, my sympathies but props on the fidelity!
To the question of when’s the best time to exercise, science offers no definitive answer.
That’s because science, duh, is fucking useless.
Oh, it’s thanks to science there’s a cure for polio? And it’s thanks to science there are better crop yields, which have caused the global population to increase? And it’s thanks to science there’s a magic Google machine that you can immediately run a search on to win any and all arguments, regardless how trivial they are?
Big whoopty doo!!!
Science has clearly failed at its most important task, that of providing an answer to one of life’s deep mysteries: when is the best time of day to exercise?
Because science has failed (at least so far) in discovering the perfect time to go to the gym, plan your workout around when you have the energy, focus, and motivation to put forth an honest effort.
Do that and you’re sure to see results!8And, depending on what time you go, you’re also sure to see plenty of grey sweatpants and booty shorts wearing dudes and dudettes with tight bodies glistening in sweat. Psst…that’s a hint to GO TO THE GYM ANY OTHER TIME THAN EARLY AS FUCK IN THE MORNING, PEOPLE!!!
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