Training Time : Morning Vs Evening

Training in the morning vs. training in the evenings.

After dragging myself out of bed at the awful hour of before 6am last Friday morning to go and teach a spinning class only to find there were zero people attending, I decided to write a few pointers on which is better- training in the morning vs. training in the evening.

If you are an avid gym bunny and you have trained both in the morning and in the evening you will have found that the gym is relatively empty in the mornings compared to the rush hour of ‘after work’ sessions which begin at about 4.30 pm and almost every treadmill, cross trainer, rower and even resistance machine is being used! Why is this??

Well, depending on the results you are after- both can have good and bad reasons! Here are a few pointers on each:
Mornings:
• If you are after weight loss/fat loss the morning is a great time to train as you wont have much glycogen (carbs) in your body and the fuel your body will end up using will be your fat resources
• BUT saying this- it is harder for your body to break down your fat resources and you will get tired quicker- but once your body manages to break down and use your fat resources you will feel great!
• If you train in the mornings, it’s done! You don’t have to sit and dwell all day about whether or not you will go to the gym or go home and have a nice lazy day instead...
• Training in the mornings boosts your metabolism and gives you energy to help you get through the day!

Evenings:
• you will have lots of glycogen available in your body hence giving you lots of fuel for your body to use as energy
• If you have had a stressful day, exercise is a great way to relieve that stress!
• Be wary of training too late in the evening as if you raise your heart rate quite high when you are training, it may stay elevated hence hindering your chances of falling asleep!
• The gyms have more life in the evenings and create more of a vibe which will encourage you to train!
• Most gyms offer more classes in the evening so if you need that extra push why not book yourself in for a class?
• Be careful of the ‘lack of motivation’ which some people feel in the evening after a long hard day at work and going home seems the more sensible option rather than hitting the gym.....

In all, it really comes down to personal preference, for me I prefer training in the mornings as its out of the way and I can enjoy my day more knowing that I can go home after work and not feel guilty about eating that pudding or dessert....