As life goes, we all have the choice to make our own decisions and choose the option that is best for us. This applies to training as well. My question today is, is there a specific or right or wrong time to train? Many people will give you different answers, but in all honesty it is totally up to you. Are you a morning person or a night person? That is how I always answered this question for myself. Growing up and playing sports I was used to playing team sports in the afternoon after class, however when faced with the option I always loved waking up and exercising. I find that I have the most energy and I can function better and it is what my body responds best to. Now it’s not to say I cannot exercise any other time, but as the day moves along I find myself needing to grab an extra cup of coffee or some sort of energy jolt to plow through my exercise routines. However, sometimes we don’t have the luxury to choose based on our schedules or other routines in life. So we must adjust and do what is best for us.
However if you do feel like you could use some more energy try switching up the times or if you don’t have much time do a short cardio session and then weight lift later, or vice versa and it will help break up your workout so it is not as long and you won’t feel like your exercising forever and you’ll have more recovery time and energy for both sessions. If you cannot adjust your workout session I do suggest drinking a small cup of black coffee about twenty minutes before you exercise or if you must do it all at once, do your cardio after your weight training. I know I know, it does not taste great, but trust me it works! I only began drinking coffee four years ago at college and in the last year have just begun to not use as much sugar/creamer and in the past few months just begun to drink it black. If you do choose to drink it black make sure it is a decent quality, because if it is a cheapo brand it will taste disgustingly like mud! Also if you are a midday exerciser, make sure you have some sort of clean carbs/protein mix to fuel your body because food is fuel and we do need it to live. Starving our bodies is not the way to go. Many of you may know that by starving our bodies for long periods of time, our body goes into saving mode and holds onto all our fat even more because it has no new fuel to survive on which makes it harder to lose weight (i.e. body fat). The trick is to eat often and eat clean. Here is a little more explanation to this theory http://www.fitnessrxmag.com/nutrition/fat-loss/1279-eat-more-lose-more.html
Another issue I would like to highlight is doing cardio in the am on an empty stomach. This is totally a preference issue and can be argued for and against till the end of time. Personally I cannot do this because I wake up and my belly needs food as fuel to do anything let alone begin exercise! When I sleep I am obviously not eating and I try to get 8 hours of sleep tho I often run on 6 hours, but this is the longest period of time for my body to not be fueled and so it needs that food asap. Eating within one hour of waking is optimal! There is research to back up doing about 20min of cardio on an empty stomach and it is supposed to be the best for targeting fat burning in your body, but honestly I just cannot do it. I love morning runs outside but I need at least a protein bar or cereal or something to get me motivated. I think it is a theory you can try if you want but if your tummy grumbles when you wake up, don’t even try it!
Here’s a great argument for morning exercisers http://amanda-russell.com/fitness/tips-and-advice/is-there-really-a-best-time-to-exercise/ and here is a good one for best time for cardio http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek34.htm and best time for weight training http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek70.htm Here is some advice and explanations http://www.jameskohler.com/Burn-Fat-and-Preserve-Muscle-with-Effective-Cardiovascular-Training-Methods.html
As always, my advice is to listen to your body first and then decide what is best personally for you. We are all different shapes and sizes and have different goals and lifestyles, so there is never one clear cut answer. Happy exercising and WEDNESDAY to you!
However if you do feel like you could use some more energy try switching up the times or if you don’t have much time do a short cardio session and then weight lift later, or vice versa and it will help break up your workout so it is not as long and you won’t feel like your exercising forever and you’ll have more recovery time and energy for both sessions. If you cannot adjust your workout session I do suggest drinking a small cup of black coffee about twenty minutes before you exercise or if you must do it all at once, do your cardio after your weight training. I know I know, it does not taste great, but trust me it works! I only began drinking coffee four years ago at college and in the last year have just begun to not use as much sugar/creamer and in the past few months just begun to drink it black. If you do choose to drink it black make sure it is a decent quality, because if it is a cheapo brand it will taste disgustingly like mud! Also if you are a midday exerciser, make sure you have some sort of clean carbs/protein mix to fuel your body because food is fuel and we do need it to live. Starving our bodies is not the way to go. Many of you may know that by starving our bodies for long periods of time, our body goes into saving mode and holds onto all our fat even more because it has no new fuel to survive on which makes it harder to lose weight (i.e. body fat). The trick is to eat often and eat clean. Here is a little more explanation to this theory http://www.fitnessrxmag.com/nutrition/fat-loss/1279-eat-more-lose-more.html
Another issue I would like to highlight is doing cardio in the am on an empty stomach. This is totally a preference issue and can be argued for and against till the end of time. Personally I cannot do this because I wake up and my belly needs food as fuel to do anything let alone begin exercise! When I sleep I am obviously not eating and I try to get 8 hours of sleep tho I often run on 6 hours, but this is the longest period of time for my body to not be fueled and so it needs that food asap. Eating within one hour of waking is optimal! There is research to back up doing about 20min of cardio on an empty stomach and it is supposed to be the best for targeting fat burning in your body, but honestly I just cannot do it. I love morning runs outside but I need at least a protein bar or cereal or something to get me motivated. I think it is a theory you can try if you want but if your tummy grumbles when you wake up, don’t even try it!
Here’s a great argument for morning exercisers http://amanda-russell.com/fitness/tips-and-advice/is-there-really-a-best-time-to-exercise/ and here is a good one for best time for cardio http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek34.htm and best time for weight training http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek70.htm Here is some advice and explanations http://www.jameskohler.com/Burn-Fat-and-Preserve-Muscle-with-Effective-Cardiovascular-Training-Methods.html
As always, my advice is to listen to your body first and then decide what is best personally for you. We are all different shapes and sizes and have different goals and lifestyles, so there is never one clear cut answer. Happy exercising and WEDNESDAY to you!
