The Best Time of Day to Workout

7:30am-9am is my time slot. Even if I am a slow to get going in the morning, what I really like about the morning workouts is their ability to energize me — so while my warm-up may be often times be a little sluggish, by the second set I am rockin and rollin, and feel absolutely terrific after the workout — really helps with the energy for the day. Conversely, post work/evening workouts for me don’t have even near the same effect — not as much energy or motivation.

I think I am in love with you, Joel! The whole thing about Reese cup daydreams…fantastic! We ARE human and even though we choose to force our bodies to give us 100% in these crazy workouts, who doesn’t fantasize about gorging on their favorite treat (mine is also Reese cups!) It really put it all in perspective….it doesn’t matter WHEN you do it….JUST DO IT!!!!

Actually I don’t work out, except for some pushups and pullups throughout the day.

We work 12 hour shifts where I work, and I can barely make it to work by 7am, much less get a workout in before. I’ve tried, but I’m not a morning person either, in fact on the days I don’t work I often sleep until 10 am and stay up late, just like Joel. I used to try and drag myself out of bed around 4:30am and cram a workout in, usually I would just reset the alarm for 5:30 and go back to sleep. Obviously that doesn’t work. So now when I work I go straight to the gym after work, the rest of the week it usually fits in well around 4pm.

I guess we’re all wired differently though.

Greetings fellow Pagliarini (we must be from the same planet, it’s like you’re describing me!). I’ve always envied people who can wake up at 6.00 am with a peach-lustred skin and clear eyes ready to take on another day. Me, I wake up with a skin color the shade of an aspirin, two extra pair of eyelids, and before I get my morning coffe, a mood that isn’ to unlike nitrid acid. I totally blame my genes, since my entire family is, and always has been exactly the same (yes we had lovely breakfasts when I was a kid – they were eaten in complete silence). So I really believe that we are born unique. I’ve tried to turn myself into a morning person so mant times I lost count (I never get to bed before midnight regardless of when I need to wake up, so I sleep around 6-7 hours per night) and I’ve come to terms with the 6.30 asprin-shade. Thank God for tinted moisturizer!

To get back on track, you’ve probably guessed how I feel about morning-workouts. But I have learned to do morning cardio in the mornings before breakfast and even though I probably could sprint a bit faster if I did them at 2 pm, I like to just get them over with. But I’ve just started Turbulence Training so now I’ll do my cardio enclosed to my weightlifting and I hate doing those in the morning. You need a couple of meals in you body to gain maximal effect out of your weight sessions, and solving that with a larger breakfast is just going to make you work out John Romaniello-style (vomiting).

I train at my gym on campus, which is a 25 min busride away so I try to schedule my workouts to either right before or after I got a class. Once a week I take the bus up just to work out and then I do like to get it done as soon as possible, otherwise my day is completely shattered. So I guess I’m more than anything of the opinion that morning, noon or night doesn’t really matter. The only thing that does is that you actually get them done!

@doctorpat –
Dear “Doctor Pat”, You sound really unhappy in your marriage. I’m freaking out a bit because my husband is Pat and he is a doctor. Please tell me you aren’t married to me!

With 2 young kids, a full time job outside the home, and since I’m not a morning person, my work out times are usually at 11:30pm at home, after everyone goes to bed. I can focus and push myself more then. I tried it in the morning a day I woke up early and I found I had no strength at all. I also sleep better after my workout.

Thanks for this! I have tortured myself over and over, felt like a failure because I CAN’T workout in the AM – I just can’t do it. I set my alarm for an hour earlier than I need to get up to leave for work (I LEAVE my house at 7 a.m.) and each time I hit the snooze and say “f*ck it…” – and then proceed to beat myself up for my lack of discipline.

BUT – when I get off the train at night I walk RIGHT INTO my workout clothes and get busy. That’s when I have both the time and the adequate energy to get a good, quality workout in.

Having always thought I was doing myself a disservice for not doing AM workouts, I thank you for alleviating me of that particular piece of guilt (there’s plenty more about plenty of other things to keep me contrite though…)

I love shedding the stress of the workday by working out afterwards. It eases the tension in my neck and stretches out my legs after sitting at my desk all day. I sweat like crazy and feel like a new woman when its over, then I shower and I feel like the evening is a brand new day. All this time I thought I was substandard for not setting the alarm early. And man do I love them Reese’s. Thanks for sharing that.

I’m seriously nocturnal, so I do a little morning thing to wake me up, but not a serious workout. I like to workout about an hour after dinner about 8:30-9:30pm. I usually do so in the living room while our evening TV shows are on, I also like to multitask. It also works best for me to workout about an hour after eating a meal (like dinner) because I have blood sugar issues and if not fed properly, it can plummet quickly. Then, I have my snack, relax for another hour and go to bed.

I’m not a morning person AT ALL. I’m a zombie until noon at the best of times.

But even I have been able to track that I get the best results with first thing in the AM workouts, even when it feels like I can’t muster any intensity.

Those weak, “I can’t lift anything”, or “I can’t run any faster” exercise sessions still result in much faster fat loss, so I do them anyway. The real bonus is, there’s nothing better for waking you up than exercise, so the rest of my day goes much better too.

Cool!! Yea I cant even stay up I usually sleep at the gym sometimes LOL

Great post Joel, I feel the same way. I have my peak levels of strength and energy in the afternoon / evenings as well.

I think after work is best, 6-7pm. It relaxs the body and makes you sleep better at night. I would not work out as hard in the morning and would get tired later in the day at work.

@Vaseem – I agree with all your points all along. They are very true for my life. I used to workout everyday afterwork, but now I have fallen in love with the RESULTS morning workouts deliver.

I seriously beat myself up over not working out in the am. Doing BFL, everyone seemed to work out then and they suggested doing your workout before breaksfast. I could not do it! Genetically (I’m serious), I’m not a morning person, my mom is not, my son is not – I’ve learned to deal with it (and so has my husband) and stop beating my self up for not being or doing what I “should be.” I tried to work out a few times in the am and I SUCKED at it! So, I figured what I “should be” doing must be different from everyone else. I guess not so much! I work out about an hour before bed…and honestly, I get SUCH a great sleep! My only problem now is do I still have my protein shake or bar after my workout, yet so close to bedtime? Which is the lesser of two evils??

THANK YOU! Another awesome blog post. Joel, you are the man. I love reading your blogs even if I don’t always agree with what you say every time, I whole heartedly agree with everything you said in this post.

I don’t work out in the morning due to this thing called a “job.” I show up for work at 6 am, so I would have to go to the gym well before sunrise if I wanted a morning workout. In fact, it would be more like a really late-night workout. I’ve tried a lunch hour routine, but it just isn’t enough time. Evenings are for me, and those are often late, ending around 9 or 10 pm.

That said, there is a case for evening workouts. Metabolism increases for many hours after a workout, and for most people night time is the time of the day their body has reached its lowest metabolic rate. I prefer to boost my metabolism before bed, and believe that working out before I go to bed results in higher night-time metabolism, better rest, and probably more efficient muscle gain since my body has a chance to repair itself. The other major advantage I find to evening workouts is that I have no impending deadlines- so if I get into a good routine I can just keep going until I feel like quiting. I don’t have to stop my workout just so I can shower, dress and drive to work.

At 8:00 pm…thank’s as i have alway’s worried about the time in which i workout…….

I appreciated your perspective Joel. As a Youth Pastor, my schedule is like yours. Most nights I’m not in bed by midnight, and many its almost 2 am before I lay down. I always love that “late night” time, because that is when I can relax, and wind down from the day. That makes me a terrible morning person. Don’t even like to talk until 10 am. I find that going to workout around noon is the most productive time for me. That’s about the time I start getting “wound up” and it helps me be more focused in the gym. Sometimes I even wait until the evening, and go with a partner, but that’s only because of his schedule. If I wait until evening, I find a tendency to be more distracted, and sometimes even find excuses to not workout like I should, so noon is “primetime” for me. Thanks for your insight. Now I don’t have to feel guilty, because I “suck” in the morning! Kevin

@Vaseem –

I like that your post reminds us that sleep is something that can be approached with discipline. As you suggest, going to bed and waking at regular times comes with benefits, including the option to reduce the interval of sleep.

That being said, I must challenge you on a point:
Isn’t it a little dogmatic to say “Frankly if you’re over 30 and sleeping more than 6 hours a day, you need to rethink your priorities “?

Unless you’ve got a ton of studies to back the claim that people are better off both mentally and physically with only six hours, I would not presume to judge the tradeoffs others choose. And even with such studies, I might still not presume.