Recently one of my Instagram followers sent me the following question:
“Hi @drphoenyx! Your workout videos have really inspired me to start exercising more! But I wanted to know if it’s better to workout in the morning or evening?”
First and foremost this is a great question – Thanks for asking! And I specifically chose to answer this question today because it’s one of those types of questions that requires you start becoming a lot more thoughtful – aka more “fit-savvy” – about your overall fitness goals.
In other words: Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to build muscle or tone up? Do you want to train for a marathon? Do you want to do all the above?
Because bottom line, your goal (or goals) is what’s going to determine “which is better.”
Now let’s get back to the original question.
Though this young lady didn’t leave more specifics about her goals, I’m going to make a very educated guess that what she wanted to know is what time of the day is best to exercise if you want to lose weight. And yes, I can make this educated guess with about 99.9% confidence because I’m a woman, most of my followers are women, and I know we ladies are always looking for ways to keep ourselves ripe for our skinny jeans and swimsuit season. *wink*
So assuming that one wants to lose weight, research has shown that the best time of day to exercise is going to be early morning. And the reason for this is because of both psychology and physiology.
Now from a psychological standpoint, people who are morning exercisers tend to be more consistent exercisers, which means they’ll be more likely to lose weight because they stick with their fitness plans. Just think about it – the folks who head to the gym at 6am don’t have time to socialize and gab by the water fountain, and these morning exercisers are going to be a lot more focused and time-efficient so they can burn those calories before they have to clock in at their 9 to 5. Also from a psychological standpoint, research from the American Council on Exercise has shown that people who exercise in the morning tend to make healthier food choices for breakfast and later on in the day as a direct result of already being in a more motivated and fit-focused state of mind.
Next let’s talk physiology.
Another reason why morning exercise is going to be the better bet for weight loss is because hormonally speaking, your body will be better primed to burn fat in the morning because your insulin levels will be at their lowest point due to the fact that you’ve been fasting all night while you slept. Now many of you know insulin as the hormone that controls blood sugar, but some of you may not know that insulin is also a fat storage hormone. In fact, insulin is your body’s key fat storage hormone, and anytime insulin is elevated (such as right after a meal), it will be near impossible for you to burn body fat. Plus, research has shown that exercising in a fasted stated (like right after waking up and before breakfast) can help you burn body fat more efficiently and faster.
If you’d like to learn more about why exercising first thing in the morning on an empty stomach is great for burning body fat superfast, check out my video Not surprisingly, this is my most popular YouTube to date and tons of folks have commented on the video and also emailed me about how that particular video literally changed their life and helped them transform their bodies after months and years of spinning their wheels and making little to no fitness progress.
So bottom line, if you’re looking to lose weight, science and my personal experience say that morning exercise is going to be your best bet. Or as I like to say: The early bird burns the fat!
And also, as I mentioned out the gate, when deciding when to workout for the best results, make sure your first determine your goals, set a workout plan, and then make sure you remain consistent for guaranteed result.
Ok, so now that we’ve answered today’s question on Morning vs. Evening Workouts, let’s segue to the most pressing issue of the day, who was chosen as the winner for my Love Your Hair Book Giveaway!
And the winner is…… *drumroll*
Actually pause the drumroll for a sec because I have another announcement to make. Now I know initially I said I’d be choosing 1 winner, but after reading all the cute comments and compelling reasons why several moms felt they should win a copy of my book, I decided to gift 2 winners instead of one.
So back the drumroll. And the winners are……
Deana (aka ) and Andrea () – Woo-hoo!
Congrats ladies! You both will be receiving an email from me today and I hope you and your little brown beauties enjoy storytime with Love Your Hair!
Until next time ladies, stay fit, healthy and awesome and let me know in the comments – Do you prefer to exercise in the morning or in the evening? – Doc
So what time is best for building muscle.