With a busy schedule, it’s difficult for people to find time to exercise. Moreover, when you get determined to workout then you get confused about the timing of the workout. If you are a working professional there are a lot of things that go into your mind in deciding your workout timing. You can be in a morning shift so there is no option to workout in the morning. Similarly, you can be in an evening shift so working out in the evening is the only option. So it’s not easy as it looks.
Let’s see at the factors for deciding on the best time for exercises for working people
Working professional with morning shift or night shift
If you are working in a particular shift say morning or evening or night then you only have a limited option to choose your workout time. Say, if you are working in morning or evening shift or a night shift then you will most likely have to work out as per schedule, like in the evening for morning shift person and vice versa. But that sometimes can be a good thing.
Advantages for Working professional with morning shift or night shift
- The best advantage for such people can be that they can visit the gym at odd hours where there are very less people in the gym and you can really plan and enjoy your workouts without worrying about the availability of the machines.
- Easy to follow a schedule. As you have a specific time slot for your exercise you can plan with ease and for the long term.
Working professional with normal shift
If you are working professional with a normal shift then generally you will 2 two options either to workout in the evening or in the morning. Most of the time it comes to general preferences on which time you want to workout with each time having its own advantages and disadvantages.
Let’s first look at the advantages of both
Advantages of Working out in the morning
- You will be accomplishing your fitness goal even before your working day starts.
- No missing the workout even if your working hours get stretched.
- Best time to exercise for people who are interested in empty stomach cardio.
- You will be working out with a fresh mind.
- No effect on workout even if had a bad day at work as that night’s sleep will relax your mind.
- Makes you feel active throughout the day.
- Working out in the morning promotes better sleep.
Advantages of working out in the evening/night
- Your body is more warmed up in comparison to the morning.
- Great stress reliever after your hard day at work.
- Great end to your day.
- Less boundation for your overall workout timing.
Now let’s check out the cons of morning and evening workouts for working professionals
Cons of a morning workout
- Time boundation as you have to wrap up your exercise in a specific time to start with your work.
- Warming up the body takes more time.
Cons of evening/night workout
- Chances of missing out on workouts are higher even your working hours get stretched.
- A stressful day at work might impact your performance in the gym.
- People with jobs that require travel might feel more tired for evening/night workouts.
- Working out late at night might impact your sleep.
What researchers say
If we talk about the research, Many kinds of research found that the evening is the more efficient time for a workout than morning. Researches have shown that evening exercise had greater improvements in anaerobic performance and muscle fatigue was lower in the evening than in the morning.
But at the same time difference between morning and evening exercise is not huge and evening workouts have shown some betterment than the morning. Then also in some parameters morning workout has also shown better results.
You can read this research for reference www.ncbi.nlm.nih
Another research for a similar study journals.lww.com
It’s also noticeable that a good number of researches indicated the benefits of morning workouts. So eventually things are not that conclusive. Let’s end by saying, at least both have no extraordinary difference which can make us choose only one specific time.
Conclusion
So both timing morning or evening have their own advantages and disadvantages and mostly it comes to a person’s personal choice and ends the end of the day find time to exercise is much more important than the timing. Even more, for working people exercising really helps them get detached from their work and may help reduce stress. So, it’s more important to find time from your busy schedule for any form of exercise.
Personal option
In general, for working professionals, I would personally recommend exercising in the morning. Morning workouts are a great way to kick start your day and keep that positive energy going into your work as well. Morning workouts are comparatively easier to stick in long term and you won’t end up missing your workout because of work commitments.
A major add-on with morning workouts is that the positive energy that you generate within you during a workout really stays with you during your work as well.
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion.
Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information.
