The question of when it is better for a person to exercise - in the morning or in the evening - has been discussed by experts for a long time, but there is no definite answer to it and, probably, there cannot be. Still, an individual approach is needed here.

"Owls" train in the evening, "larks" - in the morning

If life just begins for you in the evening, and getting up in the morning is equivalent to execution, then the best time for you to train is the evening. If you are a “morning person” and have been accustomed to getting up with the first rays of the sun since childhood, then morning workouts will be optimal for you.

Choose your workout time depending on your activity

If you are mostly busy mental labor and you spend most of the day in a chair in front of the monitor, then it would be nice for you to stretch your bones in the gym in the evening. But if you spend the whole day running around visiting clients or carrying bags, then it’s better to train in the morning, because in the evening you won’t have the energy to train.

Choose your workout time depending on your health condition

Much depends on the person’s health status. For example, if you have heart problems, don't try to exercise in the morning.

When we sleep, our heart also rests because blood circulates more slowly. For several hours after sleep, the human body experiences such phenomena as increased heart rate, accelerated metabolism, increased blood pressure. And the additional load can lead to adverse consequences.

Choose your training time depending on your goal

Set a goal for yourself. If this is weight loss, then you need to train in the morning. This is due to the fact that after sleep, blood sugar levels are low, and if you exercise before breakfast, the body will be forced to draw energy not from carbohydrates, but from fat. Therefore, morning workouts allow you to lose weight three times more effectively than evening workouts. And training on an empty stomach burns 300% more fat than training after eating.

What time of day to train – morning, afternoon or evening – depends on the person’s physiology. If you are a night owl, train in the evening, if you are a lark, train in the morning. There is no need to torture the body by doing the opposite. There will be no benefit from this. And if you have chosen a certain time, do not change it in the future.

Max Rinkan, expert man.tochka.net

If your goal is to gain muscle mass, then it is better to train in the afternoon or evening, but not until late.

I train when I can

Most people train when circumstances and sometimes finances allow it. It's no secret that the main stumbling block to going to the gym is work. If you have a normal work schedule - from 9 to 18, then it is not possible to train in the morning and during the day, although, according to experts, the peak time for muscle activity is during the daytime. But, as a rule, a person has only the evening to train.

If a person has the opportunity to train in the morning, he happily grabs this option, since the attendance of the gyms in the morning and in the evening is incomparable (there is no crowd there in the evening), and it costs him less.

In any case, if you have decided on a time to visit the gym, then let it be stable. Build your routine so that exercising at this time of day brings you benefits.

In conclusion, let’s summarize all of the above, giving recommendations that will help you choose optimal time for training.

Train in the morning: if you are a morning person, if you don’t have to go to work early, if you don’t have heart problems, if your work is mobile, if you want to lose weight, if you want to complete the entire planned program in the gym, avoiding a large influx of people, if you want to free up your evenings for other things.

Morning workout advocate:“I train in the morning, three times a week, from 10 to 12. At this time I feel a surge of strength and a desire to train. All the exercise equipment is available, there are not many people. I worked out, and the whole day is free, including the evening.”

Train during the day: if your working hours allow it and you are confident that you can do it regularly; if there is a gym in the office or near it.

Those who have no problem waking up early. There are 20–25% of such larks. But 30–40% of people are night owls, and they prefer going to the gym in the evening. The rest are just lucky - they don’t care when to get up.

Morning: “for”

Decreased appetite throughout the day

Scientists from the UK compared data from surveys conducted among runners. It turned out that those who ran in the morning felt less hungry during the day than fans of evening jogging. Scientists have suggested that morning exercise suppresses the release of hormones responsible for appetite. This means that for those who tend to overeat, after a morning workout it will be easier to cope with the habit of chewing something all the time.

It's easier to burn fat in the morning

During physical activity, carbohydrates are first consumed and only after twenty minutes of movement the muscles receive energy from fat. That is why long workouts, no shorter than 40 minutes, have always been recommended for weight loss. However, recent research from the American College of Sports Medicine shows that just 20 to 30 minutes of exercise in the first half of the day is enough. In terms of fat burning effect, this will be identical to 40 minutes after lunch. The reason is that until 17 o'clock in the afternoon our metabolism is set to consume energy, including fat. And after 17 hours the intensity of metabolic processes fades away, hormonal and other systems are already focused on replenishing reserves. Therefore, in the morning, stubborn fat deposits are more easily consumed.

Lower risk of injury

After a morning workout, fatigue goes away faster and muscles recover better, according to a new study from the University of Toronto. Doctors observed 3,000 people who were passionate about fitness and found that after morning training, the pulse returned to normal on average 20% faster than after evening training. In addition, a blood test showed that with the same intensity of training, microtrauma to muscle fibers and associated blood changes in the morning occur less frequently.

Morning: "against"

You won't have time to have breakfast

Exercising in the morning on an empty stomach is ineffective and can lead to fainting. Without breakfast, you only have enough strength to easy charging. So what, get up two hours earlier, eat and wait an hour for breakfast to digest? This won't suit anyone. True, you can drink sweet tea with a piece of chocolate, coffee with sugar, juice, eat a banana, a handful of raisins or dried apricots. These products will be absorbed while you are getting dressed.

Thick blood

You did not drink for at least 8 hours while you slept; during this time, some water was excreted in your urine and, possibly, in your sweat. Once the fluid is gone, it means the blood has become thicker; increasing its circulation in such an “undiluted” form means overloading the heart and veins. Therefore, before training, be sure to drink 1-2 glasses of liquid and wait 5-10 minutes for the moisture to be absorbed.

In the morning the body is still asleep

After sleep, blood circulation throughout the body is slow, the lungs are narrowed, nervous system inhibited. Therefore, it is necessary to start charging with a warm-up, gradually increasing the load. Beginners are not recommended to give themselves serious exercise in the morning, such as running or strength exercises, it’s better to walk, ride a bike, swim.

Evening: “for”

As you know, in the evening the metabolism slows down, which is why a chocolate bar eaten for breakfast will have almost no effect on your figure, but a cake at dinner immediately shows up in the waist area. Moderate exercise stress – good way speed up metabolism. However, the load must be moderate, no records!

At night after training, fat will be consumed

We know that burning calories doesn't stop when you finish your workout! By inertia, the muscles continue to consume energy for recovery for at least another 12 hours. Now imagine that after your workout you ate a light dinner and went to bed. There is no more food new energy does not arrive, which means the body will be forced to turn to stored fat. And so on until the morning. And in the morning, metabolism also has no time for reserves, which means weight loss is inevitable!

Evening: “against”

Tiredness after work

Not everyone can force themselves to do exercises after work or drag themselves to the pool. Some people don’t have enough motivation to break the usual pattern and do something active in the evening, while others are really too tired physically.

I really want to eat after a workout

Experts from the Swedish School of Sports and Health Sciences believe that this is an indicator of the wrong training. It was clearly either too intense or too long. Replace running with a walk, aerobics with an exercise bike. Shorten the session from an hour to 40 or 30 minutes.

It's hard to sleep

The reason is too intense training.

So, let's summarize. Both morning and evening have their pros and cons. So proceed from your own preferences, as well as from your work schedule. Moving when you feel comfortable is much healthier than not moving at all. And the negative effects can be easily negated by using the advice we have given.

One of the fundamental and highly controversial issues in fitness is the time of day to workout. Is it good to exercise in the evenings, when most of us are free from work? If so, when exactly should classes start? There are many different opinions on these issues.

Let's try to understand this issue. Pros and cons of evening fitness, advice on how to do it evening training- the topic of our article today. Begin!

Evening fitness: the cons

There are no significant disadvantages to evening workouts, except for two factors: fatigue accumulated during the day (which can negatively affect results) and dinner after training, which can negate the benefits of aerobic exercise.

If you train in the evening with the goal of losing weight, have your last meal before going to the gym.

The rest concerns rather the merits of morning classes. It is believed that morning glycogen deficiency and low level insulin (we won’t dive into the physiological questions of why this happens) contribute to more efficient fat burning.

There is also an opinion that the processes of energy metabolism in the body, which are activated in the evening, interfere with effective growth muscle mass. However, this is a very controversial issue; such statements cannot be classified as unambiguous arguments.

Let us note one more interesting fact. Morning workouts are considered beneficial in Asian countries: the Japanese, Chinese and other residents of this region most often exercise at 7-8 am. At the same time, one cannot help but admit that in the “Western” world, including Russia, athletes achieve great results and when training in the evening.

So, we found out that there are no compelling arguments against. Now let's move on to the benefits.

Benefits of evening fitness

Let's start with the obvious: fitness enthusiasts have to exercise in the evening. This is what the entire service is designed for. If you can just visit the gym at any time of the day, then various specialized workouts are especially effective in the evening.

As noted above, subject to strict adherence to the diet (that is, if you do not eat after an evening workout), classes starting at 19-21 hours will be most effective for losing weight. But once again we emphasize: after training, in this case, only foods devoid of fats and carbohydrates can be allowed from food.

The cardiovascular system tolerates evening workouts more easily, but this does not mean that the effect will be lower. We are talking about the danger of harming yourself with excessive loads, which decreases in the evening. This applies to both strength and aerobic training, but a special effect is manifested precisely when working with hardware.

So, is it “yes” or “no”?

In fact, it doesn't really matter whether you exercise in the morning or in the evening.

So far, sports science does not know clear arguments in favor of one of these options

The conclusion suggests itself is the following: you can exercise in the evening, it does not cause any harm or other significant disadvantages. But here another important question arises: what time is it “in the evening” exactly? We will answer that too.

The optimal time for an evening workout

The lower time limit can be set based on dinner. You should eat, wait an hour or two, and only then start exercising. The reason is that It is no longer advisable to eat seriously after finishing classes. For physiological reasons and in order to fall asleep normally, you should complete your workout at least 2-3 hours before bedtime. It turns out that a reasonable lower time limit is 19 hours.

During evening home workouts, you should think about your neighbors: it is better to reduce noise to a minimum. This problem is well solved by Life Fitness exercise machines, one of the important advantages of which is quiet operation.

Finally, a little advice: never change your time at the gym suddenly. If you need to switch to a different daily routine, shift the start of your workout by an hour or two each time, nothing more. This way you will protect your body from unnecessary shocks.

As the old saying goes: “There is a time for everything.” It’s the same in sports: there is both the best time to train is it is also the most effective for obtaining results - both neutral and worst time for training, when performance decreases, and the effect of training also decreases accordingly. Today in this article we will look at best time to train; we'll find out when is the best time to train V gym , A When is it preferable to do aerobics for weight loss?

It depends on what goals you are pursuing: losing weight, building muscle mass, keeping your body in good shape, training your cardiovascular system, etc. V what is the best time to train, and what types of fitness to give preference to. In order not to get confused in time, let's first listen to what various "smart" minds and scientists from around the world think about this. What's the best time to train? They also highlight, most importantly, what guides their choice.

Scientific research on the best time to exercise

Research from the University of Washington, USA

Scientists from the University of Washington, who conducted numerous studies to identify the best time period for playing sports, announced the following results:

« Best time for training depends on your body type.

If a person is an endomorph and has a slow metabolism (often prone to gaining excess weight), then the morning hours for playing sports (from 7 to 10) are better suited for him, when the body’s reserves of glycogen and glucose are depleted, and it has to feed on the energy of fat oxidation.

If a person is an ectomorph, that is, genetically predisposed to thinness and has a fast metabolism, then for him best time to train This is the evening time (from 16 to 19), when the body has a lot of strength and energy, which it will need during training.

If a person is a representative of the golden mean and is a mesomorph, that is, he has a normal metabolism without a tendency to be thin or fat, then training in the evening, as well as in the daytime or morning, is suitable for him. It all depends on the general well-being of the body and the desire to exercise.”

According to the results this study best time to train depends on what body type you have. But there are other opinions on this issue. To complete the picture, let's find out them too.

Research by scientists from the Williamsburg Department of Kinesiology

Scientists conducted a series of experiments where they took 4 time periods during the day: 8 am, 12, 16 pm and 20 pm. Several subjects at a certain time (these were men who had not previously been involved in sports, but for girls in this case the mechanism will be similar) performed some strength exercises with weights. And the following was revealed:

Maximum effectiveness of strength exercises was achieved in the evening. This is due to the fact that the work and contraction of fast muscle fibers, which are involved in resistance training or high-intensity training, occurs much better in the evening, when body temperature is higher, than in the morning or afternoon.

Also, during this study, another important reason Togo, when is the best time to train. And this reason lies in the level of hormones such as cortisol and testosterone.

Testosterone is responsible for building muscle mass, and cortisol is responsible for its destruction. In other words, testosterone is an anabolic growth hormone, and cortisol is a catabolic destruction hormone.

At rest, testosterone levels (in both men and women) are higher in the 1st half of the day, but if we're talking about about training in the gym, then its level is much higher after an evening workout than if you work out with weights in the morning. Therefore, if you girls have a goal muscle building , That best time to workout in the evening from 16-00 to 19-00, when the level of testosterone after training is higher, and cortisol, on the contrary, is lower.

15:00-16:30 – aerobic training

From 15:00, girls’ body temperature begins to rise, and at 16:30 it reaches its peak value, so at this time it is best to give preference to active types of fitness: dancing, aerobics, running, cycling, etc., they will have a beneficial effect on the fat burning process, and will also strengthen the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

17:00-18:00 – strength and high-intensity training

This best time to train with weights, so going to the gym or attending any strength classes, as well as high-intensity or interval training classes that require a lot of endurance and strength, will only benefit you. In the second half of the day, body temperature and testosterone levels increase compared to the first, and cortisol levels, on the contrary, decrease. All this together has a good effect on the surge of strength and has a positive effect on your productivity from the workout.

After 19:00 – Mind training& Body

After 7 o'clock in the evening, the girls' body temperature begins to decrease again and best time to train Mind&Body direction, which includes different kinds yoga, Pilates, tai chi, port de bras, stretching, bodyflex, etc. These types of training are healing and calming in nature, they also help strengthen the deepest layers of muscles, form a beautiful and correct posture, develop flexibility and endurance, and have a positive effect on the psycho-emotional background of women.

Now you know, what time of day is best to exercise one way or another active work, and in order to systematize your knowledge, I provide you with a small table that will help you choose the time and type of training if you want to follow your body’s indicators.

But there is no need to be upset and give up on training if for some reason you cannot engage in your favorite form of fitness at the recommended time.

If you want to run, but it’s difficult for you to get up early in the morning, then you don’t need to force your body, such training will not be of any benefit. If you prefer to work out in the gym, but you can’t do it in the evening, you don’t need to get depressed. The main thing is to listen to your own body, and if your energy is enough for exercise strength training in the morning, then please, no one forbids you to train in the morning.

A person is designed in such a way that he can get used to everything and adapt to the conditions that are convenient for him. Therefore, if you have the opportunity to engage in the type of physical activity that is most suitable for this at the recommended time, then this is great: you will naturally help your body achieve faster results. desired result. If you don’t have such an opportunity, then don’t worry, best time to train your body will choose itself, the main thing is to listen to it carefully and help it find this time.

So, today we looked at the issue in detail, when is the best time to train? and together we determined best time to train. Now you just have to decide what time is convenient for you personally and does it coincide with the recommended types of fitness? Send your answers in the comments.

Your coach, Janelia Skripnik, was with you!