Print
E-mail
RSS 
19 comments 
Permalink
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Work It Out In The Morning, Or At Night?
by Erika Nicole Kendall
A question that people often ask me is whether I prefer to work out in the morning or at night. I’ve often quipped that they should just “saddle up and do both!” but that’s often not an option for a busy woman.
Realistically, I feel like both have served their purposes very well at different stages in my life, and I don’t mind sharing what each did for me, and when.
When I first started working out, I’d go in the evenings. I know I’ve written about this before, but my beginning steps into working out were rough ones. Very rough ones. I could work out for a good hour, but man, I’d only burn half of one dish! I ate so poorly that even though I was putting in at least 12 hours a week at the gym, I didn’t see the results that my efforts deserved. However… the ability to resolve a day’s worth of stress on the chest press machine? I valued that! That client who drove me up the wall without a way down? Oh yeah, I took that anger out on the seated leg press machine. Those looming deadlines that I knew were coming and dreaded? I ran from ‘em on the treadmill. Oh yeaaaaaah.
Working out in the evenings means you have motivation to go harder in your workout. You can think of every mess up that you made – “Indulged in that Taco Bell Diet, did we? Oh no, you need to suffer for that!” or maybe “You know you didn’t need that latte this morning! Take that! Take that!” – and use that as a reason to push yourself beyond your original breaking points.
…even though you shouldn’t be messing up. 
When I left my gym, I dropped all of the equipment and just walked. I’d hit the path around the lake and just go around and around and around for a good 45 minutes. It was the rule in my house – directly after dinner, I’d head out. Some nights it’d feel so good outside that I couldn’t wait to get out there, and I’d feel refreshed and relaxed upon my return home. The perfect way to calmly wind down a long day, it absolutely was.
When I realized that I was slimming down pretty quickly, I started stepping my game up. I did strength training exercises like stretches and yoga, various at-home exercises in the mornings. At night, I’d hit the dusty trail around the lake. That worked out wonderfully for me, because I had everything that I needed to workout at home at my disposal. Made it easy, made it free. No excuses.
Now, I get up in the mornings and I hit the cardio first. Why? Because all day, I’m gonna be thinking about how I kicked my own behind on the treadmill, and I’m going to use that as a reason to refuse to allow a cheeto to get in my way! Not only that, but it gives me a safe and healthy way to wake up without going on about my day half-awake.
I’m slowly bringing back my two-a-days – doing cardio and my basic daily routine in the morning, and more cardio coupled with yoga and strength training at night. For me, this is how I alleviate my stresses, motivate myself to behave better throughout the day, and give myself an opportunity to both wake up fully before engaging in my day and wear myself out before bedtime.
For me, my workout is my time for peace. I focus my thoughts. I relax. I prepare. I sort myself out mentally. It’s my time away from business, from responsibility, from drama. It’s the few moments of the day when I can truly focus on bettering myself. Some of us will need that kind of focus in the mornings before we embark on a difficult day, and some of us will need that to regroup ourselves so that we can get a restful sleep. As long as I’m still putting that effort into myself, it doesn’t matter if I do it during the 25th hour of the day.. I’m still getting it in, and I’m taking care of me.
So in short (these are never really short, are they?), I see the benefits to doing each option individually, as well as just buckling down and trying to do both. What about you? When do you get your workout on, and why? How does it work out for you?
Related posts:
19 Comments
Leave a Reply
A few rules for posting, friends:
- If you are promoting a product, or posting a sales pitch, your comment will be deleted.
- If you are trying to dispute something on the site, you will need more than anecdotal evidence (i.e., "My cousin's friend's uncle's girlfriend's boss did it and it worked!" If you've got books or at least Internet links, then we can talk. Otherwise, you risk your comment not being approved.
- Foul language is discouraged. I'd like people to still be able to read the site at their jobs.
- Disrespecting me or the men and women who post here is also unacceptable. Your comment won't be approved, and you might be banned. (Actually, I've grown to like embarrassing people who behave like they have no home training. Consider yourself warned. :)
- Want an avatar? Quick and easy solution. Visit Gravatar.com and sign up for one!
- Everyone is welcome here. You don't have to be Black, you don't have to be a Girl. I'd prefer you to be human, and I'd prefer you to be kind. We're helping each other, right? :)
- Last, but certainly not least, commenting here is a privilege. Not a matter of "freedom of speech," but a matter of "approved at the discretion of the the owner." It's how I protect our community. Everyone appreciates this until it's their comment on the chopping block. We simply don't have time for foolishness, here. (And please, don't e-mail to complain. I already know you're mad.)
Recent Posts
Health News
Recipe of the Day
Pan-Grilled Halibut with Chimichurri
Halibut topped with cilantro, basil, shallots, lemon juice and more!
I’ve finally gotten past my “i hate mornings” mindset and began to work out in the mornings. i love getting it out of the way and not risking being “too busy, tired, hungry, lazy” later. i keep telling myself i can always do another session in the evenings as bonus but i haven’t gotten there yet! lol.
—PhluffyPrincess
I used to work out at night all the time mainly because it was so hard to wake up. A few weeks ago I switched to working out in the mornings twice a week just to get a feel for it. Well guess what? I love it. I feel like I have my whole day ahead of me and my night routine of helping my kids with their homework & cooking is less hectic.
The only thing is 3 days of waking up by 6 is more than enough. More than that and my body just can;t function.
So I am in agreement they both have their benefits and it’s all what works for you.
—Randi
PhluffyPrincess, that’s exactly why I like going first thing in the morning. Nothing will get in my way! I would love to have the time to go twice in a day. Maybe this summer? What a novel idea to try to schedule your day around your workouts and not the other way around…
—DazzlingRayn
It just depends. Some times I love waking up early and working out because it fuels me for the rest of my day. Sometimes I just like to take a walk in the morning because it helps my creativity. Then other times I enjoy the evening work outs because they are great stress relievers. The walk after a long day is great for reflections. I love doing two-a-days when I have the time. Working out is the easiest, best ‘high’ that we can give our bodies.
—cici
I’m training myself to wake up @ 5…I get the clock to go off, but now I’m starting to nap until 5:30…I really need to get to bed at a decent time.
—ChellBellz
See, I’m the opposite: I love working out after work. It allows me to recenter myself after a day in the office, where I deal with fools all day. I burn off that energy by doing hatha-based yoga for 30 minutes when I get home or taking tango/milonga lessons after work. Been doing that–along with watching what and how much I eat–since January. To date, I’ve lost 10 lbs. and am in 6 lbs. of my weight goal!
—Andrea (AJ) Plaid
I like to workout in the morning. I’m an early riser by nature, and I like the early morning crowd more than the evening crew. I have a mental block when it comes to doing a workouts in the evening. However, I have recently incorporated yoga into my routine and that class is in the evening. I find it easier to go to a class than do my own workout after work.
—BAnjeeB
I’m not a morning person. I pretty much wake up with just enough time to get ready for work, then I’m out. I used to work overnight, and I already had a hard time sleeping during the day, so I didn’t get much sleep. But if I wake up 2 or 3 hours before I have to actually be at work, I’m sleepy again by the time it’s time for me to get ready for work.
So I like to work off the stress of the day at the end.
But my question is, is it better to do cardio first, or strength-training/weights first? I’ve seen arguments for both sides.
—Frankie1882
I much prefer to work out in the evenings, but with school, I am going to have to reconfigure my life. Right now I’m very busy so I’ve had to focus much harder on my diet, but I am dedicating myself back to the gym and a regular course of working out when this semester is over.
—Lisa
I work out in the am, it’s the least busy time of day however if I’ve had a poor nights sleep I will try to get it in in the evenings.
—Tonda
Working out when you can is good when you first get started. After a while you start noticing the tangible benefits.
I know not everybody’s body chemistry is the same, and I may be one of the lucky ones who does feel the elusive “runner’s high”….it helped me to work out mid-day when I was battling depression, since I knew that once a day, I was going to be feeling completely awesome. Mid-day workouts also can help recharge the creative juices at a job. I’d workout during lunch and grab a protein drink and some fruit afterwards.
—PixelFish
I am a early bird. I’ve done the kickboxing and such but always had a reason not to go to class. Well I’ve hit 200 lbs and don’t like it so I got me a personal one on one trainer. We meet twice a week at 6:30am and do a 45 minutes workout; I’ve gone organic on a few choices and am working my way up to better eating; and I am trying (really hard) to go to the gym the other days. My goal is for September to shed many of these pounds and inches…but I’m already stronger and can see it when I am planking and such! Tks
—colette
I enjoy working out in the evening. I agree that both options, morning or night are good, but if you trying to lose weight, I think in the evening is better. I stretch first, hit the weights (increasing resistance weekly), then do up to 500 calories of cardio. I had to work my way up to burning 500 calories but if you are just joining the gym 200 calories is fine. People ask me why I do weights first then cardio and does it matter. My answer is yes it does matter. Our muscles have fat stored in and around them. Fat cells need to be activated and the only way they are activated is if your muscles tell them to. Once your fat cells are activated, then your body is able to burn fat utilizing weight lifting and cardio. So if you do cardio first, you wont burn any fat, you will actually be losing muscle mass.
—Felicia
I don’t know.. I think it depends on one’s day. What works best for me won’t always work best for the next person, you know?
As for this “losing muscle mass/activate your fat cells” business, I’m inclined to call that a myth. Not only does it sound impractical in comparison to how the body is built to function (being active causes you to lose the stuff that makes activity easier?), but the idea that fat cells need to be “activated” in order to do their jobs (which is serve as an energy source) sounds a bit far-fetched to me.
I, personally, do cardio after my weights but that has more to do with the fact that I don’t want to be cardio-sweaty all on the weight machines. I prefer to leave cardio and head straight for a shower. LOL
You’ll find lots of differing opinions on the topic, but as far as using “how the body works” as the foundation for such? I’d prefer that we keep it as accurate as possible. That just doesn’t look accurate to me. I’m pasting a couple of different resources below to take a look at, but as far as your body needing “activation” to do its job.. I’d need to see some other solid information before I embraced that. Be sure to pay special attention to this:
“You start using protein (perhaps from muscle, as well as other amino-acid-containing components in the body) for energy under extreme conditions such as starvation and at the tail end of long, hard endurance events where carb stores are in short supply. The average person who works out does not need to worry about this.” – [source]
Resources:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/satter2.htm
http://weighttraining.about.com/od/techniquesandstrategies/a/cardio_weights.htm
http://weighttraining.about.com/od/fatlossweighttraining/a/fat_burn.htm
http://www.creators.com/health/joe-weider/mixing-cardio-and-weightlifting.html
http://health.msn.com/fitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100138677
—Erika
What about those of us who wake up at like..4pm, because we went to bed around 8-9am? (I work third shift). Does it matter if you do it when you wake up? Can 4pm be my ‘morning’?
—Causticstorm
It sure can – think in terms of “first thing” and “last thing.”
—Erika
Right now I’m in grad school and I have a part time job as a cashier. During the week and on Saturdays, I like to get my workout in first thing in the morning before work and school because after class in the evening I just want to come home and unwind (though I am finding I need to pull myself away from the TV more when coming home, but that’s another story)..Fridays and Sundays I usually go in the evening to the gym..really its about just getting in for me!
—Morgan B
I workout between 5-7 days a week. The goal is always 7 but with 3 boys of which 2 are teenagers that doesnt always happen. I do strength training, swimming, I used to do step aerobics (not so much anymore), interval run & walk on the treadmill and elipticle machines. I take my boys with me to the gym, my oldest has his own membership (that I pay for because his health is worth my investment) and we workout for an hour or two. My youngest boy I have him focus on cardio but of course because he is a boy he wants to do weights but he is a bit young for that…lol. The oldest stays on that darn basketball court – he lives there, and my middle son loves to swim (and spends most of his time on his brand new birthday bicycle! It is a professional bike built for speed and made locally with environmentally friendly products – if thats even possible…lol, it sounds good though). So the gym offers many workout options I always change up my routine and utilize the on-site trainers when I feel my workout is becoming too easy. Right now, I have been told I need to lay off the cardio and focus more on strength training so for the last month or two I eased myself into a good weight strengthening routine. I was already strong so it didnt take long to hit a plateau. I was doing 5 reps of 10 slowly to feel the burn (but it stopped burning..lol) so starting today I am to begin doing 3 reps of 10 with heavier weight combined with lock holds. My goal is to graduate to the stair master machine AND to finally one day commit to spin class for one month (twice a week) straight just to see if I would get any results. The trainer said I also need to begin doing lunges! I am not quite mentally ready for that but my core strength is there now, so I have no excuse. When I was working late mornings I would workout in the morning and evening but now only evening – I am not a morning person, but my goal is to get up at 6am and workout for 20 minutes in morning before work. I also like the idea of walking the neighborhood after dinner. Unfortunately for me, I do not like the neighborhood we live in currently so we try to go the gym in the evenings after dinner most of the time….whoo, that was a mouth full.
—Lorrie
I love doing both.I work out at my lunch by walking 2 to 2.5 miles. I get an hour for lunch so this helps to boost my energy. Then After work I hit the weights with 20 minutes of cardio. This helps to end my day on a good note. Working out in the morning has been very challenging for me. Im just being lazy, lol want to sleep in.
—Tee