When is the best time to work out?

The best time of day to work out is not the same for everyone. Choosing when to exercise depends on your personal preferences and specific goals. What are your main interests: revving up your metabolism, losing weight, improving your energy level, or even the quality of your workout? In addition to your life schedule, the answers to those questions will determine the ideal time of day for you to hit the gym.

Let’s start with the advantages of exercising in the morning. First and foremost, you get your workout in before something unexpected comes along, like a last–minute meeting and derails your plans. Exercising in the morning also helps boost your energy for the day to come and, since your heart rate stays elevated even after you have finished, you’ll continue to burn calories at a higher rate.

One of the advantages of exercising later is that your core temperature tends to rise as you go through the day. By the afternoon, your muscles are warmer and more flexible or ready to move. In fact, there is some evidence that working out later in the day or even at night may reduce the incidence of injury to your muscles.

Consistency is king

The most important way to acclimate your body to working out at any time of day is to stick to a consistent workout time. Realistically, you have lots of obligations in your day, and fitting in time at the gym can sometimes seem impossible. So, pick whatever time works the best with your schedule, and make it a goal to stick with it. The benefits of a consistent workout schedule far outweigh the downsides associated with what time of day you choose to work on your fitness.

In fact, research has shown that when you train your body to get used to working out at a particular time of day, eventually you may perform better at that time. The findings include improvements such as higher oxygen consumption and lower perceived exhaustion.

Start your day right

Many people continue to set their workout schedule for first thing in the morning because it helps them go into the day ahead, relaxed and energetic. And, for those interested in losing weight, morning is the best time of day to burn calories because exercise boosts your metabolism, and it stays that way as you move into your day. Working out also suppresses your appetite and helps you control those donut cravings that hit mid-morning.

Another way to help keep your caloric intake down is to drink your low calorie Flex Fit Pro whey protein shake on an empty stomach prior to exercise. Flex Fit Pro whey protein isolate shakes are packed with lean, easily digestible protein which gives you a healthy energy boost to get you through your workout and the rest of your daily routine.