A.M. vs. P.M. workouts?

Aquajock

Aquajock

Cathlete
Hey, all! Just wanted to find out others' experiences:

I was wondering if anyone has different experiences, or outcomes, if they follow an a.m. workout schedule vs. a p.m. workout schedule.

On the weekends, I work out in the morning, which I vastly prefer being an inveterate morning person by nature. During the week, however, I work out at night.

Although I definitely feel more energetic in the morning, I do notice that when I'm consistently maintaining my evening schedule I do indeed feel a little "slinkier" and the skirts are a little looser; conversely, when I take some time off and work out exclusively in the morning, my performance is better but I'm a bit more "massy". Not sure why this is; I'm wondering if the evening workouts upkick my metabolism more in the short term, and I burn off more of my dinner calories that way. Dunno.

Does anyone have any thoughts to share on this subject?

A-jock
 
Hi Annette,

I am definitely a PM exerciser but mainly because I am running around after children all day. I do my workouts between 7pm (if I am lucky, if not 8 pm) and 10pm, and I prefer it because it helps me to sleep, I am more ready for bed. As soon as I have worked out, and had a piece of fruit, or a cup of tea, I collapse in the bath, and go to bed. I can quite often be in bed by 11pm. If I don't work out in the evening, I am up til the wee hours (like 2am :-wow !)which does me no good at all when I have 3 children to get out of the front door at 8.30am.

Having said that I am still working out during the day, from doing alot of walking with the pushchair. In fact, my 3 year old has the fastest legs in Britain, because I can't walk all that slowly now, and he has to jog to keep up with me (poor little soul, I know). I have tried to reduce my speed but it doesn't seem to work. I can't walk slowly since I started doing cathe's workouts !

Anna :)
 
Hi A-jock!! :)
Well, I don't know why this would be either, but I just wanted to put my two cents in. I read somewhere recently that working out in the morning, before you have eaten, is better for you than working out at night. I don't know why this is exactly.... if I remember correctly it had something to do with your blood sugar level in the morning compared to your blood sugar level at night. Apparently, you burn off more calories working out in the morning than you do at night. Maybe someone else can shed more light on this....

I, like you, work out at night on weekdays and in the morning on weekends. I used to work out in the mornings only, when I first got back into exercising about a year ago. I liked getting my workouts done and out of the way in the morning, but after about 6 months of doing this, I just couldn't push myself out of bed at 5:00 in the morning to work out anymore. So, I started working out at night.

I personally have not seen any difference in my body being "slinkier" or more "massy" from working out in the mornings compared to working out at night. Maybe someone else has more thoughts on this. I would be interested to hear any responses also.
 
I think the key is finding a time when you can do it! Even if the morning was a little better if you can't stick to that it wont matter at all!

I'm all over the place with when I work out - sometimes morning - sometimes afternoon - sometimes nite!

Sounds like you found a time that works for you
 
I work out in the mornings. But by the time I finish my day, cook dinner and clean up, I find myself on the couch watching TV (I love "That 70's Show") or on the computer. Maybe if I spent my evening time exercising instead of sitting - I would have better results?
But to be consistent with my workouts, I should probably stay with mornings - because when summer time comes, we are so busy in the evenings that I wouldn't be able to fit in workouts at night.
Just my thoughts...

Margie
 
I agree that finding the perfect time for your personal schedule is whats important. I have been working out around 10:00p.m. lately because I find that is the only time I can devote an hour or so to my workout. I used to come home from work around 6:00pm exhausted and do my workout then, but I found that I was making more excuses to get out of it because I was tired and hungry at that time! Also, I am a bit of a night owl so that is when I have the most energy. Whatever works for you is the right time. I think everyone can argue either way about which time of day burns the most calories or speeds up the metabolism, but the bottom line is that any workout you do, anytime, is going to burn calories and raise your metabolism.

Just my opinion!

-Amy
 
Great topic.I think this one sort of boggles everyone.There is all the hype about working out on a empty stomach and then weighing less.I am having trouble beleiving this.Only b/c I have been working out in the mornings for the last 3-4 monthes and I have not noticed one change in my body.
I sometimes wish that I could go back to my P.M workouts but I like that fact of freeing my day up.I can do whatever I choose in the evening now, instead of hiding away.
I can totally see what you mean by working out in the evening.Where we live the last meal of the day is usually the biggest and the one most thought out.Before I probably wouldn't eat quite as much dinner b/c I had to workout in a couple of hours.Now after dinner, I just sort of laze around , where as before I would probably get a coffee,relax for a little while, do my workout, get a bath and go to bed.Now, I relax and then go to bed.
I have been thinking about this over the last little while, only b/c I seen a article in one of my magazines.I will see if I can find it...
Lori
 
Found it:
The question was:"If I do cardio in the morning,is it better to eat or not eat before doing so,assuming fat bruning is my goal?"

PhD answers:
"It doesn't matter.Although meal timing as some effects on how the body uses it's energy stores,they're not worth getting excited about from a practical standpoint.However you should keep somethings in mind.One,if you workout first thing in the morning,eat or drink carbs in some form to help replace the fluid and crabs lost during sleep.Second,going into your workout feeling good will enable you to work harderand burn more calories,and your ablilty to burn fat will be enhancedwhen you end a great workout feeling you have to get something in your stomach before showering.Eat or drink just enough before your workout to feel good,but not so much that you feel sluggish and tired"
I think the main thing is to workout when you have time.Different storkes for different folks :D.But in my opinon I think we are really back to calories in v.s calories out.
LOri
 
I love my early morning workouts. I am a stay at home mom of 3 small kids and by the evening I'm just wiped out. I get up at 5:00 and workout from 5:30-6:30. The kids tend to get up between 6:30 and 7:00. So my DH is on kids duty in case anyone gets up before I finish my shower at 7am. I love to workout early because the house is so quiet and its MY time. The rest of the day is devoted to EVERYONE but me and I love having the house to myself. It feels so great to workout when everyone else is sleeping. It is really hard to drag myself out of bed sometimes but I just think of how great I feel after.

I am not a morning person by nature, so this is worth it. I workout Sat/Sun am, and then do the 5am thing 3 days during the week so I get in my 5 days. If I workout more than 5 days my joints and feet start to ache.
 
Hi Annette,

Funny you should post this. Just last night my husband came to the table after his run and commented that he is not as hungry after running in the p.m. and that he loses weight when he runs in the late evening. Basically, he figured out that if he gets his workouts in before 4p.m. he actually has time to work up an appetite and takes in more calories.

Now,like you,I feel more energetic ( psychologically more willing) to workout. However, I find that when I run in the evening I can take several minutes off my run. It's weird becuase for some reason I dread my runs in the evening...I think it might have to do with my mindset. You know the weight of the day etc. Also, in the morning I have my espresso/dark chocolate fix! If I run in the evening I eat less at dinner, drink less water before bed, and my clothes fit alllllllot better in the a.m..

Just a thought. Deb
 
I used to work out in the evenings, until about 3 years ago. I now workout at 4:45 a.m. I really think that when I worked out in the evening I was "slinkier" too. I think it was because I didn't come home and eat. I would workout, grab a snack, take a bath, iron my clothes for work the next day and then go to bed. I would love to change back to working out in the evenings again, but I am afraid that I would have trouble going to sleep. My body may think that it is time to wake up and start the day, since I have been doing it so early for so long. Plus, I do like having it done and over with and having my whole day without having to think about making sure nothing was planned in the evening. So.....what to do....what to do????

Linda
 
I really have no idea how exercising am or pm plays with my metabolism, but it's easier for me to stick to it if I do it in the am and GET IT OVER WITH! Nothing else will get in the way, not tiredness, etc.

Consistancy is the key, so that's my opinion for what it's worth. Calories in, calories out, and calories out EVERY DAY (except Sunday) works for me.

Just Do It! :)
 
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