Things to know about afternoon workouts or evening workouts
1. There is plenty of time to get ready for exercise such as hydrating and eating.
2. The body itself is more ready to exercise. According to some research, the level of ACTH (adrenocortical hormone) and thyroid stimulating hormone increases after 7pm, which results in burning more calories.
3. You don’t really have to worry about ultraviolet rays (UV) or worry less when you work out late afternoon or in the evening.
4. It’s said that human growth hormone (GH) and melatonin is secreted more after evening workouts. GH and melatonin is believed to slow down aging and improve immune system.
5. You can release stress that you get during the day and don’t have to carry it over to your family or friends.
6. Try not to work out too late, though. It’s not recommended working out an hour or a couple of hours earlier of your bed time. Strenuous exercise will raise body temperature and blood flow, which prevents you from having a sound sleep.
Things to know about morning workouts
1. It’s believed that morning exercising is better in regard to losing weight. Pre-requisite of this theory is not to eat before the morning exercise. This way, you can burn fat instead of burning what you eat.
- Basically the level of glycogen, the first source of energy stored in liver and muscles, is lower in the morning, and the body burns an alternative energy source, fat. In the morning, the level of *insulin is lower as well, which helps burning more fat.
- There is an opposing view on this opinion: your body may actually generate energy from muscles rather than fat because the body is basically catabolic state in the morning (normally anabolic state). Exercising in catabolic state can actually decrease metabolism, and end up losing more muscles.
2. Some doctors agree that for those who work out in the morning, their heartbeat is higher all day, which will elevate metabolism throughout the day. Many morning exercisers say that they have more energy and are more alert all day.
This makes a very good sense when we look at the fact that intensive workouts prevent people from having a good night sleep because body muscles are all energized from workout.
3. This is just a general opinion, but it’s said that many people who work out in the morning feel that they use their time more efficiently.
