What is the best time of day to run or workout? Well, it’s whatever time of day you feel it’s appropriate to run. But did you ever think about why you think the best time to run is your best time to run? Well, here’s some information to help you decide if your current time is your optimum time, or if maybe you should change your routine.
Remember though, your optimum time is your optimum time. The info below is to just help you make an informed decision. You know you.
The Morning
Running in the morning may be the best and the worst time to run. Most people known this since a good portion of the population wakes up feeling super groggy in the morning. When you wake up, your body’s temperature is lower. You also are more prone to injury and illness when you work out in the morning because your body is so stiff. But there are some positives. You do burn more calories when you workout on an empty stomach. Why? Your body only has dinner and your glycogen stores to burn while you sleep. However you can burn fat and your muscle, so don’t overdo it.
The morning is also, usually, the perfect temperature to workout in. For most places except the super hot deserts or fog prone areas, you can get your sunshine and get your exercise done. I would recommend a light and long workout in the morning. Jog into the beginning of your day.
Brunch time
Not lunchtime, but brunch time. Running around 10-11AM is perfect for those who want to work out in the morning but don’t want to necessarily suffer from the problems of working out on an empty stomach. The problem is that a lot of us are just starting our workdays around this time, so we get screwed in trying to keep this schedule (unless your boss loves working out, then you may be able to negotiate this point).
But mid-morning runs could make you voraciously hungry for lunch. That could be another downside. If you’re working on mindful eating habits and you’re not a big breakfast eater, working out around brunch time could tip you over the edge when you get to lunch. But that’s ok. Better to workout and fill your stomach than not workout and eat “normally”.
Lunch
Lunch runs may be a missed opportunity for most of us, but a lot of people are catching on. Working out around lunchtime could save us all from the afternoon slump. You get out of the office (if you’re lucky enough to work at an office), you get your endorphins flowing, and you can clear your mind. It does require a little more planning (you should pack a lunch and some extra clothes), but lunch time runs break the monotonous cycle of the workday. Once you get used to working out during lunch, you’ll probably find it easier to get through the rest of the workday.
Afternoon
The afternoon is the second best time to workout. Your body temperature is nearing its optimum peak, and your muscles are loose. Unfortunately, we’re all suffering from the afternoon snooze, so anything we do is a mental struggle to get up and go. But once we’re up, we’re up. Make afternoon workouts your siesta time. Instead of napping you want to be pounding pavement. The afternoon also has the same problem as brunch time though: we are usually required to be at our desks.
Evening
If you’ve noticed the pattern so far, everything gets better and easier as the day goes on. The evening, when your body is at its loosest and you’ve had a full meal or two, is the best time to work out. But it’s that way for most people too. This is the reason your gym is packed. Yup. It’s not just because everyone is off of work. It seems to be most people’s peak time. Since you’ve had at least one full meal, your body is prepped full of glycogen to burn off so you won’t burn that much fat. But you will be able to workout longer and stronger. So don’t let the full gym put you off. Instead of running on the treadmill, maybe drive to your gym and run around the block a few times. That way, the time you spend in the gym is just to hit the weights and not waiting for a treadmill to open up.
Hopefully you found the info useful for making your decision to go for a run. If you did, or even if you didn’t, please leave us a comment below, like us on Facebook, and don’t forget to follow us on twitter.
Have a good run!
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