A common question I get asked is “when is the best time to workout?”

And to be honest, neither is necessarily “better” than the other. They are both great, and ANYTIME you can workout is a good time to workout.

If your schedule is flexible and allows for either a morning or a night workout, you may want to check out some of the benefits of each to decide which is best for you.

Morning workouts

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A major benefit of doing your workout in the morning is that it’s done.

You don’t have to go through your whole day thinking about it and potentially even SKIP it at the end of the day when you’re tired and don’t feel like going anymore.

Another benefit is that generally working out in the morning gives you more energy and an enhanced mood throughout the day. This is because it reduces cortisol (stress) levels in the body and releases happy hormones like dopamine and adrenaline in the body which give you a rush. Plus, you’ll usually end your gym session with a bit more confidence than you went in with which can transfer through the rest of your day.

A highly under looked benefit is that you may experience a better, deeper sleep from working out in the morning. This is because your body has enough time to come down from the high/rush of hormones and potentially caffeine if you have any. By the time night rolls around, your natural sleep cycle will not be disturbed plus you’ll probably be tired from life itself, and your morning workout.

It is also much easier to stick to a morning routine because usually there is nothing to interfere with it. Although working out in the morning may be hard, there are usually less life distractions at that time of day or things that can go wrong (work, family/kids, etc.). This can be dedicated YOU time and as we know, CONSISTENCY IS KEY!

Night workouts

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A major perk of working out at night is that your body has more fuel from eating all day long (hopefully you ate throughout the day).

More fuel in the body = the ability to lift more intensely. This doesn’t ALWAYS ring true, but for a lot of people, this will be the case.

Another benefit is that generally, people experience a lot of stress throughout their day. The gym is a great way to relieve that stress. Take it all out on the weights!!

You may also be able to escape the stress of your home life by going to the gym at night (take some you time)!

The gym is also generally pretty busy at night, so you may be able to have a bit of social time if you’re into that.

Some people also just perform better in the gym when there are a lot of others around (more motivation).

Coach Emily’s Preference

Personally, I am falling asleep in the gym after 3 pm lol. I am a total grandma and going to the gym at night is not even an option for me anymore.

Sometimes I accommodate to meet friends there, but I won’t ever go on my own unless I absolutely can’t make it to the gym any other time that day (assuming it is a scheduled training day).

I find I workout the best in terms of energy and motivation around 11 am/12pm, which is obviously a weird time for most people to go to the gym since they are at work. If you do have the ability to leave workout or exercise mid day though, I highly recommend it!

It is a great way to break up your day, and refresh/come back with a new mindset and increased energy levels.

Working out around this time gives me enough time to wake up in the morning so I’m not super groggy, be productive and get some work done, but still have my energy levels high for a workout. I also immediately wake up and have a heavy shot of caffeine whether its expresso or an energy drink (150-250mg). I need to have this super early in the day or it will keep me up at night. I also cannot have this much caffeine right before the gym, so it helps me to wait an hour or two to let it “settle in” before I actually hit the gym. I hate being super jittery and high on caffeine so this works out perfectly for me. Plus, it gives me some time to get some water in and offset the caffeine.

I should probably take a caffeine break soon…

But I genuinely wake up and look forward to it first thing in the morning #addictionatitsfinest.

After about 2/3pm, I start crashing in terms of energy levels and slowly dwindle down into sleep mode for the rest of the day/night.

I sleep like a BABY most of the time which I’d like to contribute to my productivity levels during the day (physically and mentally) and lack of caffeine after noon (most of the time).

Conclusion

Whether or not you want to workout in the morning or the night is totally up to you. Both have great benefits, and will be better than not working out at all. Neither is truly superior over the other.

Some sources claim there are “better fat loss benefits” to work out at one time over the other, but I truly believe that to be BS since the majority of your fat loss will come from diet alone. Sure it could have a SLIGHT difference, but nothing to stress over that’s going to impact your results majorly.

The most important thing in making your decision should be finding a time that CONSISTENTLY works for you, that way you know you can go and stick to the promise you made yourself. Build those habits and that discipline!

No excuses! Let’s get to work 🙂

And if you need an extra kick in the butt, I have some spots opening in my 1:1 online coaching program this upcoming week. You can apply here.

Until next time,

Coach Emily