discovery

[fox]

Turns out half an hour on the elliptical is just as good at the end of the day as it is at the beginning. (In fact I just heard a radio report the other day that said it's probably better to work out in the evening rather than first thing.) And now I have a cup of (decaf) tea and then I will go to bed.

Comments

[kate]

I had read that it was better to work out first thing in the morning because it boosted your metabolism right off the bat (same thing with eating breakfast). Did they say why working out in the evening might be better? Because I'm lousy at getting up in the morning, but have a fair bit of energy when I get done with work.

[florahart]

*buts in*

It doesn't really matter WHEN you boost your metabolism, in terms of calories in and out, just like it doesn't matter when you eat (aside: that thing about not eating after whatever time? Is utter, utter crap; the ONLY reason it works for people is that people who swear by it, it's that they eat all the amount they should for the day before [6 or 8 or whatever] and then eat MORE at night. Me, when I lost 54 pounds over about 6 months a few years ago (some of which I have regained while I have been getting divorced and all sorts of other things; I am just now back on the wagon, more or less), I generally ate enough not to be totally tummy-growly during the day, and probably 60% or more of total calories after 8pm, because I am a night owl in a big bad way. But ANYWAY, doesn't matter what time of day you consume an appropriate number of calories). The only issues with working out at night are 1. that you might have eaten something heavyish recently, making you sluggish and not wanting to work (avoidable with moderate attention), and 2. that it is true that working out late-ish relative to when you will sleep will bring things like the endorphin rush, the raised blood pressure, all that, and that can interfere with sleeping. However, seriously, if you go to bed at 11, this isn't going to be a problem for a 6pm workout. It will be a problem for like a 9pm workout.

I tried for YEARS to do workouts in the morning. As noted above: NIGHT OWL. What I got for my trouble was a lot of sprains and strains, because I am totally not competent doing anything moderately difficult until at LEAST 8am, and preferably 10. If you are like that, then the choice is dead simple: you can either work out in the evening, to whatever effect that has (which is probably no different than in the morning), or you can ...fail to work out some or even most of the time. In which case, evening is definitely more effective.

[kate]

Thank you! I was thinking that even as I was typing it - that a regular routine in the evenings has got to be better for me than a haphazard one in the mornings - and I'm glad to have it confirmed.