Important to make fitness routine part of everyday life
IS IT better to work out in the morning or the evening?
This is a question that is often posed by those about to start a workout routine.
The answer to the question is: It doesn't really matter, as long as you do one or the other.
However, research indicates that the optimal time to exercise is when the body's temperature is at its highest, which is around late afternoon.
Other research reports that our strength output is about 5% higher about midday and anaerobic performance, for activities like sprint training, improves by 5% in the late afternoon.
Injuries are also less likely to happen in the afternoon when the body's temperature is at its highest and our muscles are generally warm and flexible.
However, while the afternoon may be physiologically optimal, it's been shown that morning exercisers are generally more consistent in doing their exercise.
Mornings are generally a time when most of us have a bit of control over our schedules.
Morning exercising for most of us is the optimal time and we just need to be aware that before pushing ourselves, we need to make sure that we have warmed up.
But as I said earlier, it really doesn't matter whether you exercise in the morning, afternoon or evening, as long as you're out there exercising.
Professor John B Lowe is the Head of the School of Health and Sport Sciences at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
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