Morning, Afternoon, Or Night: When Should You Train?
What time is it best to train during the day? In the morning or in the evening?
Do you love to wake up early in the morning to do aerobic activity? Or do you prefer to train in the evening after work? A matter of personal predisposition, of course, but also of rhythms and needs related to the best way to fit sporting activity among your many daily chores.
But what is the best time to do sports? Is it better to train in the morning or in the evening? Our body gives us the answer. To organize your training calendar, and make the most of it to get results, you must first consider the hormonal aspect. In particular:
- The growth hormone, which works best in the early morning.
- Testosterone. It has 2 peaks: one in the early morning, the second in the late afternoon.
- Cortisol. Its peak is between 6 and 7 in the morning.
Train according to goals
To understand if it is better to train in the morning or in the evening, the first thing to do is to set goals:
If you aim for weight loss and therefore want to do a fat-burning workout, the ideal time is the first morning, because it allows you to take advantage of the peak of cortisol and the stimulation of GH which work synergistically to increase the lipolytic effect (burning fats).
If you aim to increase muscle mass, you should train in the evening, to take advantage of the testosterone peak and the high temperature of the muscles.
In addition to hormones, there are many other factors that affect our training such as: stress, nutrition, sleep and personal commitments. Everything contributes to influence the mental and, consequently, physical state.
