Is it possible to train in the morning: a scientific approach to load distribution

Research: where is the truth?

Monday, Wednesday and Friday are the days of the week on which 60-80% of athletes train. A popular time period when the gym is packed to capacity is from six to eight in the evening. This is logical, because people go to exercise after work. But do evening exercises work or is it better to exercise in the morning?

Scientists became interested in these points and conducted a group of studies:

Experiment No. 1. The study involved 100 men who trained in the morning, at lunch (12:00), in the evening (16:00) and before bed (20:00). The results are as follows:
- Training guaranteed the greatest effect in the evening due to the active work of muscle fibers.

As for testosterone, its level is higher in the first half of the day, but against the background of cortisol activity this advantage is offset. Scientists have made sure that the result is maximum between 6 and 8 pm. But you shouldn’t be categorical here. The rhythm of wakefulness and sleep differs for each individual. This means that you should focus first on internal rhythms, and only then on the recommendations of researchers.

Experiment No. 2. Scientists did not stop at the achieved result and conducted a study based on body type. It has been found that endomorphs (people with slow metabolisms) should exercise before lunch. This approach guarantees uniform burning of fat deposits. For ectomorphs, evening hours are preferable, when the body has accumulated enough calories to burn.
Experiment No. 3. Human life is associated with biological rhythms, on which body temperature, metabolism, blood pressure and a number of physiological functions depend. Research has proven that the best results come from proper adjustment to your own body. For example, if exercising in the morning does not produce results, then you can move your workouts to the evening. The body will immediately tell you whether it is better for it to work in this mode or not.

The research results are as follows:

Strength increases by 12 days.
Body temperature reaches the ideal value at 16:00-17:00.
Resistance to anaerobic stress is better after 16:00.
After 12:00 stamina increases.
The risk of injury after 12:00 is 20-25% lower.
If you exercise 2-3 times a week, your sleep quality will improve.

Benefits of morning exercises

Physical activity in the morning: How to improve brain and body health Photo: Depositphotos
Let's look at some of the benefits of morning exercise. However, to determine what time is best for you to exercise, you need to carefully weigh the risks and benefits.

This is "frog". Previously, we looked at Brian Tracy's method of “eating frogs,” or doing the most important and energy-consuming tasks first. Morning exercises cause a feeling of satisfaction with the achieved result and a surge of energy necessary to complete other tasks during the day.
More energy throughout the day. Getting an energetic morning start sets the pace for work and other responsibilities throughout the day, increasing personal productivity and the ability to cope with problems.
A good mood. Nothing stimulates feel-good neurotransmitters like starting the day with energy. Morning exercise can invigorate and increase mental clarity, although, of course, you can use other methods to achieve this goal without forcing yourself to engage in intense physical exercise early in the morning.
Feeling of complete control over your life. What better way to improve your physical, mental and emotional health than by getting up early and investing a little time and effort into improving your physical, mental and emotional health? The authors of this book, at least four times a week, after 30 minutes of breathing meditation, go for a light jog in the fresh air, under the rays of the early morning sun. By the time we return home we feel great. Research shows that people who exercise in the morning have an easier time sticking to the habit than those who try to squeeze in time to exercise during the day. In the morning, the Lizard brain will often try to convince you that it is too early and advise you to postpone physical activity to a later time, but, as you remember, you can and should object to it. Below we will look at some simple practices that will help you with this.

Don't worry if you're new to exercise before. Your goal isn't to look like a fitness magazine cover model; just start being more active than before and you will feel better. In addition, it is imperative to develop the habit of doing exercises regularly, regardless of the time of day that you choose to exercise. If you add the habit of systematic exercise to your daily priority list, it will be a huge achievement. When it comes to your ability to manage your morning hours, how you feel is far more important than the number on your bathroom scale.

Dr. Timothy Church and colleagues conducted a six-month study of 464 menopausal women who were overweight or obese and led a sedentary lifestyle. One group of participants walked at a speed of 3 to 5 kilometers per hour for 72 minutes per week (i.e., 10 minutes every day). Their efforts were rewarded with improved fitness and heart health.

In another study, Dr. Dak-Chul Lee from the University of Iowa and his team monitored the health of 55 thousand people aged 18 to 100 for fifteen years. They compared the condition of people who jogged three times a week, devoting 50 to 120 minutes per week to this activity, with the condition of those who did not jog at all. Scientists have concluded that jogging in such volumes reduces the risk of premature death by 30 percent, including by 45 percent the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Simply put, if you spend 16 to 40 minutes a day, three times a week, on exercise, that negligible investment will add up to extra years of life and a significant increase in vitality.

Stillness brings death closer, but movement prolongs life. Our bodies are designed to move. No matter what your Lizard says, getting out of your comfort zone to exercise makes you feel better. Exercise releases endorphins, neurotransmitters produced in the hypothalamus that induce a feeling of well-being, helping you wake up happy. (You could say that in the exercise habit loop, endorphins act as rewards.)

The main obstacle that we must learn to overcome is not the physical, but the mental barrier that the Lizard sets up. The mind, or rather the mental habits associated with physical exercise, either help or hinder your progress towards better health and morning happiness.

Activity distribution

Let's look at what time you can and should train, taking into account the arrow on the dial:

05:00. Body temperature is low. This time is suitable for light training (yoga, warm-up).
07:00. Morning activity will energize the cardiovascular system and speed up fat burning. Studies have shown that the number of calories burned when exercising in the morning is three times greater than in the evening.
15:00. Running in the fresh air strengthens the body. At this time, the heart copes with pumping blood more easily, joints become flexible, and the temperature rises.
16:30. This time is suitable for cycling. Pedaling guarantees fat burning (especially in women). The advantage is muscle flexibility, liquid blood.
17:00. Working with loads. The body heats up to the maximum temperature. If you pump at this time, you can achieve high testosterone levels. It is believed that after 17:00 a second wind opens in the body.
19:00. At this time, it is worth giving yourself to swimming. This can be explained by the activity of reflexes and muscle plasticity.
20:00. Evening time is suitable for team sports.

Morning training rules

Making the decision to exercise in the morning is a responsible step. But here you should follow a number of rules:

Exercise after waking up. The main difficulty is to develop the habit of starting training after getting up. At first the body resists, but over time this goes away. The consciousness should expect to awaken, and the body to receive a portion of the load. Before the start, you can drink a glass of water to start the work of your internal organs. Don't forget the importance of a 5-10 minute warm-up.
Explosive exercise in the morning is the key to health. To disperse blood through the vessels, activate muscle growth and accelerate metabolic processes, include the following options in your training - lunges, jumping squats, jumping, sharp push-ups, and so on.
Include static exercises aimed at stretching muscles (at least one). The belief that after waking up a person is “wooden” is wrong. History knows thousands of examples of people who easily did the splits even in the morning. The main thing is daily training. The result will come in 3-4 months. Among the stretching exercises, it is worth highlighting spiderman lunges, Hindu push-ups, one-leg squats, side lunges with body fixation in the lower position, and so on.
Short and sweet. It's worth doing every day. In this case, there is no need to overload the body - 5-10 minutes are enough to start the processes and not harm the internal organs.
Set goals. You can’t train “just like that.” Classes in the morning should be carried out taking into account the assigned tasks and through orientation to the goal. For women - weight loss, development of legs or buttocks, and for men - muscle gain, additional strength and relief.

When is it better to exercise - in the morning or in the evening: expert advice

Sport is a useful activity, but not everyone has time for morning exercises or evening trips to the gym. It is important to know how to choose the optimal time for active physical activity based on biological rhythms and characteristics of the body.

The nurse of the Medical and Physical Education Dispensary of the Ministry of Sports and Tourism of Mari El Mari El Diana Zykova talks about this:

Larks, pigeons and owls

First of all, you need to know that people according to their activity patterns are divided into three types:

Larks - get up easily at 5 am; they also need to go to bed early.
Owls are exclusively nocturnal people. It is easier for them to go to bed late and get up closer to noon.
Pigeons - easily adapt to any schedule. After a short time, they can become active both in the first and second half of the day.

Owls and larks adapt to their work schedule, regardless of the rhythms. But it’s better to coordinate a trip to the gym with your biological clock. Exercises bring their own benefits at every time of day.

Sports in the morning

Many people are accustomed to working out in the morning, especially since most fitness centers are open from early hours. Morning workouts are suitable for losing weight and gaining muscle mass.

The main features of morning exercise:

Body activity and a lot of strength. In the evening, after work and a heavy dinner, you don’t always have enough energy to go for a run or work out in the gym.
The amount of endorphins released after a workout helps boost your mood for the day. In the evening, such “happiness” is not always necessary.
The rule of morning training is to exercise half an hour after getting up, so that the heart has time to adjust its rhythm and warm up to the necessary activity.
More suitable for cutting or fat burning, since there is a low level of glucose in the blood. The last meal was in the evening.
Exercising in the morning can reduce your appetite.
It is imperative to drink more water, because in the morning the blood is thick and there is not enough fluid.
Plus, there are fewer people in the gyms in the morning; most people prefer evening classes.

Sports in the evening

It’s not without reason that many professional athletes and sports enthusiasts prefer evening workouts. They have their positive sides. There are also plenty of disadvantages that should be taken into account when choosing the time for sports and exercise.

Advantages and disadvantages:

There is additional time for morning sleep. A person will sleep peacefully for half an hour before work or study and will not wake up ahead of time.
You feel tired all day from morning workouts. Usually owl people suffer from this. Therefore, taking into account the biological rhythm, it is more convenient to study in the evenings.
By evening, your metabolism slows down, and active exercise will help speed it up. This means that the excess calories eaten will be successfully spent. Therefore, for those who want to lose weight, the best option is evening workouts.
Training in the evening involves less rigorous sports. It is useful to do yoga, Pilates, swimming, and water aerobics.
Among the disadvantages of evening exercise is fatigue at the end of the working day.

Attention!

In any case, you need to listen to your body. If it’s easy to get up in the morning, the body quickly activates - morning workouts are suitable. For lovers of nightlife - evening ones.

Previously, we talked about the benefits and harms of sweets when playing sports.

How to determine the time for classes?

Here it is worth focusing on the following points:

Choose a convenient time . Each person has individual life circumstances, taking into account which the schedule is formed. Even if the time of 19:00 is suitable in all respects, but there is a risk of not being on time, then there is no need to try - reschedule the training. Please note that food should be taken no later than an hour before exercise. The exception is the morning, when classes are allowed without breakfast.
Systematicity . If the body is used to training at the same time and going to the gym gives results, then you should not shock the body with regular changes to the training schedule. Periodic adjustments are acceptable, but nothing more. If it turns out that it is not possible to visit the gym at the usual time, then a small shift in the training process will not be a tragedy.
Focus on your own body . Observe your body and record the times when exercise brings you the most satisfaction.

Morning workouts: how to exercise without causing harm

Not everyone has time to exercise in the evening - what can you do to ensure that morning exercise only benefits you? First of all, do not overdo it in the intensity of your workout. If you exercise on an empty stomach, avoid strong and intense exercise. This is due to the fact that after sleep and without eating, your body is practically deprived of energy. Overdoing it can result in poor health.

Otherwise, training in the morning requires compliance with the following rules: • you need to sleep for at least 8 hours - then by the time you wake up in the morning, the body will have fully recovered; • you need to wake up at least half an hour before going outside, and preferably an hour; • if you are planning an intense workout, have breakfast at least an hour before it; • increase the loads gradually. If you want to exercise in the morning, your best bet is a gentle aerobic exercise or warm-up. But you will have to wait with the strength ones - it is better to do them in the afternoon.

Results

Now let's summarize for each time:

Morning. Features: increased testosterone levels, decreased body temperature, minimal serotonin levels, the brain is active and concentrated. Advantages: increased oxygen volume, availability of exercise equipment, no workload in the gym.
Day. Features - temperature and adrenaline rise, the sensitivity threshold increases, energy level drops. Advantages: availability of daylight, increased rest time between sets, availability of a trainer.
Evening. Features: Temperature, endurance and coordination at peak. In the evening, lung performance is at its maximum level, joint strength and bone flexibility increase, and mental concentration decreases.

If the goal is to lose weight, then the morning hours guarantee results. Due to the high level of cortisol and other hormones, metabolic processes are activated and excess fat is burned more quickly. In this case, both light jogging and strength training are allowed. The main thing is not to put too much pressure on the body, but to listen to its sensations.