INTRODUCTION
Some people prefer morning workout, Some people prefer evening workouts. However, is one better than the other? Should you move your schedule around so you can train at a certain time? Does it make a difference? In this article, we are going to go over the pros and cons of doing each. As someone who has trained early and late I have a good experience with the benefits and drawbacks of each one.
I will also be giving my opinion on why I train at the time I do and also if I think you should change and a few things to consider when changing. However, the first things are to go over the good and the bad points about training at each time. Let’s start with morning as it is first anyway.
MORNING WORKOUT
I feel as though morning workouts are getting more and more popular recently. For good reason really. They have a huge benefit! They allow you to get your workout out the way early and have the rest of the day free to do whatever you want. Allowing you to finish work and go straight home and spend it however you want.
The other big plus to a morning workout as it tends to be a lot quieter. Which, if you have ever trained around 5 pm you will know how busy a gym can get. Going to the gym in the morning means there are fewer people, Plus people have to get to work so they tend to get in and out and don’t hang around. So if someone is one that bit of equipment you want, you won’t have to wait long. Now you might think “I work out from home, This point doesn’t apply to me”. However, do you have kids? Parents? Then working out early means you can use the space and time they will usually take up when awake.
I also find that working out in the morning wakes up and gets you ready for the day ahead. Wakes you up, you can also shower and get ready in the gym, meaning you can wake up, gym clothes on and hit the gym.
The downside to a morning workout is something I think everyone struggles with. Getting up early. You do have to get up several hours before you are meant to get up. This is highlighted even more if you start work earlier. You could find yourself having to get to the gym for 6 maybe even 5. You might also notice that you will have to find a gym that is open at that time.
Another negative is it tends to be harder to find gym partners when training in the morning, Especially early morning. As we said above, people want to get in and out and a lot of people train on their own. If you have a workout partner that you currently train with and want to swap too early workouts, you have to make sure your workout partner can make that time.
EVENING WORKOUT
Now, I would say that this is the most popular time to train. Most people will train in the evening for many reasons. The first major one is Time. If they have to start work earlier then they will go to the gym in the evening straight after work. Or do a workout from home once the kids are in bed. Also training in the even means you get a lie-in in the morning.
The other huge plus for training in the evening is that you will have more food and energy in your system. More Carbs and calories to get you through your workout. Meaning you will be able to perform better, lift more and get better pumps. You can still do this if you train in the morning but you will have to wake up even earlier to be able to get food in you.
Training in the even is a great stress reliever as well. if you have a stressful day at work then it’s always good to get in a solid workout and lift some heavy things. Nothing makes you feel better!
It isn’t all roses mind, there are a few negatives to working out in the evening. The first and biggest reason is how busy it is. Again, if you are working out from home then this won’t affect you, but if you are going to a gym then you will find that the gyms get very busy around 5-6 pm. Meaning you won’t be able to get the equipment you want, or you will have to wait for it to become free.
You also have to think about what time you are getting home, If you get to the gym at 5:30 pm, train for an hour and then it’s a 30-minute drive home. you won’t be getting home till around 7 pm. Then you have to shower and eat. So by the time you “sit down” for the evening, it is going to be fairly late.
WHICH ONE DO WE PREFER
Which one do we prefer? Well, in all honesty, we think you should do a combination of both. If you can train early then do a few session early and then a few sessions later. Mix it up, find a pattern that works for you.
At the end of the day, it all depends on your routine and your schedule. You might find that you are fine with waking up earlier and morning workout is perfect for you. On the flip side, you might find that you have to start work early so have to train in the morning. It all depends on your schedule If you train with someone and also what time of day you think you think you function better at.
WHEN DO I TRAIN
Personally, I train in the evening. Why? Well, it is after work and it is also the only time my gym partner can make it. So I have to work around him a little bit as well. As I have said above, it does tend to be busy around this time, however, we always have a workout planned and tend to try to not want/use too much equipment. We do a lot of One Bench Workouts (Chest, Shoulder, Leg examples).
Saying that, on the weekend we do train earlier and go for a morning workout (Around 10 am) I find this the perfect time, especially on a Sunday as everyone tends to be nursing a hangover so the gym is pretty quiet. We chose these days to do our bigger workouts that require more equipment. So we plan our whole week around when the busiest times are going to be. This is a fluid plan, say we show up to the gym one evening at it seems quieter then we might change up our plans.
We have also trained later, which I don’t mind but the only issue with is like I said above, it pushed your evening back, dinner later, showering later, your whole evening gets pushed back. This is fine if your gym is just around the corner but if you have a 40-minute drive to the gym then it can get pretty late by the time you get home.
CONCLUSION
So in conclusion, it all depends on what you want to do and which one you think will work for you. We also didn’t mention a lunchtime workout. Maybe working out during your lunch hour. However, this all depends on your work routine so we thought we better leave this one for another post.
What time do you tend to work out? Do you prefer a Morning Workout or an Evening workout Do you workout from home or at a gym? Let us know over on our Instagram! Drop us a comment on this post and let us know when and where you workout! Also, why you workout at these times. We would love to see how many of you workout in the mornings or evenings!
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Written by Kieran Blacker
Kieran is the CEO and Founder of Sets & Reps. He decided to make an application that helped people get a gym workout when not at the gym. He designed, Coded and built the application himself.