What time of the day is best for different types of workouts (cardio, strength, flexibility)?

Hi Magali,

Whatever time of day works best for you, so that you'll be most likely to both enjoy your workouts and stick with them.

That being said, cardio and strength work too close to bedtime can make it difficult for some people to fall asleep. However, some gentle flexibility exercises prior to bedtime can be helpful.

Magali,

I agree with Jacquelyn - one key is to find a time that is conducive to your personal schedule; however, as she also states, intense exercise in the evening can boost cortisol and epinephrine making it difficult to fall asleep.

The other challenge with this is that if you are exercising intensely in the evening under bright fluorescent lights and electrical equipment, you'll inhibit the amount of melatonin your body should naturally produce (the mechanism by which it becomes harder to fall asleep.) Melatonin aids in relaxation and allows us to settle into natural sleep cycle. Cortisol should naturally be higher early in the day so if possible, exercising at this point is ideal both biochemically as well as habit - getting it done early means less chance your efforts will get derailed later in the day by other obligations.

It really depends on when you're most likely to actually accomplish your workout.

However, we may have an ideal time for when we want to work out, but family/work/other obligations dictate another work out time. So we have to work with that.

Remember, also that if you are doing a combination of any of these exercises, then that will also make a difference. For example, if you are planning on doing cardio and strength in the same session, I would advise strength first and then cardio, then flexibility.

Flexibility can always be done on its own day or after your workout because your muscles are warm and more pliable.

If you are running, biking or any form of cardio other than swimming then you may want to do it in the early morning or later in the day depending on your schedule. Resistance training in my opinion is a trial and error thing, which ever works best for you not others. Flexibility I think can be done anytime as long as you are warmed up first(not stretching cold muscles). May wake you up more in the morning and may help you sleep better at night.

Yoga is beneficial in the morning , day time or evening, anytime.
Evening you can do a more gentle routine if later at night to sleep well, end with breathing calming exercises and relaxation for best effect. For relaxation, flexibility, strength, yoga is always good.
They have 'a.m. yoga and p.m.' dvd's in fact. I linked some from my recommended yoga dvd's on my site: www.sunlightyoga.com. hope that helps. Morning yoga or daytime can be more vigorous as you like, so can evening, but if later night keep the yoga more gentle for better sleep. Listen to your body.

The best time to work out is a time that you will commit to. Some people use morning workouts to wake them up; others don't yet have the energy to get the best workout in the morning. Some enjoy working out after work to de-stress or because it's conducive to their schedules. It's very individual.

If it fits into your schedule it is the perfect time. It is hard to find time in our busy lives for ourselves so if you have a time of the day that works then that is the best time of day for your workout.

When you can! make it happen!

People workout when they can more than when they'd like to...

But for early morning, classes that aren't complicated are usually best. At 6am the mind isn't always working at top speed so spinning and basic lifting are generally good.

As the day moves on, people are more alert and all sorts of movement is fine. Late at night, yoga is generally preferred.

What I just described is usually what takes shape in practically most group ex programs. It has a kind of circadian rhythm to it.

For flexibility after the body is warm, and or before bedtime. I mention before bedtime as many of my clients tend to have stiff joints or backs and the stretching before sleep helps their body relax and they sleep better.

Everyone has a different body clock, so I would say it is up to the individual. I run at 5:30am, and most people think I am nuts, but that is when I have the most energy!

Consistency is key. So, whenever you will be the most consistent. You will find that different times of the year and of your life call for different workout times. Find yourself putting it off for some reason when you were consistent before? Change your time again. There is not hard fast rule. If you aren't consistent, it won't matter what time of day you skipped your workout!

I agree...the best time, for any workout, is the time that fits into your own schedule and works for you! When clients, that train at consistent times hit a plateau, I recommend that they "fool" their metabolism and mix up their schedules so that they are exercising at times that they're normally relaxing...even just a few times per week. Boy, has this worked for me and many others!

Great anwers! I have one recommendation for safety if you are doing a morning weight or resistance type workout. Save the back exercises for the end of your morning weight workout since the spine and spinal fluids take more time to warm up.

I would say it depends upon whether we are working with someone who is healthy or someone with a clinical condition.

Individuals with arthritis (osteo and rheumatoid) need a lot more time to warm up their joints. Individuals who are living with cancer and undergoing chemotheraphy lose lots of energy and the time of the day they train is variable.

I think it is important to remember that not only healthy people exercise. It's time to be more inclusive as far as exercise is concerned.

In the morning your joints and spine are more vulnerable to injury. It's best to do plyometrics and intense workouts and stretches later in the day.

every body is different, but I base my training off of peak energy times and heavy workouts are best done a few hours after waking up because of disc hydration.