Best Time of Day to Exercise
Do you know what the best and worst magazines are for fitness and nutrition information?
My votes go for:
Best: Men’s Health magazine – There’s no other magazine that delivers so many research-proven workouts from top trainers along with scientific, evidence-based nutrition and exercise summaries. I take a page or two of notes, references, and ideas every month.
And then there’s the…
Worst: Women’s World magazine – And yes, I read this every week to keep up with what the “masses” are being scammed (I mean “told”) about by this magazine. Each week they promise a new miracle diet.
That said, WW also has some decent research study reviews, which gives us an answer to one of the most common questions I get:
“What’s the best time of day to exercise?”
The answer?
Well, based on research, there are two times that you could consider “the best”.
First, research shows that we’re most limber and physiologically ready for maximum performance at about 4pm.
We’ve been moving and warming up all day, so in theory, that would be a great time to exercise.
That said, I know men and women that have won fitness model contests, powerlifting contests, and Olympic gold medals who train at all hours of the day.
What’s more important to you and I is picking a time for you to exercise when you are most likely to stick with it.
A study mentioned in the latest WW magazine claimed that people who exercise in the morning are MORE likely to stick with their exercise program. And since sticking to a program is one of the BIGGEST problems a TT reader has, then perhaps you need to try morning workouts.
The only problem is that you might need a little extra warm-up time in the morning.
You also need to avoid rounding your back early in the morning, because the discs in your spine swell up overnight…and if you round your back (doing sit-ups, crunches, or exercises with bad form), you have a greater risk of injury with morning exercise.
So listen, here’s the bottom line:
The best time to exercise is on a day that ends in “y”.
That’s right.
Just find what works for you so that you can stick to it.
Because it doesn’t matter when you do Turbulence Training, all that matters is that you are consistent with it.
And that’s one reason why I’m switching a lot of my TT programs to 30-minute sessions done just three times per week, like my smash-hit program, “TT Thermogenic 30“.
TT Thermo-30 was the most popular program of 2012, and for good reason. First, it saved you time, and second, it delivered amazing results. Here’s a “start to finish” success story from long-time reader, Sean Goldsmith:
Sean’s First Email to Me About Thermo-30
“Just started Day 1 of Thermogenic 30. Short, intense workout… Knocked out 5 or 6 of the burpee, goblet squat, burpee closer…Felt like I wanted a longer workout, but I can feel it hanging with me. Good stuff so far. And nice change from the heavier weights I was doing. Will keep you informed as I complete more.
Sean’s Final Email to Me After Finishing 4 Weeks of Thermo-30
“The workouts are short and intense… It doesn’t leave you time to get bored. You blast through a set, sip some water, then jump right back into it. And I enjoy the finisher portion… It’s a personal challenge to knock out as many as possible. The workouts are short, but they leave my muscles burning/quivering for a couple hours after (something I didn’t get from other workouts). Also, during the first two weeks I lost another 3-5 lbs (on top of the 20 I had already lost).
I was stalling, but this produced results. I’ve noticed more definition in my legs and arms with this… toning up. In general, a perfect, before work workout… It’s super intense, but doesn’t take long. And it shreds you up.”
Get the workouts that helped Sean overcome a plateau & belly fat
Working on a 2.0 version of this too,
Craig Ballantyne, CTT
Certified Turbulence Trainer
PS – Sean just sent me a new update…
…after another 4 weeks of TT.
” As of today, I’m under 220… Lost 30 lbs with TT! Thanks for the help and encouragement. Now 20 more to go…”
I’m really proud of him.
And proud of you too, for being an ACTION TAKER.