Having spare time is the constraint that plays a vital
role for the people to choose when to exercise. Each and every individual have
their own idea about the best time to exercise, some prefer it so early in the
morning and some others prefer it either in the evening or during afternoon. Despite this, for most it may be a huge challenge to
exercise successfully in the morning. We experience feelings of perceived
weakness, low energy and poor motivation in comparison to exercise sessions
taken later in the day – but why is this and what could be the root cause? There are various reasons for such a negative early
morning exercise experience. Some potential causes are discussed below:
Body Clock, Body Function and Body Routine
Its
human kind that if we do something consistently for long period then we feel
convenient and get accustomed to perform the task at the same time even it is
not the best time of doing. The same thing applies to exercise also and any
change in the timings will potentially translate in to a feeling of low energy
and decreased performance i.e. weakness, lack of pace, etc. It’s applying
something consistently that allows our body to adapt to something and respond
accordingly.
Body and Muscle Temperature
Exercise
that involves explosive and quick paced movements activate fast twitch muscle
fibers to successfully perform the movements. This requires higher body
temperatures that are most often experienced late in the afternoon or evening.
This makes the performers feel more energetic and with increased performance
when such workout is done during late afternoon or evening.
Flexibility and Warm Up
Flexibility
is low during morning as the body will be in lower temperature and also it has
been in relaxed state all the night making specific movements and stretch
limits restricted, directly effecting performance of exercise in terms of
speed, strength and power.
Mind and Motivation Status
Being
more positively concerned to exercising at the times we are unaccustomed to can
make a huge difference to how we approach the exercise and how we feel during
it. Believing that we can perform well, will translate into a solid
exercise performance – difficult to do, but certainly possible to achieve. Technology blessed fitness and health gadgets supports in motivating by showing the targets to be accomplished.
Hydration Status
Early
in the morning when we wake up, we are most dehydrated and this will play havoc
on our ability to function and perform specific tasks – including exercise. The
best solution to this potential problem is to consume a large glass of water soon
after wake up.
Sleep Quality and Quantity
Best Time of Day to Exercise for Better Performance
Our energy levels will
naturally be higher in the morning because of good sleep. Oversleep will result
in deep feelings of tiredness. The darker the room, the better the sleep one
can experience due to release of the hormone Melatonin, which promotes sleep
quality.
Wake Up and Rise Time
Aim to get up at least
90 minutes before workout so as to allow the body to wake up and prepare for the
stressful events ahead. Once after wake up make sure to expose yourself to
bright light in order to activate the body’s natural body clock.
Nutritional Strategy
Relevant snack at
least 60 minutes before workout will improve the performance and top up blood
sugar and energy levels.
The best time of the day to perform exercise is the time of day that
best works for you. The highest level of performance can be expected only at the time
when we consistently follow, as body gets habituated to that time. Accepting
that we cannot always be on top in every single exercise session, will help to
remove any negative thoughts about the entire situation, and this can really
help to move on and improve greatly in the future.