Should you do aerobic exercise in the morning or in the evening?

The answer is clear - there is no absolute optimal solution. The time that suits your schedule, physical condition and exercise goals is the best time.

The two veterans around me who have been exercising for three years are the best examples: Lao Zhou is a retired teacher. He goes to the park for a five-kilometer run at six o'clock every day. He says that after the run, he feels completely refreshed. When he comes back, he buys vegetables and has breakfast, and he doesn't feel sleepy all day long.； Xiao Yang is an Internet operator. He works overtime until 7:30 every day. After dinner, he goes to the gym to ride a spinning bike for 40 minutes at 8:30. He said that he has lost all his anger about changing the plan for the day. He goes home and falls asleep. Even the insomnia before is mostly gone. Do you think who of the two made the wrong choice? All correct.

Of course, that’s not to say it’s completely unscrupulous. Many people who support morning oxygen most often say that it’s highly efficient in burning fat. This is indeed supported by research – in the morning on an empty stomach, glycogen reserves have been depleted overnight. During this time, the proportion of fat energy supply can be 10%-20% higher than in the evening. In addition, many fat loss bloggers on the market are promoting fasting aerobics, and many friends who want to burn fat will do it in the morning.

But I advise you not to rush to set the alarm clock. There are many pitfalls with morning oxygen. The biggest pitfall I encountered before was that I didn't warm up enough. It was freezing cold in the winter morning, so I went out wrapped in a down jacket, took it off and ran. Within three days, my knees hurt so much that I had to struggle to go down the stairs. The doctor who went to the rehabilitation department said that the human body temperature in the morning is 1 to 2 degrees lower than in the evening, and the viscosity of muscles and joints is high. It is impossible to move even after a 10-minute warm-up, and it is easy to strain. There is also the problem of fasting. If you have low blood sugar, or you did not eat enough the night before, and you run for half an hour on an empty stomach in the morning, you will easily feel dizzy. My former colleague once fell down on the track while running, and was sent to the hospital by a kindhearted person. It was found that he had fainted due to hypoglycemia. Oh, by the way, friends with sensitive respiratory tracts should not join in the fun in the morning. The cold air and haze in autumn and winter mornings can induce coughing or asthma every minute if inhaled, which is not worth the loss.

After talking about the morning, let’s talk about the evening. I am now a regular person who exercises at night. In fact, from the physiological data, during the period from 4 pm to 8 pm, a person's muscle strength, cardiopulmonary function, and flexibility are at their peak throughout the day, and the reaction speed is also faster. The probability of injury during exercise during this period is about 30% lower than in the morning. Since I switched to evening exercise, I have never had the knee pain again. And for office workers, the effect of evening exercise is really great for relieving stress. I changed my plan before so much that I lost my mind. I went for a five-kilometer run by the river and watched the grandparents dance in the square in the wind. All my worries were gone. I fell asleep soon after I went home and lay down in bed. The quality of my sleep was much better than before when I was lying on the bed and scrolling on my phone.

But exercising at night is not friendly to everyone. My sister is a typical counterexample. As long as she exercises for more than half an hour at night, even if she just does soothing yoga, she can keep her eyes open until 2 o'clock. The doctor said that her sympathetic nervous system is particularly excitable and she cannot slow down for several hours after exercising. In this case, you really should not join in the fun at night. There is also a very practical problem. If you get off work late and there is a traffic jam in the city, it will be already nine o'clock by the time you arrive at the gym. After exercising, it will be past eleven o'clock to take a shower. If you have to get up early to go to work the next day, but you will be exhausted, then it is better not to exercise.

In fact, you really don’t need to follow what others say is good, you can just choose according to your own situation. If you don't have trouble getting up, have half an hour to an hour to spare in the morning, don't have low blood sugar or respiratory problems, and want to quickly lose body fat, then morning oxygen is completely suitable for you. Remember to eat half a banana or take two sips of a sports drink before going out, and warm up for 10 minutes. If you have to catch the subway to drop off your kids in the morning and can't spare any time, or you have difficulty getting up and you feel emo when you get up to exercise, then it's fine to exercise at night. Just make sure it ends 1.5 hours before bedtime and don't do too intense jumping exercises.

I had been struggling for a long time before. I checked many papers and asked several fitness coaches. One moment I imitated others to get up early and run in the morning, and the other moment I followed suit and went to the gym at night. After struggling for half a month, I found out that there is no standard answer? I couldn't get up in the morning, so I had to get up and run two steps before going home to sleep. I gave up after three days of persistence. After switching to night time, I would go to the riverside after eating and taking a break every day. I would run two laps and walk two laps. Sometimes I could chat with neighbors who were walking their dogs. Unknowingly, I persisted for almost two years, lost three points of body fat, and even the minor problems in physical examinations were reduced.

Really, we ordinary people are not trying to compete in the Olympics. We cannot compete for the so-called "best time." The best time is the time that allows you to persevere, feels comfortable after finishing, and does not affect your normal work and life. Rather than worrying about morning or evening, putting on your shoes and going out for a few steps is better than anything else.