Do I HAVE to
exercise in the morning?
A Commentary by Maia Appleby
Most
personal trainers do recommend working out in the morning, but
it's not the best option for everyone. Aside from the time constraints
imposed on people who work early in the morning, some people
are so sluggish that they won't get the workout they'd get at
a different time.
I've found that whatever a person will
STICK with is his/her best option, in all aspects of fitness.
Studies have shown that morning people are usually more energetic
and more driven than non-morning people, so they would naturally
be more vigilant about exercise. I don't think it's the morning
itself that determines this, but a person's tendency to be a
morning person.
There are certainly benefits to exercising
early in the day, getting your metabolism revved up before you've
had any big meals, but you won't burn twice as many calories
or anything, and if you're not a morning person, you probably
won't enjoy it and therefore won't keep doing it.
If you do exercise later in the day, try
to do it at least three hours before you go to bed, so your
body can wind down. Otherwise, you might have trouble sleeping,
which is totally counterproductive.
Some trainers even take into account the
rise and fall of a person's body temperature throughout
the day, but I don't think you need to get technical.
Whatever fits into your life in a manner that you can
comfortably stick with is your best bet!
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