We all know that exercise is good for us and we should be at a healthy weight, particularly as we age and as we are lallbeing told to better fight Covid. But is there a right time of day to exercise? Is early morning better than late evening? Research has been carried out to try and answer that very question.
The study entitled ‘Relationship of Consistency in Timing of Exercise Performance and Exercise Levels Among Successful Weight Loss Maintainers’ was carried out in 2019, with 375 participants. The reserachers set out to find which time of day proved to be the most popular amongst those participants who exercised on a regular and consistent basis. After the study had concluded, they were then able to rank the time of day in the following order:
Early Mornings
Evenings
Late Mornings
Afternoon
Those individuals who exercised in the early morning were far more likely to keep it up than those who exercised in the afternoon. The other key finding from this study was that having a regular time to exercise, regardless of what time of day, was hugely beneficial in helping people to stick with their exercise routine.
Ultimately, we all have busy lives with competing demands on our time, even in lockdown, what works for one person will not necessarily work for another. They key is to find a time of day that will work for you. Plan it around your ‘lockdown objectives’, work or the school run, find a time that is convenient for you. Consistency rather than the time of day is key in finding an exercise routine that you can stick to.
So, review your diary, add your entry for exercise and stick with it. This will ensure that you get far better results than just trying to exercise on an ad hoc basis. Consistency is king!
When do you exercise, do you have a favourite time? Go on give it all a go.