What is the best time of day to workout? From weights to cardio, here’s how to maximise weight loss

EXERCISING can be a lot of effort - so you want to make sure that you're really reaping all the rewards.

It's not all about fat-burn; exercise can help to lift your mood, to improve sleep, to make you feel more alert.

To experience those effects, however, you've got to see how your workouts fit into your overall regime.

We already know that you can't out-train a bad diet, so if you're continuing to eat a load of rubbish, the chances are that you'll be missing out on any fat-burning potential.

But how does the time of day affect things?

Morning - fasted cardio (best for fat burning)

"Training in the morning helps to boost metabolism, increase energy and improve our mood," PT Josiah Hunt, tells The Sun.

The jury is still out about just how effective fasted cardio is for actually burning fat itself. One study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, showed that when you do cardio on an empty stomach, you can burn up to 20 per cent more fat.

But others claim there's no real physical difference between running before or after your first meal of the day.

Fans say that fasted cardio is so effective because those crucial eight-ten hours when you're not eating anything overnight forces the body to conserve any carbs and start looking towards fat for fuel.

That means that fasted morning cardio uses more fat than say, evening cardio where you're burning off energy stored during the day.

But there's more to fasted cardio than the immediate fat burn.

The other benefits that come from it are the fact that you have to delay breakfast - therefore creating a shorter eating window, minimising the risk of snacking and poor food choices.

It also allows you a little breathing space first thing, which can help to mentally set you up for the day. There's nothing like being out in the fresh air at the crack of dawn to wake you up and blow away the sleepy cobwebs.

Lunchtime - yoga/pilates (best for an afternoon lift)

Coffee no longer working to get you out of that 3pm slump?

Try popping out for an hour at lunchtime for a yoga or pilates session. It'll make you feel rejuvenated for the afternoon.

Often those mid-afternoon lulls are caused by dips in blood sugar. If you start working out at lunchtime, you often have to delay your actual lunch (which will probably have to be al desco).

If you normally eat at 1pm, that means waiting until 2pm to eat...and that pushes your afternoon slump to around 4pm - which, if you finish at 5pm, is almost hometime anyway.

Not only do you feel more alert for the rest of the day but that also means that you're probably less likely to do any afternoon snacking.

Stretching and toning classes like yoga and pilates allow for the body to reset after a morning of being slumped over a desk/dealing with stress that often materialises in shoulder tension.

They also demand that you become mentally, as well as physically, relaxed. Perfect for getting over any awful morning meetings or your boss' unreasonable demands.

Evening - weights - (best for a good night's sleep)

Josiah said: "Training in the evening helps us to sleep better and fall asleep faster. It also helps to release stress."

While exercising in the morning and afternoon is fab for making you feel more alert, noctural exercise is supposed to help alleviate insomnia (albeit over time).

Several studies have shown that people's sleep quality is significantly improved with exercise, and that over time, insomniacs can also see a reduction in the number of hours spent tossing and turning.

According to scientists from Appalachian State University, those who hit the weights room at 7pm sleep better than those who don't work out at all or those who hit the gym during the day.

Their study found that people who lifted weights first thing in the morning are best at falling asleep, but those who did it in the evening found it easier to stay asleep.