Exercising in the evening is better for weight loss than a morning workout
Forget getting up early to get your workout in - you may be faster and stronger in the evening
DOES the thought of getting up before work to exercise fill you with horror?
If so, you're in luck - because exercising in the evening may actually be better for weight loss than morning workouts.
A review of two studies looking into body clocks and physical activity has concluded that exercising in the evening may be more productive.
"It's quite well known that almost every aspect of our physiology and metabolism is dictated by the circadian clock," said senior author of one of the studies, Gad Asher of the Department of Biomolecular Sciences at the Weizmann Institute of Science.
"This is true not only in humans but in every organism that is sensitive to light. We decided to ask whether there is a connection between the time of day and exercise performance."
The studies looked at the association between time of day and exercise performance primarily in mice.
We produce a performance-enhancing chemical in the evening
Because mice are nocturnal, scientists first had to translate mouse hours into human ones.
One study saw the little rodents being put on treadmills at different times of day within their active hours.
Scientists then examined the exercise capacity of mice on different exercise intensities and regimes and found that overall exercise performance was significantly better in the "mouse evening" compared to morning hours.
They also found that in the "mouse evening", the critters had higher levels of a metabolite called ZMP, which is responsible for metabolic regulation.
It's actually a compound that some athletes use for doping, and scientists concluded that the increased production of ZMP may explain why they performed better later on in the day.
Scientists also looked at 12 humans and found similar results.
Exercise is more effective in the evening
People tended to exercise more effectively in the evening compared to the morning thanks to the fact that they had lower oxygen consumption.
The second study also involved mice being on treadmills but this time, scientists also recorded the changes that happened to their muscle tissue in response to exercise.
They found that a protein known as HIF-1a played an important role and was activated by exercise in different ways depending on the time of day.
But our metabolisms may be faster in late morning
Interestingly, that let them to conclude that exercise seems to have a more beneficial impact on metabolism in the late morning rather than in the evening.
But neither study found that working out first thing was the optimum choice.
It's important to stress that this is just the start of working out when the best time of day to exercise is, and that these studies were actually conducted in a lab - meaning that external lifestyle factors weren't present.
Exercise is great for you - whatever time you do it
If you enjoy working out before work, carry on.
But if you really struggle in the mornings, don't force yourself to go against your body clock - evenings are just as good and perhaps even better.
"There is lots of contradicting research into the benefits of training in the morning vs. the evening and think it is really important to look at this very individually and not get too stressed about the detail," Melissa Weldon, PT at , told The Sun.
"There have been studies to suggest that training in the morning is more beneficial for fat-loss, but I really do think it depends on personal preference, in regards to when an individual is able to both commit to consistently and work the hardest.
"In contradiction to the claims, someone working in a fasted state, could struggle with their energy levels and get less from their workout than if they trained, for example, after breakfast or at lunchtime."
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Melissa told us that unless you're an elite athlete, timing probably doesn't matter too much.
"The most important thing is to find a time that works for you, that you can commit to regularly and that you are mentally prepared for.
"I personally find I perform at my best between 9 and 3pm, when I feel optimally fuelled and mentally prepared to go to the level I need for my goals."
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