Are you too busy in the morning to train?
Need to focus more on preparing for work so you choose to train in the evenings?
Well, you’ll be happy to know that there’s not much difference between training in the morning and the night. In fact, both have different benefits. Whereas you might burn more fat in the morning, during the day in when your body temperature is at its highest and you are able to build muscle more efficiently.
Many of us have work or other commitments and waking up an hour earlier to go and train just doesn’t feel right or fit adequately into your schedule and so we brave the peak traffic in the gyms and wait the entire day to feel the burn.
Here are a few ways to improve the way you train in the evening to maximise your workout and reach your goals faster.
1. Look forward to training for longer
While people who train in the mornings settle into their routine, there is still the reality that you have other things to do in the day as well. Occasionally, this means that morning workouts may be slightly more rushed than evening workouts because you can’t be late for work, or you have other errands to do that require your attention.
Don’t you just love training in the evening? You’ve just got through another day and now you can relax and enjoy having the peace of mind of being able to train without being rushed and with nothing ahead of you other than dinner, possibly a movie and sleep.
2. Use it as a means to decrease stress
Now that you’ve got your peace of mind, you should already be slightly less stressed, but if you’ve had a rough day (we all do once in a while) then use your workout to limit your stress. Exercise is one of the main methods people use to counteract life’s stress due to how it releases endorphins and transports your mind away from any problems you may be having.
By finding workouts that you enjoy you’ll have an outlet in the evening to release the tension and go to bed sleeping soundly.
3. Plan your workout during the day
To make your workout that much more effective, take time out of your day to plan what you’re going to train in the evening. You have all day to prepare so this means that you can use your lunch break to not only do a few stretches (because you’re sitting at your desk most of the day) but focus on what you did the day before and what you should train today.
Putting a little bit of time during the day to plan your workout gives your routine a more rigid structure and allows you to know what you’re doing beforehand.
4. Make it a routine
There has been some evidence relating to training in the evening and people not being able to sleep properly. This is normally for people who are just starting out training and although it may be a deterrent at first, whenever you decide to train your body will need to adapt to the extra intensity.
The best way to counteract this is to make it a routine. Focus on training in the evening at regular intervals so that your body becomes accustomed to exercising and you’ll soon be sleeping fine.
5. Focus on full body workouts rather than cardio
Another way to sleep better is to avoid doing intense bouts of cardio in the evening. Cardio boosts your heart rate, gets your blood pumping and will cause you to feel more alert. While this is a good thing, it may not be such a good thing in the evening because you’ll struggle to get to bed (it’s like drinking coffee).
As everything goes hand-in-hand, you also build muscle more efficiently later in the day than in the morning. There has been research that has suggested that you don’t build muscle as efficiently in the morning and that later in the day is an ideal time for bulking. Focus on full body exercises with weights at night rather than intense cardio and you should be good to go.
6. Eat the majority of your calories for breakfast
Nutrition, as always, is an essential part of your workout. Whereas in the morning you’ll be more focused on lighter meals to simply give you an energy boost, if you’re training in the evening you should eat most of your calories for breakfast so that you have adequate energy throughout the day and that your muscles have something to feed off when you’re training.
It is also advisable to have a snack before your evening workouts rather than a pre-workout supplement as this will also affect your sleeping patterns, and sleep is essential for recovery.
7. Eat correctly throughout the day
While your focus may be on calorie content, you should always maintain a balanced diet of carbs, fats and protein that is healthy for you. Because you’re training at night, your post-workout meal will differ heavily from the one that you may have in the morning. At night, you won’t want to overload too much and this is why you should mainly focus on proper nutrition during the day to give you the energy to train efficiently in the evening.
To tap into your body's full potential by upgrading to Health Fit.
Stay up to date with the latest tips, trends and advice from the DNAfit wellness team. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, and we’ll send you more helpful content straight to your inbox! Just fill in the form below. 👇
