Best time to exercise

The best time of the day to exercise your body depends on your daily schedule. Whether you choose to exercise in the morning, midday or midnight doesn’t matter; as long as you are consistent and your effort level is moderate, you will enjoy the benefits of exercise.

Choose a time when you will have all your focus on your workout and not get distracted by activities. Exercise when you will do it most consistently and effectively. Truth is, the benefits of exercise are closely attached to the amount of effort you put into your workout, based on consistency. To decide the best time to exercise, you should put these factors into consideration: location, time of the day, type of exercise, and social settings (with whom).

For most people, exercising early in the morning is better; while for others, it is evening time due to no reason at all. Early morning exercise activates metabolism and rids you of distractions that can derail your regime.

If it is not convenient for you to get up by five in the morning to work out, find a convenient time that suits you.

You can decide to exercise in the afternoon or at night after work; as long as you are consistent with your routine, your health will be better for it.

The American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes (two hours and 30 minutes) a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes (one hour and 15 minutes) a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity.

But what if you’re tight on time? Then, be creative and break up your activity into daily bouts of 3-10-minute increments.

For example:

In the morning, park 10 minutes away from the job and walk briskly.
At lunch, walk 10 minutes in or around where you work.
In the afternoon/evening, walk briskly for 10 minutes to your vehicle.

And there you have a 30-minute workout!