What time of day is the best to exercise?

[Early Kids]

Just wondering what time of day is the best time to get the most from exercising?

After a meal, before?
Morning, afternoon?

Is there such a thing as a 'bad' time to exercise (when you are not likely to get the optimum out of the exercise)?

I know any exercise is good, but just wanting to try and exercise at better times to get the most out of it that's all

Thanks x

[Ngala]

Exercising at the best time is different for everyone.
My personal thought (and what I do) is exercise first thing in the morning, before you have breakfast but that all depends if you are able to do that!
If you cant do that, then I would say exercise at some point during the morning would be best because then you body will continue to burn calories throughout the day.
Its best to exercise before a meal too, because sometimes what you eat can make you reall lathergic etc. You could have a small snack about an hour before going for your exercise. And don't eat for atleast 30 mins after an exercise so that your metabolism keeps working on burning those calories.

[Early Kids]

Thanks

I have been doing 10mins on the vibration machine every morning, I get the boys their breakkie, then exercise then do some vacuuming etc and have my breakkie about an hour later. I then try and do 10 mins again about lunch time and 10mins before going to bed.

[Phteven]

I agree with the PP who said that you have to find what works for you. What works for me is working out mid-morning. I used to work out before breakfast but for me I can go harder and thus get more from my workout if I have some fuel in my tank (also the kids are at school then lol).
Also with the eating thing, if you just want to burn calories then avoiding food is a good idea but if you want to gain muscle (which is great for weigh loss) then a protein hit within 30 minutes of a weights session can help your body to build muscle.

[Feijoa Mum]

For me personally I find its best in the morning.
It wakes me up and gets me going for the day. Seriously the state I walk into the gym in the mornings is just shocking!!I literally roll out of bed into my clothes and shoes. Pull my hair out of my face and sometimes if I am awake enough I will brush my teeth and wash my face. If not, I dont!

But after I have wroked out I feel awake refreshed and ready to face the day. So I get home and if the kids are up then I will start the breakfast if they arent I will jump in the shower. Its done and dusted and the rest of the day is mine.
If DH is on dayshifts then I cant go in the morning and by the time he gets home it really is a struggle to get out door. My motivation just isnt there and I want nothing more than to relax and hand the kids over. Not go sweat my ar$e off. I also find I start dreading it knowing that I am going to have to go soon.

So I vote for mornings

[Early Kids]

Thanks!

So it doesn't really matter what time of day, as long as it works for you?

[Glamourcide]

I've heard it's best to do it in the morning (before brekky) as it kick-starts your metabolism and your body will buuuurrrrnn through calories for the rest of the day. But, you have to do what works for you and obviously doing 60 mins of exercise throughout the day is better than trying to fit in only 10mins in the morning, itms? I personally like to break my exercise up throughout the day - I get in about 10mins on the treadmill of a morning while the girls are eating breakfast, then I will do blocks of 15 to 45 mins during the day whenever I can find the time. I try to total at least 70 minutes of exercise (I'm a sucker for sugar, if I could cut it out of my diet I'd be less strict on exercising but I can't live without it, so I make up for it in other ways lol) a day, and I generally find that I can get the most done in the evenings when the kids are settled. At that time, I jump on when one of 'my shows' starts and will pound it for 25-min blocks, broken up by light weights and push-ups/sit-ups etc. So that gives me a solid hour if I haven't had a chance to do much during the day, or I can take it easy and do a half hour and then relax and watch the rest of my TV show in peace

Good luck, just keep forcing yourself to do it and you'll soon find a routine that works for your situation and daily routine It certainly doesn't do any harm to exercise at any time of the day - if you're doing it at all, it's a great thing!