An orthopedic traumatologist and a running coach answer.
This question is discussed in the sports community with the same consistency as, for example, “dogs or cats” among pet lovers or “Apple or Android” among gadget lovers. Scientists decided to clarify and came to the conclusion that training should be completed no later than two hours before bedtime. Is this really true?
Sergey Aleksutov
traumatologist-orthopedist, chief podiatrist of the First professional network of orthopedic salons ORTEKA
The choice of time for training directly depends on your daily routine and lifestyle.
Photo: istockphoto.com
How does exercise affect sleep?
If you can only play sports late in the evening, you still shouldn’t miss this opportunity, says Sergei. Light running, Nordic walking, stretching, and yoga are suitable for training at this time.
Before going to bed, you should not put your body into a stressful state with strength training, team sports and other too intense exercises. They not only negatively affect the quality of sleep, but also lead to chronic fatigue and overstrain of an already heavily stressed body. This condition can cause injuries to muscles, joints and ligaments both during training and at home. The fact is that during training, metabolic processes (metabolism) in the body are activated, primarily in muscle cells.
- Even with moderate exercise, the heart rate increases (rapid heartbeat and pulse), blood flow increases - the amount of circulating blood increases significantly.
- The respiratory organs also work more intensely, because when playing sports, the body needs additional oxygen and nutrients.
- Products formed during the life of cells leave the body more intensively. They enter the bloodstream and are excreted by the kidneys during urination, the skin through sweating, and the lungs during rapid breathing.
Sergey:
Physical activity has a positive effect on the activity of the nervous system, which is forced to control all ongoing processes in the body and adequately solve newly emerging motor tasks. The processes of excitation and inhibition of various nerve centers are carried out more efficiently, and analyzers responsible for the perception of external stimuli work better. But at the same time, the body recognizes physical activity as stress, which stimulates its processes of growth, development and formation. During training, a person feels more energetic, his well-being improves due to the surge of strength. This happens because all vital systems are working to the limit.
Photo: istockphoto.com
When does the body lose weight better?
Jogging is the simplest and most effective method for losing weight quickly.
Running in the evening for weight loss - how to do it right
The best time to get rid of extra pounds is still considered to be the morning, specifically from 8 to 9 am. This is explained by the fact that upon awakening, the human heart beat is low, and the muscles are saturated with energy to a small extent. Therefore, the body begins to feed on energy, which it takes from the reserve, and, as a rule, this is fat.
For this reason, it is believed that this is the best time to lose weight. You should not have a good breakfast before morning exercise, in this case energy will be drawn from recently consumed food, and fat deposits will remain in place.
Additional Information. It is believed that jogging is the simplest and most effective method for rapid weight loss. However, calories are burned during jogging; once you stop the exercise, the process ends along with the mileage.
Strength training is valuable because fat continues to be burned for another 1-2 hours after training. The advantages of such training include significant energy consumption.
What is the best time to exercise before bed?
A study by a group of scientists from Canada found that high-intensity training that occurred between half an hour and four hours before going to bed did not affect nighttime sleep. The participants in the experiment – healthy young and middle-aged people – did not notice any changes. But is it worth relying only on the opinion of scientists? Running coach Alexander Elkonin says that, first of all, you should take as a basis not the results of previously conducted studies, but your own experience and life circumstances.
The choice of time for training directly depends on several factors: your daily routine and lifestyle.
Daily routine and lifestyle
When all the body's systems work intensively, it becomes difficult to fall asleep immediately after stopping physical exercise. It takes time for all processes to normalize. Considering how the metabolism accelerates, it is better to finish the workout no later than two, and preferably three to four hours before bedtime. In addition, during sports, the production of hormones increases, which can also disrupt internal biorhythms. The endorphins and adrenaline produced during training usually prevent you from falling asleep for a long time.
How does body weight affect running speed?
Training for men to pump up the pectoral muscles
Human chronotype
Of course, evening workouts are difficult for a morning person. At the same time, owls, on the contrary, are more comfortable practicing closer to the night. Also, the hours for training should be chosen based on your lifestyle. For example, office work greatly affects the condition of the musculoskeletal system, in particular the spine. Most people do not pay attention to their posture when working at a computer. At the same time, constant stooping leads to overstrain of the muscles, since they are forced to constantly support the body in an unnatural position. Because of this, they become more tired, which affects the quality of training.
Sergey:
It is very important to listen to your body - at the end of a hard day at work, you should not force yourself to go to the gym. Such training will not be effective. Moreover, they can lead to chronic fatigue. Therefore, it is advisable for office workers, especially those who are early risers by chronotype, to exercise immediately after work while they have some strength left. Owls can exercise later, but it is still better to finish the exercises three to four hours before bedtime.
Photo: istockphoto.com
Weight loss issues
When is it better to exercise in the morning or evening to lose weight? The morning is best for training for this purpose. It is during these hours that more fat is burned. Causes:
- Blood sugar is in low concentration. The body is looking for other energy sources. Fat cells are converted into "fuel".
- A very high concentration of hormones responsible for burning fat.
But not everything is so clear in this matter. The employment factor and expert opinions are also important here.
Experts' position
Most people benefit from exercise to combat fat in the morning. In addition, they are easier to incorporate into your schedules and are a great method for fully awakening.
Moreover, many people are already pretty tired by the afternoon. And at this time they don’t feel like playing sports at all.
But for some, morning workouts are torture, true stress for the body. Of course, this is the best time to lose weight, but few people cope with such a load. Loss of muscle mass rather than fat mass may occur. And if a person nevertheless decides to exercise in the morning, he must eat protein foods before that.
If you exercise before breakfast, you will have difficulty maintaining the desired pace and intensity of the workout. The reason is a weak energy level for active fitness.
What are the dangers of evening workouts?
The fact that many people prefer evening workouts is understandable. At this time, you can devote more time to physical activity - after all, few people can afford a two-hour workout in the morning. Evening exercise sessions are easier to plan with a light snack shortly before the start. But there is a trap here: it is not always possible to resist a full dinner. In this case, there is a serious risk that a healthy feeling of satiety and slight drowsiness after eating will lead to skipping a workout altogether.
Alexander Elkonin
founder and coach of the ERA club - Elkonin Running Addicts
There is another risk of evening training - heavy loads in the evening can cause sleep disturbances. Insomnia after hard evening workouts is a common complaint among amateur athletes.
Practical experience shows that the distribution of amateur athletes by training time looks something like this:
- Morning (6:00-8:00) burst of activity among those who run in the morning before work/school or manage to stop by the gym for an hour. Light jogging in the morning is not difficult organizationally, is usually well tolerated subjectively and easily fits into the daily routine.
- The bulk (at least 75%) of visitors to gyms, swimming pools, athletics arenas and jogging tracks in parks occur in the evening hours (18:00-21:00). Such workouts can be made longer and more intense (if you can then fall asleep normally).
Photo: istockphoto.com
Latest Research
There is a certain hormonal surge in the morning, but few people exercise at this time. After lunch, a certain amount of fatigue accumulates. But according to the latest research by sports doctors and fitness specialists, it is in the afternoon that the body’s performance is higher than in the morning and evening.
Special testing was organized. And all its participants claimed that the fat burning classes were very effective. In addition, the strength was preserved for subsequent training. For example, in the morning there was no energy left even to complete several repetitions.
Harm
The negative aspects of the hobby for evening workouts should be considered in conjunction with other parameters:
- How familiar is this mode;
- what is the biological rhythm, physical, emotional stress during the day.
However, it is necessary to highlight some points that apply to most evening sports fans.
- A hard day at work and accumulated fatigue can lead to the fact that the benefits of an evening workout are reduced to a minimum. If classes are completed shortly before bedtime, stimulation of the nervous system will make it difficult to fall asleep.
- Exercising before bed speeds up your metabolism. If you deprive yourself of dinner because of the late hour, your muscles will not receive the biological elements necessary for recovery.
Intense exercise can cause muscle cramps at night. There may be several reasons, including a violation of the water regime (many people avoid drinking a lot at night), temperature changes, and severe overexertion.
Set of exercises
For morning workouts
Running or walking for weight loss: which is better?
The main thing is to understand that the purpose of morning exercises is not so much physical training, but exercises to raise the overall tone of the body and obtain the necessary energy for the whole day. This is also a complex that is aimed at flexibility and improved breathing. Blood circulation should be normalized, organs should be saturated with oxygen.
First of all, start with a warm-up
First of all, they start with a warm-up, using the following exercises:
- When breathing deeply, you need to rise on your toes and raise both arms, then slowly lower as you exhale;
- Rotate your head and turn in different directions;
- Rotation of hands, elbows and shoulders;
- The same with the pelvis and body;
- Rotation of the knees.
After the warm-up is over (its time can be determined independently), proceed to the main part of the classes:
- Squats, which are very good for losing weight, can be done with weights;
- Sitting on your knees on the floor, arms extended in front of you. In this position, sit on the side of the thigh in different directions. Helps remove fat on the sides and tighten the stomach;
- It is highly advisable to do abdominal exercises. This will help get rid of excess fat in the waist;
- It is useful to do leg swings to lose weight on your thighs. You can do this while standing or on all fours. The muscles of the buttocks are also tightened during this exercise.
For evening workouts
Evening workout for weight loss at home involves the following complex:
- Knees raised high. Walk in place for 1-2 minutes;
- Turns the torso, pelvis, head. Wave your arms;
- Raising small dumbbells. With dumbbells you can bend to the side;
- Jumping rope;
- Squats;
- Lifting your legs up while lying on your back.
When is the best time to exercise to lose weight is an individual matter for everyone. First of all, it is necessary to rely on the signals that the body transmits. If after the lesson you feel better, it means that the time for exercise has been chosen correctly.
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