Tuesday, March 13, 2007

When you hit the gym can impact your results

Early birds get cardio boost; afternoon exercisers can cut down on stretches

... Personal trainers and experts on exercise say the effectiveness of your gym time depends partly on your body rhythms as well as what exactly you're trying to get out of it — whether it's losing inches around your waist or putting inches on your biceps.

...clients who want to build muscle mass to hit the weights in the afternoon. In the morning there isn't enough glycogen in our muscles, or stored fuel, to support an effective workout.

...There are, of course, pluses to working out in the morning too. May recommends it for people whose main priority is losing weight.

...
say you're probably better off spreading it out in frequent intervals throughout the week, rather than saving it all up for one hellish day or the weekend.
Some say that it's best to do weight training early in the morning, based on testosterone. More testosterone is available around the time a male wakes up, which is the physiological reason why men get morning erections or "morning wood." Because of this, some think pumping iron in the morning is taking advantage of the situation.

But the testosterone is there in the morning for other purposes besides lifting weights. Cortisol is higher in the morning too and this supposedly makes it a less optimal time to train with weights. And there's less glycogen and less flexibility in the morning as well.

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