Is it better to train in the morning or the afternoon?
Should I do weights first or cardio?
I regularly get asked these questions, or something similar, and here’s what I think…
It really all depends on your SPECIFIC GOALS and what routine works best for your lifestyle! (I’d also be suggesting that resistance and cardio work can often be achieved in the one workout.)
Rather than making a law of: YOU MUST ALWAYS DO WEIGHTS BEFORE CARDIO, or YOU MUST DO CARDIO FIRST THING IN THE MORNING, here’s some factors you may want to take into consideration:
1. If you HATE training in the morning then don’t!
If you make yourself do something that you hate just because you may get a slightly greater benefit, you won’t keep doing it for long. You’ll lose that slight benefit over time because you’ll come to dread your workouts and you won’t put 100% effort into it. Go and train in the afternoon, enjoy the experience and work at 100%.
2. Do what you dislike most, FIRST.
If you really dislike cardio then I’d suggest you do that first. This way you get it over and done with while you’re enthusiastic. If you leave it until the end you’re more likely to convince yourself to skip it all together.
3. Think about your time.
Most of us don’t have the luxury of picking and choosing when we can train – it’s more a matter of taking any chance you get. This is the perfect time! It’s the perfect time because it’s valuable and you’ll make the most of it. Who cares if it’s morning or afternoon – you’ve got some time so use it wisely.
4. What are your specific goals?
Most people don’t have specific goals (which will all change if you’re starting our FREE Challenge soon) so this makes exercise planning more difficult. How do you structure a routine when you don’t even know what the goal is? First step: give yourself a goal to achieve!
Your specific goals will determine how and when you should train. For example, if you had a marathon race on a Sunday 7am start, then that’s when I would be planning my long runs – Sunday mornings at 7am. Specificity is important – we want to get the body ready for exactly what we want it to do. If you were doing an obstacle race and you knew the last part was a 400m swim, then I’d be doing circuit style resistance training first and finishing off with some swimming.
5. Add variety.
This is important as our body adapts relatively quickly to routines, movement patterns and workouts. Add some spice to your training and mix things up a bit to give your body a wake up call. Don’t be one of those people to go to the gym at the same time every day, jump on the same bike, ride for the same amount of time, at the same pace and expect to see any results. Change something and challenge your body (and your mind) with variety.
ANY exercise, at ANY time is good!
Whenever you put the most effort into the exercise is the best time for you. You should be looking at your specific goals, what you want to achieve from your training, what time you have available and most importantly…. what you are going to enjoy.
- Would you like to join me for FREE live fitness sessions?
- Would you like me to motivate you every single day to do keep pushing towards your goals?
- Would you like a FREE meal plan with SBF recipes?
- Would you like to join our private Facebook support group and participate in live Q&A’s?
If the answer is HELL YES!!!! Then then come and join my
TOTALLY FREE: 3 DAY KICK START
