Morning Workouts are Best for Weight Loss and Good Health
Physical activity in the morning—especially when done outside—offers multiple benefits over evening workouts, research reveals
The best time to exercise is… whenever you can. That’s the consensus among researchers who study the benefits of physical activity and the best time of day to get moving. But if your workout goal is to lose weight, or be more productive, or sleep better or promote good health overall, your best bet is to get up and at ’em early.
New research suggests moderate to vigorous physical activity is most effective for weight management if done between 7 and 9 a.m., versus afternoon or evening workouts. People who worked out at least 150 minutes per week, and typically did so early, had trimmer waists and lower body mass index (BMI) compared with people who met that minimum exercise threshold later in the day.
The findings, announced this week and published in the journal Obesity, don’t prove cause-and-effect. But they piggyback on several other studies indicating bigger benefits of early-bird effort.
“This is exciting new research that is consistent with a common tip for meeting exercise goals — that is, schedule exercise in the morning before emails, phone calls or…
