The Best Time to Workout
There is no scientific proof as to when the best time to work out is. Some believe the morning is best because you have just woken up and have the most energy. Others believe working out in the evening is best as a stress reliever from the day. The truth of the matter is; there is no best time to work out, it is all about what works for you. When finding a gym, you should visit the gym at the times you plan on going to see how busy it is.
Times to Avoid
Gyms are generally the busiest before the morning commute and in the evening after the standard work day. These times are from about 6:30-8:30am and 4:30-7:00pm. Obviously most people are constrained on when they can go to the gym because of their work schedules. The reason for avoiding the gym at this time is because the amount of people using all of the exercise equipment can be detrimental to your workout. If it takes 5 minutes to get on another piece of equipment, that is 5 minutes wasted where you could have been exercising.
Off-peak Times
The times immediately before the morning and evening rushes are often the least crowded times to frequent the gym. Day time is also a decent time to go. Usually at the larger gyms, this is when they have a lot of their classes and the cardio and weight lifting areas are quite open.
Listen to Your Body
If you feel stiff and half asleep waking up and working out, you should try to exercise later in the day once your body has been moving. Working against your body’s mechanics like that not only lowers the productivity of the workout but raises the potential for injury.
If you are feeling drained at the end of the day by the time you get to the gym, you should try getting your exercises in earlier to get the most out of your workout.
If neither of those works, there is always the lunch time approach. Many people go to the gym on their lunch break to crank through their program. It takes about 30-45 minutes to get a solid workout in. This does not include the commute time. If you don’t have that much time, try talking to your boss about maybe coming in a little earlier or leaving a little later to accommodate your workout schedule.