The time for action is now. It’s never too late to do something
– Antoine de Saint-Exupery
“I couldn’t wake up early in the morning so I skipped the workout?” “I was so busy with work today and so I couldn’t workout” Sounds familiar? It does to me. When I started working out, these were the excuses that I used to give and convince myself to not do a workout. Yes right! Excuses! We all give ourselves excuses and claim that we do not have time. We conveniently persuade ourselves that we avoided the workout, since the timing was not right. While growing up, I have heard a lot of people including parents, teachers, coaches and many others asking me to either study or workout in the morning hours. Hmm. Let us try and look at this suggestion objectively.
Working out in the morning is really beneficial. Especially, I have seen all the Pros (professional bodybuilders / athletes) wake up before 5 am and begin their workout as early as possible. This is a good habit. Because, the body has rested with an 8-hour sleep. Moreover, outdoor workouts like running / cycling / sports etc, can be completed before the sun is up. You are also fresh in the morning and may use this renewed energy to pump out those calories. But, can we all wake up at 5 am?
Firstly, to wake up at 5 am, we need to be in the bed by 9 pm so that we can have at least 8 hours of sleep. This means we need to finish our diner by 6:30-7:00 pm. Secondly, some of us have work patterns wherein we need to work a little late in the night. We have deadlines to complete, which we cannot manage everyday. So does this mean that we should skip the workout and not do it at all?
The answer is NO! The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a 30-min workout in a day, but there is no real preference mentioned there. If you check this with the trainers / professionals / guides they will tell you that the most important aspect is that you need to workout. If you can fix a time, then there is nothing like it. But if you cannot, then do not convince yourself with this excuse.
Most of us have preferences, based on our work timings or our habits. Some of us, are early risers, some of us feel energetic late evenings, some of us like a nice quiet afternoon. When I began working out 5 years ago, I realised that the morning wee hours are excellent for running or cycling. You are fresh, well-rested, the sun is yet to come up. Outdoor activities really work well in the early mornings. A few months down the line, I started hitting the gym. During, the pandemic, I began avoiding crowds and began gymming at odd hours… something like an hour before lunch or after lunch. This is the time when the crowds were lesser and I could completely concentrate on my workout. On a very tiring day, I would clock half hour of yoga / stretching in the evenings or may be a liesure walk. This way, I would decide based on my personal convenience, as to what and when I can do my workout.
The bottom-line is, that it is important to do a workout! Articles available on the web or a chat with fitness trainers, would advise that morning workouts are beneficial, and it is in fact true. But if we reason out with them; practically, nobody would deny the fact that working out any time of the day is always better than missing a workout. The key is to keep a gap of 1 hour for food intake (before / after).
So, the next time your brain tries to coax you into thinking if the the timing is right; silence your brain and get back to your workout! The right time is now!
Stay Fit! Stay Healthy!
My Fitness Notion 