Best Time To Exercise To Burn Fat!!
Best Time To Exercise To Burn Fat!!
Depends On Your Goal
Exercise is essential to weight loss and burning fat. That fact is obvious to most of us. However, the best time of day to exercise to burn fat may not be so obvious. If your goal is to burn the maximum amount of body fat in a minimum amount of time, then first thing in the morning is definitely the best time. Working out on an empty stomach is also known as the fasted state cardio. This prompts the body to burn fat at a faster rate than working out later in the day.
Morning Is Better To Burn Fat
Research shows that exercising in a fasted state increases both lipolysis and fat oxidation. Lipolysis is the breaking down of fat cells for energy. It is best to exercise while your insulin levels are low. This will allow your body to mobilize and burn significantly more fat. Glycogen levels decrease overnight to fuel basic metabolic processes. Because your glycogen levels are low in the morning, exercising at that time burns fat instead of carbohydrates or glycogen.
Glycogen levels are higher at other times of the day due to nutrients that are consumed through your meals. This means that your body will preferentially burn through blood glucose before utilizing fat. In addition, blood flow in the abdominal region is increased when you’re in a fasted state. This is important because one of the problems with “stubborn fat” in this region is reduced blood flow. Less blood flow means less fat-burning chemicals and thus less fat loss.
Afternoon/Evening Is Better To Build Muscle
When you exercise in the morning it maximizes metabolic change. It does this by making your body burn calories at a higher rate post-workout. Therefore, your metabolism increases for several hours following intense exercise. Your metabolism actually slows in the evening. So working out at night lessens the fat-burning benefit of exercise. However, I personally prefer to exercise in the evening when my glycogen levels are higher in order to allow for maximum performance.
I find I am much stronger in the evening when my glycogen levels are high than first thing in the morning. So in closing, the best time of the day to exercise really depends on what your fitness goals are. If you’re after maximum performance and strength, you probably want to exercise in the evening. This is due to the fact that your glycogen levels are elevated in the evening. But if your goal is to maximize body fat burning, then exercising first thing in the morning is better.
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