The secret to getting the most out of exercise? It's not what you do - it's when you do it
Thousands of us started 2023 with new exercise programs promising to get us fit, muscular and lean. But the latest science of chrono-exercise (sometimes called chrono-activity) suggests that what really matters isn't what we do, or even how we do it, but when we do it.
Of course, moving at any time of the day is good. But we now know that our bodies and brains change over the course of 24 hours, with chemicals, proteins and hormones ebbing and flowing almost hourly. It's perhaps unsurprising, then, that a slew of new studies suggest that timing our exercise to optimally match our body's circadian rhythms could reap additional rewards. And that means faster results - and less time in the gym.
A new study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that , for those If we want to avoid heart disease and stroke, the optimal time of day to move is between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. And preferably closer to 11 a.m.: "Late morning seemed like the perfect time," said study author Gali Albalak.
Albalak and his colleagues followed 86,657 participants (aged 42). -76) over a six-year period, using heart rate data collected from smartbands. The data showed the same results regardless of personal chronobiology. In other words, the owls benefited as much as the larks from the morning movement. Women seemed to benefit the most, mirroring previous studies that also found mornings to be a particularly effective time for women. A report from Skidmore College in the United States found that women who exercised in the morning lost more belly fat than women who exercised later in the day. To boot, women who moved in the morning were also more likely to lower their blood pressure. ="model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement" class="dcr-173mewl">
So should we all exercise in the morning and put our feet up at night? Not so fast. When it comes to men or people with type 2 diabetes, the data shows a different picture. Skidmore College researchers found that men who exercised later in the day significantly reduced blood pressure, cholesterol, body fat, and feelings of fatigue.
There's another reason women might not want to shake their booty in the morning and then lounge, righteously, on the couch. For both genders, the optimal time to build and preserve muscle seems to be later in the day. From the age of 30, our muscles...
Thousands of us started 2023 with new exercise programs promising to get us fit, muscular and lean. But the latest science of chrono-exercise (sometimes called chrono-activity) suggests that what really matters isn't what we do, or even how we do it, but when we do it.
Of course, moving at any time of the day is good. But we now know that our bodies and brains change over the course of 24 hours, with chemicals, proteins and hormones ebbing and flowing almost hourly. It's perhaps unsurprising, then, that a slew of new studies suggest that timing our exercise to optimally match our body's circadian rhythms could reap additional rewards. And that means faster results - and less time in the gym.
A new study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that , for those If we want to avoid heart disease and stroke, the optimal time of day to move is between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. And preferably closer to 11 a.m.: "Late morning seemed like the perfect time," said study author Gali Albalak.
Albalak and his colleagues followed 86,657 participants (aged 42). -76) over a six-year period, using heart rate data collected from smartbands. The data showed the same results regardless of personal chronobiology. In other words, the owls benefited as much as the larks from the morning movement. Women seemed to benefit the most, mirroring previous studies that also found mornings to be a particularly effective time for women. A report from Skidmore College in the United States found that women who exercised in the morning lost more belly fat than women who exercised later in the day. To boot, women who moved in the morning were also more likely to lower their blood pressure. ="model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement" class="dcr-173mewl">
So should we all exercise in the morning and put our feet up at night? Not so fast. When it comes to men or people with type 2 diabetes, the data shows a different picture. Skidmore College researchers found that men who exercised later in the day significantly reduced blood pressure, cholesterol, body fat, and feelings of fatigue.
There's another reason women might not want to shake their booty in the morning and then lounge, righteously, on the couch. For both genders, the optimal time to build and preserve muscle seems to be later in the day. From the age of 30, our muscles...
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