What’s your optimal workout time(s) and what time do you actually do it?

H

hungry_hungry_hippo

New member
I’m curious to know what everyone’s optimal workout time is. For example, do you feel like you have the best workouts in the morning at 5am, or closer to 11am? Or do you feel pumped and good to go at 9pm?

I’ve been experimenting with workout times and find at brunch time (10-11am) I feel the best, but unfortunately only am able to accomplish this over the weekend.

Otherwise I try to wake up at the crack of dawn (6am) just because I’ve found after work (5-7pm) IS THE WORST. I’m tired from work even though it’s not physical - just mentally drained. And the gym is packed so I’m guaranteed to wait for something.

So my order is:
1. 10-11am
2. 5-6am
3. 6-7pm

So Ill work out my second least favorite time, too early in the morning for me (a night owl).

Sigh! Wish I could work out during work M-F!
 
@hungry_hungry_hippo Im a mailman i started working out after my shift 8-5 not only i trained my body also my mind, your the captain of your vessel eventho im tired im always saying to myself that "no excuses i rather walk far enough rather to stay in one place" life is a battle field im already in pain i just learned to embraced it.
 
@hungry_hungry_hippo I like to work out 7-10:00 pm (not as in I work out three hours a night that's just my window I want to be within)

I like twilight to night time but not super late because I have no dog and feel conspicuous out by myself after ten. I am literally considering it a perk of getting a dog lmao.

I don't do anything in the early mornings. If I'm having a good weekend with enough rest I might be awake and moving about by ten but I can't build daily workouts around that and generally I have childcare responsibilities whereas I wait until 7-8:00 pm and try to go do stuff while it's cool and he's sleeping with my spouse home to watch him.
 
@hungry_hungry_hippo The brunch hour is the best for me too. I work from home still so I just move my lunch hour a little earlier and go to the gym. Since I’m working from home, I don’t feel bad about sitting around sweaty until later on and I just wash my face and get a little cleaned up for zoom. Not sure how I’ll adapt this once I have to go back but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
 
@hungry_hungry_hippo My best time is around 11am or later in the afternoon (right before or after lunch). Unfortunately on the weekdays I usually get it in around 7am or 7-8pm because of work and school. When I was in college I learned that my absolute WORST time was 5 am unfortunately because that was the time we worked out for my sport everyday. I’ll be glad when I’m done with grad school and can start working out right after work.
 
@hungry_hungry_hippo My fav time is around 8 or 9pm. I like to workout hard so I'm completely exhausted. A good sweat session, a nice hot shower to relax & then a tv episode, audiobook or podcast to ease me into sleep. That is my ideal.

My sister is staying with me now, tho, while she's going to school so sometimes I have to shift my workout to the morning because she finds my workouts too distracting while she studies. But I don't like working out early. I'm not a morning person & I suffer from chronic fatigue and anemia. So I don't like to expend all of my limited energy/strength so early in the day. I've only got so much, man lol I've got to ration it. Working out early then commuting is physically a lot for me.

But, yeah, I prefer nighttime workouts. It's something I can do with my partner or a friend & it helps my sleep quality. In the mornings I just prefer a cup of coffee & an audiobook/podcast while I get ready.
 
@hungry_hungry_hippo I'm most in tune with myself and alert in the mornings, and love a morning run. Weekend workouts are around 9 am.

Ideally I want to start waking earlier on weekdays and workout 6 am followed by 7 am cool down walk. Realistically this happens whenever I remember which is usually at 9 pm when dinner and work is out of the way. I try to go for a sunset walk if I can fit it in though because the view of the sky/park is therapeutic.
 
@hungry_hungry_hippo I strongly prefer early mornings (as in 5 or 6am). I work with a trainer, and the earliest sessions they will do are 6am. So for me 6am most weekdays - sometimes I ride my bike there and back, which means I leave here about 5amish.

Lately I've had to do some afternoon sessions - and I used to loathe these with a passion, and I created a psychological barrier to enjoying them but post our most recent lockdown, I am just so appreciating being back training that I've been enjoying those too! Which is awesome!!

Occasionally my routine dictates that I only have time for early evening workouts, and although I can find myself enjoying them, while I'm doing it, I have a lot of trouble winding down enough to sleep afterwards.
 
@hungry_hungry_hippo i strongly prefer working out first thing in the day. which means starting anywhere between 530 and 7 AM on weekdays.

i will haul my ass out of bed at 4 in a snowstorm to go to the gym sooner than i'd rock up to the 6pm crowds after a whole day of work.
 
@hungry_hungry_hippo Everyone seems so much more scheduled than I am. You’re all super heros to me. Mornings make me crabby, my heart rate is higher, and my anxiety is up. No way I want to try to work out through all of that. Plus, when I did try mornings, people were chatty at the gym. I just don’t see the gym as a social place and at 5 am, I’m not ready to wear my mask for the day. Evening workouts are great. Lots of people, but no feels the need to talk to me. It’s before dinner and long enough after lunch that I don’t get an upset stomach. It’s my most naturally motivated time of day. I don’t have to hype myself up.

TLDR: 6pm
 
@hungry_hungry_hippo I work out in the mornings most of the time, between 7-8am start. Some days if I'm having trouble getting going in the morning I'll go to the gym after work instead, but I find the consistency and routine is best when I go in the AM to start my day. Plus I feel like it helps me jumpstart my day and get going with everything else I wanna get done, rather than rolling out of bed and straight to work.
 
@hungry_hungry_hippo 5-6PM on weekdays. Right from my office to the studio. If my butt hits the couch, I'm done.

On weekends, I'm usually up by 7 or 8, so the earlier the better so I can spend rge rest of the day working/playing.
 
@hungry_hungry_hippo
  1. 3pm - 4pm. optimal! the hardest part of the workday, when I get snacky or my focus flags. a workout is the perfect solution to get my blood flowing again and perk me back up. alas I could only get away with this when I was working from home though.
  2. after work but before dinner. same reasons above, except I am a bit more tired. but I like how it transitions my mind from the work day to evening. invigorates me and gives me something to look forward to during afternoon doldrums.
  3. ~10am. I'm awake enough to want to move around, and not tired from the day.
when I worked from home, I'd take a fast walk around 10am and then a strength workout in the afternoon -- it was perfect. now I walk at lunchtime and workout after the office ~5pm, which is almost as good. I will NEVER be a morning workout person though haha.
 
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