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

[dawn16]

@hungry_hungry_hippo I had a 7:30-4 work schedule a few years ago and 4:30 pm was my absolute favorite time to work out (except in summer when it's still way too hot out).

Alas, I no longer work that schedule and usually start my workouts at 6 pm.

At this point I would almost rather skip a workout than do it before 8 am. My body hates getting up early, my brain spends the whole time thinking/fretting about the day ahead, I perform worse, I'm tired the rest of the day so I move less overall, and I inevitably get a headache around 11 am that WILL NOT go away. If I go back to commuting every day I'll probably have to do it once in awhile but wow I really would rather not.

 

[ellenaus]

@hungry_hungry_hippo I used to workout in the mornings but I HATE not showering right before bed and I also don't want to not shower immediately after working out so now I always just go right after work at around 6-6:30, shower immediately at home, and then have dinner. Normally this means I end up eating late so I'm still figuring it out

Edit: I am lucky enough to have a gym in my apartment and also a gym at my office that are almost always empty, though. If I didn't, I would probably invest in a home gym because I also HATE the wait at public gyms.

 

[erinwells]

@hungry_hungry_hippo I love afternoon workouts. My prime is between 3-4pm, but I'm at work so I tend to workout afterwards.

 

[hardhat]

@hungry_hungry_hippo I would love to be one of those people who gets up at 6AM and works out but I'm just not. I work out around 5PM after work. I also like showering at night, so I would be showering twice a day three times a week on workout days if I got up in the morning.

 

[godismysavior92]

@hungry_hungry_hippo For me, it’s between 5pm-7pm. While I was at a previous job, I finished at 6pm and would go straight for a run after work, knowing that if I went home first, I’d end up staying at home. Now, working out at home I like to get it done so that I can have a shower after and then sit and chill with my dinner.

If I do it too early, I end up tired for the rest of the day.

 

[dawn16]

@hungry_hungry_hippo I used to work out right after work (6-7pm), at a gym that was connected to my work building (it was literally on the same floor as my desk too). And I will say, the proximity somehow really took out the "mental energy" of going.

Now I WFH due to pandemic, and decided to also workout from home to offset my busy schedule. I wake up, put on workout clothes and a button-up over it (for the Zoom meetings) and then workout as soon as I have an open window of time in my day.

My optimal time is to start working out at 3 or 4, so I aim for that! Otherwise, it will usually be at 5-6.

I am lucky, though, as my company has always encouraged daytime workout breaks (I just never took them in the office b/c I didn't want to deal with hair/makeup/shower) so I don't feel guilty or like I'm doing something "wrong" for squeezing a workout in.

I'm a full-on night owl so even when I've tried to force myself to workout in the AM, it just never panned out. I wasn't fully there or focused so the workout itself was lackluster.

 

[dawn16]

@hungry_hungry_hippo 2-4 pm (every sunday, tuesday, thursday)

 

[zoegirl64]

@hungry_hungry_hippo I've worked out at all times of the day, but I feel the most up to it sometime during the afternoon when I have already been up and about.