Is There a Best Time to Exercise?

Building an exercise habit often starts with this question: when is the best time for me to work in a workout?

Only about 22% of Americans are meeting the recommended exercise guidelines of 30 minutes a day. While many of us know how important movement is for our overall health and well-being, it’s not always clear how to start building a workout routine. This leads many to wonder - is there a best time of day to exercise?

When is the best time to exercise?

“The best time to exercise is the time that you're going to exercise,” says Tyler Murphy, MD, board-certified internal medicine and lifestyle medicine physician at Holland Hospital. “The body responds physiologically to exercise no matter when it's done.”

Dr. Murphy encourages people to try exercising at different times throughout the week to discover how exercise best fits into their life. “It doesn't matter how or where you start – the more you move the body, the better your health will be in the long run,” he says.

When building your own workout routine, be aware that exercising too close to bedtime may interfere with the body’s normal cadence of slowing down and sending the cues that induce sleep. Because of this, most people probably shouldn't exercise within two to three hours of bedtime.

“For most people, exercising in the morning is better,” says Matthew Hilton, DO, board-certified family medicine and sports medicine physician at Holland Hospital. Not only does morning exercise give you a rush of endorphins at the start of the day, but prioritizing your workout helps you accomplish that challenge before the stress and demands of the day make fitting in your workout more difficult.

Consistency is key.

To see results from your workout routine, you need to be consistent. However, this does not mean working out at the same time every day. If the time for your workout on Monday doesn’t work for you on Wednesday, Dr. Hilton says that’s not a problem. “It’s more important that you exercise on a regular basis, multiple times a week,” he says. “The more consistent you are, the better your results are going to be.”

Regardless of when you choose to work out, it’s important to remember that activity doesn’t have to look the same for everyone. “Exercise should be fun and enjoyable,” says  Dr. Hilton. “It can be yard work, house projects or more traditional activities like weights or running.”

If you need help starting an exercise program, talk to your primary care doctor. For all of your sports medicine needs, check out Holland Hospital’s new Sports Medicine collaborative with Shoreline Orthopedics.