When is the best time to do aerobic exercise?

In fact, there is no "optimal aerobic exercise time period" that applies to everyone. The most suitable time period for you will always be the one that you can persist in for a long time and that your physical condition is suitable for. There is no need to be bound by the various "fat-burning golden period" and "metabolism peak" statements on the Internet. If you force yourself into an unsuitable time, it will be easy to give up halfway.

Lao Zhou, who has been running horses for eight years next to me, always goes out at 6:30 every day and runs 8 kilometers on an empty stomach. His body fat has been stable between 11% and 13% for so many years. He always said that the air by the river is good in the morning, and he feels clear after running. Even the fatigue of sitting in the office for a day is reduced by most. Studies have indeed shown that when doing low-intensity aerobics on an empty stomach, the proportion of fat energy supply will be 10% to 20% higher than after a meal. It is very cost-effective for people who control body fat. But this statement is not without controversy. The sports rehabilitation practitioner I know repeatedly reminded that fasting aerobics is very unfriendly to people with weak blood sugar regulation ability and prone to dizziness. Two months ago, a little girl who had just lost weight listened to the blogger's suggestion and climbed the stairs for 40 minutes on an empty stomach. She fainted directly in the lobby of the unit building and took half an hour to recover.

Since there are suitable people in the morning and there are risks, is the "golden period of exercise in the afternoon" that everyone calls it safer? Indeed, there are many studies on exercise physiology that show that between 2 pm and 5 pm, a person’s muscle strength, joint flexibility, and nerve excitability are at their peak throughout the day. At the same exercise intensity, not only will the performance be better, but the risk of sports injuries can also be reduced by about 30%. In the boxing gym I often go to, the members of the professional team always focus on training aerobic endurance in the afternoon. The coach said that if you train during this period, the same running volume will improve the heart and lungs more efficiently than in the morning and evening. But for most office workers who work from 9 to 5, they are either holding weekly meetings or working on plans during this period. They cannot sneak out and run five kilometers. The operability is too low.

The time most people can squeeze out for exercise is actually after get off work, but there is always a saying on the Internet that "exercise at night can damage the nerves and cause insomnia." This statement actually depends on the person. My former colleague Arlene, who had suffered from insomnia for more than half a year, started doing aerobics for 40 minutes after get off work at 7:30 every day. She fell asleep in less than ten minutes after taking a shower and lying on the bed. Her insomnia was cured by not taking any medicine. ； However, some friends tried running three kilometers an hour before going to bed, but they were not sleepy until two o'clock in the morning. In fact, as long as the exercise time is arranged more than 1.5 hours before going to bed, and you don't do high-intensity aerobics that cause sweating and heart rate to 180, most people will not have the problem of sleep being affected, but it can help relieve the stress of the day's work.

If you really have to worry about which time period to choose, why not first mark out the free time on your schedule and try it for a week. If you don't feel uncomfortable and can persist, then this time period will be your "best aerobic time."