Exercise Timing: Fitness Impact

Squeezing exercise into a busy schedule often means working out whenever you can find the time.

While any physical activity benefits your health, research suggests that syncing your workout timing with your fitness goals could maximize results.

The Study at a Glance

A study involving 27 active women and 20 men examined the impact of workout timing on fitness progress over 12 weeks. All participants began at a similar fitness level and followed a macronutrient-dense diet.

Researchers tracked their strength gains, abdominal fat loss, and other health markers to assess differences in results based on morning versus evening exercise.

Morning Workouts and Their Advantages

For women, strength training in the early morning (between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m.) led to noticeable improvements in lower-body power, such as jump squats. Morning exercise also significantly reduced total and abdominal fat, according to the study.

Interestingly, these changes in body composition occurred without any fluctuations in body weight, highlighting the benefits of morning workouts for fat reduction and lower-body strength.

Evening Workouts Offer Different Benefits

Evening sessions (6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.) yielded different results for female participants. Women working out later in the day saw greater strides in upper-body strength, power, and endurance.

While they still experienced some reduction in overall body fat, it was less pronounced compared to the morning group.

On the flip side, they saw more significant muscle growth, a key consideration for specific fitness goals. Evening exercise was also associated with improved mood, as noted by the authors.

For male participants, evening and morning workouts produced similar body composition changes. However, those who exercised in the evenings achieved a more significant reduction in blood pressure.

Boost Results with Creatine

Regardless of when you choose to work out, adding a creatine supplement can further enhance your strength training results.

Widely studied for its effectiveness, creatine helps build more muscle than exercise alone.

Research shows that individuals taking creatine gained an average of 2.5 pounds of muscle—4 to 5% more than those who didn’t supplement—while losing an additional 1.6 pounds of fat mass.*

To maximize benefits, choose a creatine powder with at least 5 grams of creatine monohydrate, the most researched form of the compound.

A product like mindbodygreen's creatine+ combines creatine monohydrate with 2 grams of taurine, supporting muscle health and recovery.

Women, in particular, have reported energizing their workouts, improving muscle tone, and recovering more effectively with creatine supplements.

Key Takeaway

It’s no surprise that men and women respond differently to exercise, but this study highlights how much timing matters when it comes to body composition, strength gains, and overall fitness improvements.

Aligning your workout schedule with your specific fitness goals—whether it’s fat loss, muscle growth, or mood enhancement—can create a more personalized and effective approach to staying fit.

Ultimately, the best time to work out is whenever fits your schedule and lifestyle. No matter when you exercise, committing to moving your body is what counts most.

But for those who want to get granular, workout timing can add an extra layer of strategy to achieving your fitness goals.

Source: mindbodygreen

The opinions shared in the GymNation blog articles are solely those of the respective authors and may not represent the perspectives of GymNation or any member of the GymNation team.