An Effective Workout Is the One That Gets Done

We all hear it so often and I feel like it’s something that needs to be addressed. “Get up early and get your workout done!” followed by the sudden onslaught of posts/pictures of folks getting their workouts done at 5 am or 6 am. But wait! Before you come at me, I’m not saying there is anything wrong with working out in the morning because there isn’t- for those of you who genuinely want to. If it works for you, that’s great! But I feel like there’s this culture and mindset where if you don’t get up obscenely early to workout each day, you’re lazy and won’t achieve your goals. That’s simply not true. Lots of people are on different clocks or schedules per se. Maybe you wake up at 6 am and turn in at 10 pm or maybe you get up at 10 am and turn in at 1:30 or 2 am. We have roughly about the same amount of time in a day and you can be productive in the morning or at night. People are on different schedules and that is okay.

Personally, I’ve never worked out voluntarily early in the morning. For most of my adulting days, my workouts have usually taken place around 10 pm, whether that’s at the GYM or in my home. On the weekends, maybe 5 pm. And I’ve gotten some of the best results that way. So, what I’m trying to say is, and what you might already know going by the title, is that the most effective workout is the one that gets done.

“But exercising on an empty stomach will burn fat in the morning!” To lose weight, to put it simply, we need to be in a caloric deficit. Working out and burning calories can help achieve that and it doesn’t matter what time of day you do that nor does it matter if you have your dinner at 5 pm or 10 pm. As long as you’re in a caloric deficit, you will lose weight. It doesn’t matter if you eat 2 large meals a day or 6 small ones. Caloric deficit. I’ve also never been one to work out on an empty stomach as I lack the energy and fuel to really give a tough workout my all. Sometimes I’ll feel lightheaded and it’s No Bueno. I really struggle to get it done. But maybe it’s tough for you to work out with a full stomach and that’s totally fine too.

So work out when it works for you, no matter what time of day that might be. If you’re working out at 5 am because that’s what the societal expectations are, you’re setting yourself up for failure. If your workouts aren’t getting done because you can’t get out of bed, it’s time to reevaluate and pick a time that you can consistently stick with. For me, it’s at the end of the day, after dinner once my food has settled and I’m winding down for the evening. It also helps me digest my last meal much quicker as well. Now I hope this leaves you feeling less guilty about not working out in the morning, so go forth and find what works for you and stick with it! Yes, you too can get your Z’s and an effective workout in one day!