When to hit the gym

[fakebun]

Hi all,

like the title asks...What time would be ideal to hit the gym? Morning before/after breakfast, before/after lunch or late at night (9-10pm)?


Also I will be living by myself starting in a week and will come back home every weekend. I kinda need some help in putting a healthy diet for everyday (maybe exercise plan). I have school M-F and earliest class is at 8am and I won't have anything to do after 12pm.

I am really new at this so any help on this related issue could really help me.

I am currently 23 years old at 230 lb. I am inconsistent with my workout because the 24hr fitness near me is always packed, especially the weights room, and I am very self-conscious...

That's it and thank you all in advance for any constructive input!

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Read the fat loss sticky first. Workout whenever works best for you. Go to the gym when it's not packed, if you can.

In reference to being self conscious - first of all, you're getting into the gym, which is much more than most people. Secondly, everybody started somewhere. Don't be ashamed of what you lift or how you look. Be proud that you're doing something to better yourself. A lot of the people at the gym don't know what they're doing anyhow and if you read the fat loss sticky, you will most likely come in with a better knowledge about this stuff than most.

If you have some questions that aren't answered in the fat loss sticky, feel free to PM me.

 

[StageLeft]

Whatever is convenient for you. Anybody who tells you you need to workout at such and such time, do cardio 30 minutes before the rooster calls, weights only on off days unless you're doing legs, blah yadda yadda is missing the forest for the trees.

 

[SearchMaster]

You may also find out what works best for you as you try different times too. Some people love to work out after dinner; I find myself without much energy remaining by then. My best time is between work and dinner, but I can do early in the morning as well.

 

[katank]

Experiment with the times and figure out what works for you. Everyone's rhythm is different.

As for the self conscious thing, don't worry about it. You are doing this for your own health and improving yourself, not for the approval of others. If they don't have anything positive and/or constructive to say, then forget about them. As long as you follow sound programming like those linked to in the fat loss sticky, you'll make rapid progress and gain a heck of a lot of self confidence.

 

[wonSR4]

I used to work out in the afternoon but now it's generally towards night time as I'm more awake then (and my body doesn't feel like crap compared to the mornings!).

 

[Titan]

It's important to set a concrete goal in your mind for focusing on your workouts, but it doesn't have to be too specific. Right now my goal is to hit the gym 3 days a week minimum, with my target dates tue, thur, sat. But if I am too sore sat, I can delay till sun.

I will say from experience that losing weight is all about diet. So you might want to get that down first. It's important to figure out what you can eat with a caloric deficit that won't make you crash. The main advice I can give you is avoid processed and fast food, and refined carbs as white sugar and four. I even think whole wheat bread is too processed a carb. Natural carbs from carrots, peas, apples, oranges, bananas, are all good and won't give you that bloated feeling like when after you eat a pile of spaghetti. Less carbs, more protein.

So get the diet that works for you. The exercise is important to make you feel better and move better, and to preserve muscle. The goal is to be healthy and feel great in order to lose weight, not the other way around.

As for timing, don't worry about it too much. Just get protein after a workout to repair muscle and you'll be good.

Drink plenty of water. At 230 pounds you should get 115 ounces (almost a gallon) a day minimum. That's half your body weight in ounces of water. More if you sweat.

 

[yelo333]

Yup. Pick a time. But be consistent.

I think I remembering hearing about is research that suggests that you actually get stronger around the time of your workout. It kinda makes sense to me -- specific adaptation to imposed demands & all that.

Bonus tip: Don't take a month off from lifting. I did that, and just now 1 month later am I finally coming back stronger than I was before my month off.

 

[katank]

@yelo333, that sounds plausible and interesting. However, another conclusion can be made. Perhaps you should intentionally vary the time of your workout so as to enable better performance across the entire spectrum of your daily cycle. After all, life's challenges do not show up at a pre-scheduled time.