What is the best time to workout?


Guest article by Shwetha Bhatia

It is well established that many physiological functions are time-of-day (circardian rhythm) dependant. Therefore time of the day does affect exercise performance. Many people are bound to get affected when their workout time suddenly changes from morning to evening and vice versa.

– Studies show after strength training, oxidative stress and muscle damage markers were higher in the morning compared to the afternoon and to the evening.

– Some hormones such as cortisol and testosterone are higher in the 1st half of the day suggesting better exercise performance in the morning.

– Other reasons to workout in the morning: No scope for missing your workout in the evening because you are tired. It jumpstarts the day, boosts circulation, enhances oxygen delivery to the brain.

– An evening workout might keep you up longer at night.

Bottomline: morning is better than evening, however working out is better than not. If you have time to workout only in the evening, GO GET THAT WORKOUT!


Shwetha Bhatia is a registered dietician with the Indian Dietetic Association. She runs her practice under the brand name “Metamorphosis’ in Mumbai. She is also a competitive fitness athlete (IBBF Bronze winner at the State & National Level 2015). She has also set up her own gym and nutrition counselling centre in Goa called Gym & Tonic. She’s also a columnist for the fitness magazine Krunch Today.

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