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Now, a randomized controlled trial not only convincingly confirms that time of day affects exercise efficacy, but also shows that these effects differ between types of exercise and between women and men.
(In addition: Find out which physical exercise best suits your way of being).
(Also read: Pregnancy: what exercises can you do during the gestation period?).
For his part, for men, evening exercise “reduces blood pressure, heart disease risk, and feelings of fatigueand burns more fat, compared to morning exercise”, says Arciero.
For women, exercising in the morning reduces belly fat and blood pressure.
This workout went like this: depending on the day of the week, 60 minutes of resistance training, sprint interval training, stretch training, or resistance training. Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays were rest days.
Participants followed a specially designed meal plan with a protein intake of between 1.1 and 1.8 g per kg of body weight per day.
(Of your interest: Protein: what happens in the body if it is consumed daily?).
We have shown for the first time that for women, exercise in the morning reduces belly fat and blood pressure
Participants’ aerobic power, muscular endurance, flexibility, balance, upper and lower body strength and power, and jumping ability were comprehensively assessed at the beginning and end of the trial. Only 16 percent of the 56 enrolled participants dropped out of the study during the 12 weeks, solely because they were unable to follow the nutrition and exercise program.
In addition to changes in participants’ physical and metabolic parameters, such as blood pressure, arterial stiffness, respiratory exchange ratio, and body distribution and fat percentage throughout the trial, the researchers also measured changes in blood biomarkers, for example, insulin, total cholesterol and HDL ‘good’ cholesterol, C-reactive protein and IL-6. They also administered questionnaires to the participants to quantify changes in mood and feelings of satiety.
In the case of men, evening exercise lowers blood pressure, the risk of heart disease.
But more importantly, they also show that the time of day determines the strength of improvements in physical performance, lto body composition, cardiometabolic health and mood.
For example, all participants reduced total body fat, abdominal and hip fat, and blood pressure throughout the trial, but these improvements were greater in women who exercised in the morning.
(You may be interested in: Resistance, aerobic or combined, what exercise facilitates sleep?).
Only men who exercised in the afternoon showed a drop in their ratio of total to HDL cholesterol, in blood pressure, in the respiratory exchange ratio and in the oxidation of carbohydrates, since fat became the preferred fuel source.
“Based on our findings, women interested in reducing belly fat and blood pressure, while increasing leg muscle power, should consider exercising in the morning.”
However, for women interested in gaining upper body strength, power, and muscular endurance, as well as improving overall mood and food intake, evening exercise is the preferred option.
On the contrary, nighttime exercise is ideal for men interested in improving heart and metabolic health, as well as emotional well-being”, summarizes Arciero.
EUROPA PRESS
MADRID
