Welcome to the Get Fit Guys quick and dirty tips to slim down and shape up.

My name is Ben Greenfield and I'm the Get Fit Guy.

In a previous Get Fit Guy article called What's the Best Time of Day to Work out?

I answered a listener question about whether working out earlier in the

day would somehow boost your metabolism or be better for fat loss compared to exercising later in

the day. Well, in this episode, I'm going to expound on that and specifically hit on whether you

should work out later in the day, specifically before bed.

Now, in my response to that listener, I explained that while it certainly is true that morning exercise can

jumpstart your metabolism and calorie burning, especially compared to, say, sitting at the

breakfast table for an extra at 30 minutes, it may not be the best time of day to do high-intensity intervals or weight training.

And that was for two reasons.

Number one, your body temperature peaks in the afternoon, usually between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.,

which means that you're going to be able to do hard workouts even harder around this

time of day, and this could result in a bigger fitness boost, which is a bonus if your goal is

getting significantly fitter, bigger, faster, stronger, more powerful. Now next, your protein synthesis

or ability to use dietary amino acids for muscle repair also peaks later in the

day in the early evening between 5 and 7 p.m. So if you're finishing up a hard workout around that

time of day, you'll also maximize recovery. And this also backs up the idea that later afternoon or early evening is the best time of

day for more difficult workouts. However, when you wake up in the morning, your liver's carbohydrate

stores are pretty empty. So an easy walk, a light jog, a yoga class, or a bout of easy cardio can help to mobilize your fat stores,

circulate blood and limp fluid, and increase the activity of fat-burning enzymes. So ultimately,

the morning is a good time of day for easy, aerobic, or even fasted cardio.

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