Why you should lift weights later in the day

December 15, 2016 Ashley 0 Comments

Weight training’s great.

It makes us strong. It blasts fat. It even programs massive confidence into our noggins.

But, when we’re meant to do cardio on the regular, too, when should we try to fit it in our lifting?

(“I might be giving that presentation with pit stains, but I’mma feel awesome doing it!”)

According to some experts, however, that decision making process could be super simple.

Just…do it at night.

Ummm… okay. That’s some pretty simple and direct advice. But what’s the logic here? Well, according to some studies done on the topic, you can stand to eradicate more fat by doing a bit’ve nocturnal burning. In fact, they tested exactly this back in 2005 at the University of Southern Mississippi. After gathering a bunch of muscle hungry subjects together, they had them train for a little over a couple months. Half the dudes trained in the A.M. Half trained at night (specifically – after 6 p.m.). And the results? Well, it’s not like the morning crew got fat or anything. But, while they stayed the same, the nighttime gym rats blasted off four percent of their body fat by the end of the ten week research effort.

But what’s even better is the long term effect – on your metabolism.

Typically, your metabolic activity tends to descend later in the day. By revving it back up, you stand to keep it churning those calories you’re ingesting, so your body’s working to keep you fit – even when you’re at rest. That’s great because it means that if you can’t make tomorrow morning’s run, you’re still benefiting from that sweat sesh you completed the evening prior.

(How you wake up after night shift lifting – or any other sort’ve strength training…)

And then there’s the even longer term level: strength.

Working out at night’s said to be better ’cause you’re already warmed up after being active all day. While you might not think that’d matter, the stats don’t lie. Before that 2005 study was ever done, a similar one was performed back in the 90’s, and subsequently published in the “British Journal of Sports Medicine”. Except this study observed muscle strength. The results? P.M. perspirers yielded 20% more strength than their sunshiney counterparts. And what’s that matter for weight loss, you ask? Well, firstly, muscle’s a serious fat burner – so having more of it around makes for more fat burning. But, also, having superior strength equals a massive cash in later. When you’re stronger, you put more into your workouts in general – which, of course, means more calorie burning and, ultimately, weight loss.

So, if you’re still debating when to weight lift, debate no more.

Simply keep your cardio for the morning and hone that muscle power after hours.