Finding Your Optimal Training Time

2:39 pm doesn’t suit everyone

It’s easy to complicate fitness and nutrition by reading through research papers or someone’s take on the research. We want definitive answers, which is why a conclusion in a research paper that reads ‘XYZ may assist body composition and further studies are required for confirmation’ turns into an article headline of ‘XYZ — the new science-based way to rapidly improve body composition’.

A bit of research and complication can be a good thing. Maybe you’re looking to start a training program and find some research demonstrating the benefits of running for cardiovascular health. This knowledge drives adherence to the running program because you want to get those benefits, which is a good outcome.

But complications can also have their downside. If adherence is not perfect, it can force you to become unnecessarily rigid with your training or nutrition and feel like you’ve failed. Using the running example above, if you can’t lace up and get out there, you don’t do any other form of exercise because it won’t have the same benefits as running.

Trying to find the best time of day to exercise is a classic example of overcomplicating your training program.

You might have heard that strength training in the early afternoon is optimal due to…