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Ideal time of day for women to exercise to reduce belly fat is in the morning, researchers find
Do you run because you want to strengthen your legs, because you want to lose weight, or for another reason altogether?
Ask 10 people and theyll probably all give you a different answer. Well, if you want to maximize your gains, science may have some advice for you. Not only is there a particular time of day when it’s best to exercise if you want to build muscle, and a time of day when it’s best to work out to maximize the overall benefits, but science reveals the best time of day to exercise if you specifically want to lose belly fat.
Study reveals best time for women to exercise if they want to lose belly fat
Yes, it turns out theres a difference in what you gain from exercise depending on what time of day you do it.
For those of us whose priority when it comes to exercise is psychological, or for whom the time of the day we exercise depends as much on external factors as internal ones, the difference is unlikely to alter our plans.
But if youre a woman and youre specifically trying to lose belly fat, the ideal exercise time of day is in the mornings, rather than in the afternoon or the evening.
Thats according to a 2022 study by a group of researchers mostly based in New York. They found that morning exercise is most effective at reducing abdominal fat and blood pressure �among women.
Among men, their most striking finding was that exercising in the afternoon is better for reducing blood pressure and fatigue, and for increasing fat oxidation.
A bit more detail
The researchers concluded that the time of day someone does exercise (either resistance, intervals, stretching, or endurance) has profound impacts on numerous outcomes.
Be they cardiometabolic (to do with the heart and metabolism), body compositional (fat), physical, or performance-based outcomes, choosing to work out in the morning or evening could be quite consequential.
And those differences are different for men and women.
Morning exercise in women enhances total and abdominal fat loss, reduces blood pressure, and increases lower body muscle power, they concluded.
Meanwhile, exercising in the evening (still among women) greatly increases upper body muscle strength, power, and endurance, and enhances overall mood.
To recap: Women, if you want to burn fat, work out in the morning; if you want to build muscle, work out in the evening. Men, if you want to get the most out of your exercise overall, work out in the evening.
