It doesn’t matter what you do, everything has a sweet spot. You know when it’s just the right amount. Goldilocks knew it when she sat on the chair, tasted the porridge and slept in the bed. There’s also a sweet spot when it comes to how long and how often you workout. It’s one reason we recommend that you time your workouts. Timing can tell you a lot.
If you’re running a mile, it can tell you how much progress you’ve made.
Timing your workout can help you understand how much exercise you’re actually getting. If you go to the gym and take long breaks between exercises, stopping and talking to others, that hour at the gym is deceptive, since it’s not how long you really exercised, but how much time you spent at the gym. If you aren’t making progress, but are “putting in the time,” start recording actual minutes exercised instead.
Spending long hours actually working out can also be a problem.
No matter how great exercise is for your body, you can get too much. Your body needs to recover and heal, especially after a tough workout. It’s important to time strength training, making sure you have between one or two days in between to allow the body to repair the micro tears in the muscles that cause them to get stronger. Timing your next tough workout after a particularly grueling session is important. Even though exercise burns off stress hormones, tough workouts create stress and can affect your immune system for as long as 72 hours. Time the tough sessions so you get rest between them.
Timing a workout can include the time of day you exercise.
There’s a lot of debate on whether it’s better to workout in the morning, at lunch or after work. Unfortunately, there’s no clear answer. Your hormone levels may be higher in the morning, so you’ll burn more fat, while getting your day started right and getting your exercise done early. A midday workout ensures you have more energy than you did in the morning and can boost your energy level throughout the afternoon. Working out at the end of your work day can burn off the hormones of stress and help you to wind down, while be invigorating as well, as long as you don’t do it too late. The answer is “You do you.” Do what fits your needs, but do it consistently and at the same time each day.
- While the amount of time you spend is important, so is intensity and style. A HIIT—high intensity interval training—workout is shorter, but provides the same benefits as a longer steady state workout. The more intense the workout, the shorter it should be.
- If you have a heart monitor or blood pressure machine that provides heart rate, check your resting heart rate. If it suddenly and consistently increases in a resting state, you’ve stressed your body and may need to cut back on the workout.
- If you’re timing your workout, only count the amount of time you’re exercising. Track each exercise and tally the number of minutes. You’ll be surprised at how little time you spend actually exercising.
- If you workout too much, you could be sabotaging your efforts. Overworking your body can actually lead to loss of muscle mass and cause you to be tired.
For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym