Weight Loss Timing Is Everything – Part 2

In this series of articles we’re examining the timing of
fitness. As we found last time, when we eat is almost as
important as what we eat. In this article we’re going to take a
look at when we exercise, and how to get the maximum benefit
from our workouts based on timing.

We’ve all heard the popular addage ‘Timing is everything’. As
passe as cliches may be, we can’t argue with the accuracy of
this phrase. It holds true in almost every aspect of our lives -
business, relationships, family and even exercise.

When we do our training may be just as important as how
intensely and how long we do it. Many bodybuilders and fitness
experts swear that the absolute best time to work out for fat
loss is first thing in the morning before breakfast because it
enhances the fat-burning process. Morning exercise not only
appears to benefit fat utilization by the body, but it also may
be advantageous for several other reasons.

TALKIN’ ABOUT FAT: Those who preach the superiority of morning
exercise for fat-burning deserve a pat on the back by the
scientific community. That’s right: The theory that
cardiovascular exercise on an empty stomach first thing in the
morning has the greatest potential for fat loss is firmly
supported by science.

However, this effect is not necessarily due (as many believe) to
the low concentrations of glucose in the blood and glycogen in
the muscles when we wake up in the morning. In actuality,
glucose and glycogen have little to do with this morning
fat-burning effect. Henriette Pilegaard, PhD, a research
scientist at the prestigious Copenhagen Muscle Research Center
in Denmark, states: “Blood glucose and muscle glycogen levels
stay fairly constant overnight. This fact is reported in several
texts including the well-known Biological Rhythms in Clinical
and Laboratory Medicine.”

While glucose and glycogen are tightly maintained, metabolism,
on the other hand, takes a drastic swing during the night. Jaci
VanHeest, PhD, professor of exercise science at the University
of Connecticut (Storrs), explains: “During your nightly slumber,
your muscles switch almost exclusively to fat use in order to
spare glucose for the brain. At this time, insulin levels are
very low and the hormone glucagon is very high.” This increases
the amount of fat that leaves our fat cells and travels to our
muscles, where the fat is ultimately oxidized (burned).

As several research studies show, we can take advantage of this
fat-burning cycle by exercising first thing in the morning
before eating. Increasing the energy needs of our muscles via
aerobic exercise will enhance both the ‘leaking’ of fat from fat
cells and the ‘sponging up’ of fat by exercising muscles. Over
time, this could lead to noticable bodyfat loss.

BURN, BABY, BURN: Several studies have also discovered that this
increase in fat usage by muscle continues throughout the day,
even while we’re just sitting around. When we eat breakfast
after exercise, less fat from the meal ends up in fat cells and
more is burned by muscle. This is a great way to nullify the fat
content of a meal and keep it away from our love handles, but it
won’t work if we eat a plate of bacon and eggs every day.

The effect of greater post-meal fat-burning appears to be
maintained even during later meals. In essence, we could say
that morning exercise boosts our fat-burning potential for the
entire day.

KICK START THE HEART: When we wake up in the morning, we’re
typically at our ‘slowest and lowest’. That means several of our
body’s processes are still waking up, because our body follows a
biological clock that cycles all bodily functions over a 24-hour
period. Each function, such as adrenaline release, has a peak
and a valley at some point during the day. When our alarm clock
buzzes, our body temperature is at its lowest – as is the
release of adrenaline, which is related to our slower metabolism
and heart rate at this time.

Exercise first thing in the morning will get that adrenaline
flowing and kick-starts our metabolism for the rest of the day.
Research shows that if we get into a consistent morning exercise
routine, we’ll actually shift the phases of our biological
clock. Before we wake up, our temperature, adrenaline release
and metabolism will start to take off to prepare our body to
awaken and get ready for the workout to come.

THE BOTTOM LINE: To burn the most fat, then, the best time to
exercise is first thing in the morning. Before breakfast is
best. (Although there are some concerns about exercise without
eating, but that’s a topic for another article.)

One caveat: the absolute best time for you personally to
exercise is anytime you can. Yes, we’ve been talking about
morning exercise and there’s lots more research we could discuss
about two-a-days, evening exercise, etc. But the single most
important factor for fat loss is that we simply exercise, period.

Yes, timing is important. But what if a job or family prevents
us from making it before noon? Is that bad? Not at all. As we
all know, any exercise is better than no exercise, no matter
what the time of day. Many health club members exercise
regularly after 6:00 pm each day, and that’s great too. Every
time we can get some exercise in, we will reap the benefits. The
point of this article is to help us realize that morning
exercise will help most of us more than evening exercise.

So keep exercising, and we’ll see each other at the gym!

1. Prev:Weight Loss Timing Is Everything – Part 3
2. Next:Reading food labels; buyer beware!