How often should you workout? That's a question with a lot of contradicting research. Although some reports suggest five hours of moderate physical activity per week to avoid high blood pressure, a recent study suggests it's likely more than we’ve been led to believe.  

Moderate physical activity includes things such as walking, riding a bike, dancing, mowing the lawn and playing with your kids or pets.

Some experts also argue there is an optimal time of day or night to work out. We always hear about the benefits of being an early riser and working out first thing in the morning.

The perfect workout time doesn’t exist

Turns out, the best time to work out is whenever you can fit it into your day! An all-or-nothing mentality, where people wait for the perfect time in the day or week with two free hours to work out, can kill your motivation before you even begin.

Sometimes people avoid working out because they think that if they don’t wake up at 4 a.m. to work out, then it’s too late. Many people give up for the day.  

The optimal time to workout depends on you:

  • Workout in the morning if you’re someone who likes to procrastinate and find reasons not to later in the day;
  • Workout in the afternoon, to break up your workday, if you’re someone who gets energized from exercising;
  • Workout after work or in the evening if you’re too busy in the morning, if you enjoy working out as a way to unwind or enjoy not feeling rushed to get through a workout.

Ask yourself when do you perform at your best? Or when do you have the most energy? It's different for everyone.

Should you work out at the same time every day?

Physiologically, exercising at the same time every day doesn't make a big difference. But, it could help you in building a consistent workout habit, if that’s your goal. It doesn't have to be the same time every day, as long as it gets scheduled.

It’s also good to define what you want to do on your workout days. Planning out what exercises you’re going to do in a workout and which days are your recovery days can help you get better results.

Make sure to move every day

Rest days don’t mean couch potato days. It’s important to move our bodies every day, regardless of what we’re doing. The most important thing is to avoid the trap of trying to get a flawless workout every day with a perfect variety of equipment. It doesn’t have to be perfect to be effective!