If You’re Over 40, These Are The Perfect Times To Exercise
Don’t let the clock limit your ability to hit your peak performance. Here’s what you do and when.
Find the perfect times of day for your workouts.
THE BRIEF
Time to read: 2 minutes
Time to action: 10 minutes
Mantra: ‘The two most important warriors are patience and time’ Tolstoy
Main message: Train at the right time, to spend less time training
Stat: 32% of the UK workforce feel they are always running late for something
Timing is very often the decisive factor in getting something right or wrong. Having a brilliant idea days after the action plan has been signed off - arguably wrong timing. Having the same idea days before - well congratulations my friend, here’s the keys to the executive bathroom and your chauffeur’s name is George. Granted, we can invoke the BLTN clause (Better Late Than Never), but at FORM we’re all about Gen X optimisation - finding the timing sweet spot that gives you the best results for the effort you expend. That means getting your exercise timing right for your body.
TIME: Early Morning (6am - 8am)
EXERCISE: Cardio - Running, Cycling
WHY: Morning cardio jump-starts your metabolism, helping you burn more calories throughout the day. Additionally, it enhances mood and energy levels. Research in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness found that your body temperature is significantly lower in the morning so you’ll be able to exercise longer before rising your core body temperature. If you can train on an empty stomach you’ll get leaner even faster.
ALTERNATIVE: Yoga, Meditation: Helps with pre-work mental clarity and focus.
TIME: Mid-Morning (9am - 1 pm)
EXERCISE: Strength Training - Resistance
WHY: Muscles are warm by now, reducing injury risk. Research by the American Physiological Society found that people who used an interval-training technique reported faster times starting from 11am, which improved as the afternoon progressed. If you’re looking to burn fat and can only train at this time, consider short/sharp circuit training or interval runs to boost your performance.
ALTERNATIVE: Martial Arts: Coordination tends to be improved in correlation to less fatigue and well-warmed muscles.
TIME: 5pm - 9pm
EXERCISE: Strength Training - Power
WHY: Research in Clinical Therapy found that strength is maximised in the early evening. You might feel ready to hide from the world, but facing up to the gym will deliver better results for your body and your ability to cope with tomorrow.
ALTERNATIVE: Opt for high-intensity interval training (HIIT) during the evening hours. The intense activity followed by short rest periods will maximise calorie burn and boost cardiovascular fitness.
TIME: (8pm - 10pm)
EXERCISE: Flexibility and Relaxation - Yoga & Stretching
WHY: Promotes flexibility, relaxation, and contributes to better sleep quality, aiding recovery.
ALTERNATIVE: Meditation or deep breathing exercises can reduce the build-up of stress. If you do it regularly you will feel less of the symptoms that can build up as quickly as your cortisol levels. It’s like stress prep, only prevention as well as cure.
PT WOLF
Wolf is a personal trainer who tries and tests every programme we put together. A celebrity trainer, Wolf has been a fitness journalist, practising what he preaches for over 20 years. Now in his 40s, Wolf has added muscle to his frame in every decade of his life and has an annoyingly healthy body fat percentage. He tries it before he says it, but even more importantly, he lives it every day.
Would you like to know more?:
COPING WITH PAIN
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110919113842.htm
VISUALISATION
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=sportsmedicine&cdn=health&tm=52&f=10&su=p1026.33.342.ip_&tt=2&bt=1&bts=20&zu=http%3A//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez%3Fdb%3Dpubmed%26uid%3D14998709%26cmd%3Dshowdetailview%26indexed%3Dgoogle
BURN FAT IN THE MORNING
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130124091425.htm
SWIMMING
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070226131530.htm
MORNING EXERCISE AND ENDURANCE
J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 1995 Jun;35(2):99-102.Links
Effects of time of day on self-paced performances of prolonged exercise
VO2 MAX
http://ajpheart.physiology.org/content/299/6/H1832.short
NOON EXERCISE
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070226131530.htm
NOON INTERVAL TRAINING SESSION
http://www.springerlink.com/content/0276014416l425q7/
MORNING EXERCISE AND ENDURANCE
J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 1995 Jun;35(2):99-102.Links
Effects of time of day on self-paced performances of prolonged exercise
BURN FAT IN THE MORNING
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130124091425.htm
POSITIVE WORDS AND SUCCESS
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090303102616.htm
KNEE SURGERY
Moseley JB, O'Malley K, Petersen NJ, Menke TJ, Brody BA, Kuykendall DH, Hollingsworth JC, Ashton CM, Wray NP (2002). A controlled trial of arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee. N Engl J Med.;347(2):81-88, 132-133
OVERCOMING PAIN
Koyama, T (2005). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; vol 102: pp 12950-12955.