Everyone seems to have the same idea these days---go to the gym in the morning and start the day with a healthy choice. Talk to anyone who works out nowadays and they'll probably tell you they work-out in the morning, that it works for them. But what about those of us who have a crippling addiction to hitting the snooze button on our alarms? Or those who just aren't feeling it in the mornings when it comes time to lace up those sneakers? So, here's a case for cramming that work- out at night.
1. You don't have to get up as early
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This first one may sound like a no-brainer but hear me out---it goes deeper. Right now at the beginning of this semester, we're all building our habits and routines. You're going to want to build a routine that's sustainable for the whole semester versus something you'd have to drop when the going gets tough. For instance, say you have a bunch of papers due on the same day and you end up staying up till the birds start chirping again outside. You'd skip the gym. But---if you had a nightly routine, you would have gone beforehand and could rest easy in what little time you had to rest. As a less extreme example, regularly you may be staying up later to get extra work done or hang out with friends. You'll be extra tired in the morning and less likely to drag yourself over to the gym, but if you go at night before those nightly activities you have the opportunity to charge yourself up with some cardio before hand.
2. The gym is less crowded
Go to any gym in the morning and you'll see treadmills occupied by colorful leggings and T-shirts. The stretching area will most likely have people closer than arm's length apart (which, if you know anything about stretching, is less than ideal) and all that footwork will surely be noisy, making headphones a must. If you go at night, however, it'll be almost empty. As an introvert, I prefer this. I can choose any treadmill I want, and I can just enjoy the calm while I get out all the day's aggravations. If you're someone who enjoys being alone as much as I do then you'll deeply enjoy this aspect of working out at night.
3. If you overate, you can work it off
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Say you were working on an essay and snacked on some chips absentmindedly. After all that salty thoughtlessness, you find you've eaten close to the whole bag if not all. Your mind wanders to how this will affect your figure---- but you don't have to panic! By working out at night, you have the opportunity to do a bit more cardio or a bit more lifting to work some of it off rather than plainly accept your fate if you were habitually working out in the mornings instead.
4. You fall asleep sooner
If you're anything like me, you have a hard time falling asleep. Whether it's by sneaking a late night coffee or just plain anxious thoughts you may have found yourself staring disappointingly at the ceiling some nights when you finally find a rare respite to sleep. Instead of taking melatonin (which is renown for giving surreal or even nightmarish dreams!) work out at night and get yourself nice and tired for a well deserved night's sleep.
Hopefully, you night owls out there seize the night so to speak and start your exercise routines at night versus the morning. Sure, it's not what everyone else is doing, but with these upsides how could you not?
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