Tag: train
Should You Train in the Morning or Evening?
Best Time For Working Out
If you’re into the fit lifestyle, chances are you’ve thought about this question at some point. Many people wonder if training at a particular time in the day can speed up their progress and get them to their goals faster.
If you’re looking for a simple answer to this question – there isn’t one. Whether you should train in the morning or evening for better results depends on various factors. Go through the factors mentioned below and see what time suits you the best.
Losing Weight
Most of the people who get a gym membership do so to lose weight. If you’re one of these people, several studies have proved that working out on an empty stomach (fasted cardio) can boost your fat-loss process.
Hormones are one of the most overlooked factors when it comes to physique transformation. Working out in the morning is great for people who want to lose body fat as testosterone (which fuels energy and muscle gains) soars in the AM.
Gaining Muscle
Meeting all your nutrition requirements is one of the most important factors in gaining muscle mass. Training in the evening can ensure that you’ve consumed enough calories and macronutrients to fuel your workouts and muscle growth.
Another great reason for the bodybuilders to train in the evening is that the cortisol levels (the muscle-eating hormone) climb by 75% in the morning, but normalizes at night. To support the argument of training in the PM, a study conducted by the Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism showed that your anaerobic capacity is 7% higher during the evening workouts.
Sleep
Being able to get a sound sleep should be one of the most important considerations for choosing your training time as it aids in recovery and puts you on the fast track to goal achievement. Sleep is also one of the complicated factors as there are no clear winners here.
Researchers at Appalachian State University showed that people who lift at 7 am power down faster at night and produce more human growth hormone than evening trainers. On the other hand, the same study found evening gym time raises body heat like a warm bath and promotes sound sleep.
Work
Since most of the people who train are not professional athletes, their work timings have a major say in their workout schedule. If you work till late at night, you’ll have no other option than training in the AM.
Similarly, while you might not feel the best training late in the night (if you have a 9-5 job), you’ll have to make do with what you have. Whatever you do, you should not excuse yourself from working out due to a packed schedule – and your body will thank you for it later.
Lifestyle
Some people like to use the hustle mindset in their training, so they’ll wake up and workout long before the cock’s crow. And then some people like to train in the dead silence of the night.
The lifestyle aspect deals with figuring out if you are fine with giving up going out with your friends for dinner after work or whether you can stay motivated and energized for early morning workouts.
There is no one-is-better-than-the-other in this argument. You’ll have to figure out what works for you. We would encourage you to train at different times of the day for at least four weeks and settle on the time where you have the best workouts.
Are you an early gym lark or a weight room night owl? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.
How Many Days A Week Should You Train?
This Is How Often You Should Be Hitting The Gym
Most people who join a gym are curious to know how many days a week should they train to build muscle mass or lose fat. Your workout program should be designed in a way that you’re not overtraining. You should also make sure you’re not leaving any stoned unturned to ignite muscle growth.
There are a lot of factors which go into designing a training split. We’ll take you through some of the factors to determine how often you should be hitting the iron paradise. By the end of this article, you’ll have all your questions answered.
Beginner – 5 Days
In this article, we’ll break down the number of days you should be working out based on your current stage and goals. You need to keep in mind the frequency of your workouts will often change depending on your expertise level.
When you’re a rookie, you shouldn’t rush into lifting weights. Your primary goal should be to learn about the basic exercises and the correct form of performing them. As you start going to the gym, you should train five days a week for at least the first month.
Even when you’re training five or lesser number of days a week, you shouldn’t take two days off in a row. Plan your program so the first rest day is mid-week and the second is on the weekend.
Intermediate – 6 Days
Once you’ve learned all the basic exercises and feel comfortable training with weights, you should switch to training six days a week. In the intermediate phase, your goal should be to build a solid foundation. You should be training one muscle group a day in the intermediate phase.
Make compound movements a big part of your training and focus on improving your strength, stamina, and agility. Of all the stages, the intermediate phase can feel the least exciting. But rest assured, you’ll soon be reaping rewards for the hard work you put in in this stage.
Another thing you need to remember is that there are no ideal rest days in the fit lifestyle. On your rest days, you’ll be going out for a jog or working on the cardio equipment for 30-45 minutes depending on your goals.
Advanced – 5 Days
After you’ve been training for 1-1.5 years and are well versed with the advanced training principles, and systems, you step onto the advanced stage. In the advanced stage, you should be performing double-muscle workouts. In the advanced stage, you should train your weak muscles twice a week to fix muscle imbalances.
Some people forget you don’t build muscles in the gym. You break down your muscle tissues while you’re training. Muscles re-grow bigger and stronger while you’re resting outside the gym. As you progress, you’ll be spending lesser amounts of time in the gym.
Prepping For Competition – 4-5 Days
If you’re planning to compete in a bodybuilding show, the number of days you’ll be training will greatly depend on your current conditioning. As you get closer to your competition and especially in the last month, most of the adjustments will be made in the diet. You reduce the number of training sessions from your program as you inch closer to the D-day to reduce the chances of an injury.
In the best-case scenario, you should be going from an advanced stage to the contest prep stage. You could jump from intermediate to prepping but it would mean the odds of winning the show would not be in your favor.
How many days a week do you train? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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