When is the best time to exercise?

When it comes to working out, some people like to get it done early in the morning, before the sun is even up. Others, whether due to preference or work schedules, exercise in the late morning or afternoon, but that delay provides more opportunities to excuse skipping the day altogether. Which time is best?

It depends on what you want from your workout. A new study shows that working out in the morning will burn more fat—it gets your metabolism going for the day—but afternoon exercise could help you live a longer life.

Dale Suslick, coach and owner of CrossFit ENG at 326 SW 2nd Terrace in Cape Coral, gave his take on why that may be.

“Later in the afternoon, that’s when people are slowing down, so if you can get in and get your body started, you’re just generating more energy at a time of day where you’re not normally doing things,” Suslick said. “By the end of the day, you’re starting to feel that slump. So, if you can kind of just find a way to get started moving, that’s going to increase your energy for the remainder of the day and help you finish strong. And the study’s saying that, yeah, exercise late in your day means you’re gonna live longer. So you’re going to finish your life longer and stronger.”

According to the study, which included more than 90,000 men and women, researchers found that people who exercise between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. were less likely to die prematurely from heart disease or other causes than people who exercised in the morning.

But don’t worry; if you work out in the morning or later in the evening, the study also found that physical activity at any time of day is better for a longer life than not exercising at all.

Suslick emphasizes that there are more benefits to exercising than just longevity or a smaller waistline.

“The number one reason that they want to start an exercise program isn’t necessarily to look better for swimsuit season—which is great here in Florida, of course—but it’s the mental, it’s the happiness, it’s feeling better,” Suslick said. “And it’s maybe counterintuitive, or maybe it’s intuitive, that the more high-intensity workout that you do, even just for a short period of time, 20 minutes per day, gives you more life and gives you more energy.”

Suslick says he’s found mornings to be his best time for exercise.

“I’m done working out before I’m really even awake,” Suslick said. “And I also think it’s a big thing of a habit that I created. My wife and I, we have six kids. So, the only time I could work out was before everyone woke up. And then, along the way, I just found out it gave me a lot of energy throughout the day.”

But any expert will tell you: The best time to work out is anytime that fits into your day.